Why We Travel and Why You Should Too

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” ~Saint Augustine

I love this quote, mostly because two of my favorite things are books and traveling.  And travel books?  Perfect combo!  (Rick Steves books, yes please!)  We were bitten by the travel bug in 2005 after a family trip to Scotland.  I had never been out of the country before and was thrilled to possess a passport and get it stamped!  We had a great time on that trip with Jarrod’s parents and definitely made priceless memories.  That trip did something else though; it opened up the possibility of seeing more of the world.  For a girl that grew up in the middle of a corn field in southern Indiana, going to another country that wasn’t Mexico or Canada was FANCY!  Heck, when I was kid, going to Indianapolis was kind of a big deal.  The thought of traveling the world was never really on my radar.  

Fast forward to 2008, and one day Jarrod says “We should go to Paris next year for our 10th anniversary”.  Wait.  What?  Can we DO that?  We didn’t get to take a honeymoon when we got married, and suddenly a trip to Paris sounded like a pretty good trade-off for having to miss out on that 10 years before.  So, we did in fact plan and took what I consider to be the trip “Gold Standard” to which all subsequent trips have been held.  The whole trip was perfect.  May in Paris?  Yes.  Great weather?  Yes.  A bread festival in the square outside Notre Dame?  Hell yes.  Street performers with accordions?  Yes.  People kissing and looking all googly-eyed at each other?  Yes.  It was kind of ridiculous, actually.  We didn’t want to leave.  (If it wasn’t for the dog, we might have stayed).  We have traveled almost every year since then, and it’s still my favorite trip.  Paris is my favorite city by far.  It’s beautiful, historic, romantic, full of music and food and art.  Sigh.  

But I think most importantly, traveling opens your eyes.  It opens you up to new experiences, cultures, tastes.  It broadens your view and makes you realize your bubble is a bubble and that there are so many exciting things happening outside your sphere.  I don’t speak other languages well, but I can say hello and thank you and order food in a few languages.  I didn’t study art, but I now have a deep appreciation for many art forms and have favorite painters and sculptors.  I never thought much about architecture before, but now I recognize gothic or baroque or romanesque.  I’ve been in some of the most famous museums in the world and have seen priceless works of art, and I’ve bought little pen and ink drawings from artists on the street.  (They make great souvenirs!)  My point is, I have an appreciation for not only beautiful things, but for how beautiful people are and how beautiful the world can be.  I’m not saying you have to travel globally, either.  Travel locally and be a tourist in your own back yard.  Experience a new food or a new place and meet new people.  Open yourself up.  Don’t think of yourself as an American, or a Hoosier, or a South-sider, but as a human.  I think our world needs more of that right now.