Ya! 2007 will not be a vacationless year! We will be going on a luxurious 7 day Mexico cruise for our 10 yr anniversary. Cruises are the easiest trips to plan. Got credit card? Ok, you’re done. We’ll be leaving from here, so there is no other travel time, or costs. 

I usually try to alternate between vacations and trips. Vacations are when we just go out there, lounge, eat and basically do nothing. One comes back from vacation well rested and wishing that it was longer. Trips involve doing major trekking across cities, eating at hole-in-the-wall places that are highly recommended by Frommers, and staying in dodgy rooms that may or may not have it’s own bathroom but most certainly has a hidden camera. One comes back from a trip glad that it’s over and wishing that there was more time to recover before going back to work.

Trips or vacations taken when young and there are no kids something everyone should do. Some don’t want to travel unless it is with a significant other, but not everyone is lucky to have found such a person. I’d recommend going either alone or with a buddy. Life is too short to wait for the right person to come along to travel with. In fact, it could also help a person out since those that have traveled often come back with stories to tell. I know of at least 2 people that got hooked up into a long term soon after they returned from a multi-week trek through Europe. 

Some have asked, well what’s so great about traveling, you could easily watch the travel channel or browse the web for pictures. True, very true. Many times, it’s actually better on the travel channel. Yes, you could experience many things through pictures, videos, and text, but you’re experiencing it through another person, the photographer, cameraman, writer. It’s not your experience. You can’t smell the place, experience the people, touch the buildings, eat the food. 

I can understand that to many nontravelers, it’s not a big deal to personally experience a landmark or eat the food. I’m not too big on going to the museum, looking at landmarks, or trying the local deli myself. I like taking pictures of the tourist traps, but I could just as easily do without and buy a coffee table book. For me personally, I see it as a scouting trip, scouting for places that I’d want to live, retire, escape to. Places to go when life sucks, when I’m just tired of who I am, what I do, and where I’m going. Life is not the same everywhere. Lifestyle, pace, and people’s outlook on life’s goals and values are different in different parts of the world. 

I also scout for signs of happiness. We all know that past the basic life necessities, it’s not the money or the material things you acquire that makes happiness, it is the mentality and approach one has towards living. What makes different people happy, and what is it in their environment that helps them achieve it. On the flip side, what is it that makes people unhappy. 

The fact that I was mildly upset that I couldn’t find a single paper cup in Italy shows just how different we Americans live. What a concept; cups… don’t go with you. They stay at the restaurant, cafe, kiosk. You drink your coffee, tea, hot chocolate and you leave your cup. Yes. You actually have to stay, either sitting or standing if you’re in a hurry, and finish your drink. In the end, I was envious that they didn’t have paper cups. As much as I love starbucks… I also wish they never existed. No matter how brief your stay or how touristy the location, the local vibe is there and sneaks into your subconscious.

The world is like a glass shop, with millions of pieces in different color, shapes and sizes scattered all around, traveling allows one to look for that perfect piece to build one’s personal mosaic.