Why Lisa Travels

So, we spend a goodly slice of our lives working for the Man (or the Woman, or the Folk) so we get enough money to afford possessions that make our home lives a joy, putting down roots, investing in where we are socially and materially, embracing modern life as the sedentary, communal experience of Being Someone Somewhere that it truly is.

And then what do we do to relax? We leg it over the horizon.

If you’ve never ventured out of your familiar, everyday world, it must sound like the first stages of wibble-madness. So…why? Are we running away from something, or towards something? What’s out there that isn’t right here? Why risk drinking railway station coffee (because when it’s bad, it’s Really Bad) or make yourself vulnerable to the coolness of strangers? What’s that about?

“Let’s imagine I’ve never travelled, and I’ve never wanted to. What am I missing out on?”

Every midweek for the next couple of months, I’ll be lucky enough to have someone stop by and explain to me in no uncertain terms why I’d be an idiot not to travel. Last week Robin Locker outlined her 5 “E”s of travel – and this week, I’m delighted to welcome Lisa Fantino, who is about to teach us what the word “batty” is in Italian.

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When Mike invited me to write this and then asked me to imagine my life without travel, I thought, is he pazzo? This wanderlust woman cannot imagine what life would be like not to travel because traveling is in my DNA. I think I took my first flight at 5 years old at a time when people didn’t hop planes so easily and I’ve been known to hop a flight now just for brunch in another city and back in the same day.

So, what would life be like without traveling? Let me just explain what it is like when you travel and maybe that will give you some idea. Traveling puts you in another place, OK, that’s obvious, Lisa, but I mean figuratively, as well. The adventure allows you to escape your daily routine and mix it up. So here are my Top Tips for Treasured Travel:

1. You experience new cultures and cuisines if you step out of your comfort zone. You might find that you really like Haggis if you go to Scotland. (I’ll let you figure that out all on your own)

2. You meet new people and some can wind up being friends for life, while others may just be a friendly face to share a chat and a coffee far from home.

   

3. You step into history when you leave the United States. Can you imagine what it was like to live in Pompeii 2,000 years ago andwhat the people felt like as they were buried alive? You don’t have to imagine, you can walk the streets today.

4. If you solo travel, then you can have adventures and there will be no one there to edit your stories when you return home. Delete and insert at your own whim!

I can go on because I have three passports full of immigration stamps. Just know that you need to experience life to truly live life or else you’re just taking up space in a no-fly zone.

Lisa Fantino is an award-winning journalist and attorney and the creative force behind Wanderlust Women Travel. She also writes travel features for MNUI Travel Insurance and blogs as Lady Litigator.