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When I came back to Brazil, after one year living in Dublin and after a long trip around Europe, among so many different questions that both my family and friends have made, there has been one that I was asked more frequently.
What was your favourite place?
I often answer this question as people would like to hear it. They want to know how it’s like smoking marijuana in Netherlands, they want to know how it’s like drinking beer in Germany, drinking wine and eating cheese in France, they want to know about the monuments, about the Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate and many other things. But I gotta tell you the truth, these aren’t the things that I’ve most enjoyed while travelling. And I will tell you now what these things are.
The plan
As all of you guys, it started with the planning. Ah, the planning. It can be the most enjoyable part of your trip. Searching for places to visit, getting lost in many pictures, articles, blogs and all sort of stuff. So, in my case, my plan was to not have a plan. What? Are you nuts?
Yeah, but not completely. I knew that there were too many places that I wanted to visit and I didn’t have time or money (that will be another post) to see all of them. So I’ve decided that the most important for me, weren’t the places, the cities themselves, but people. I wanted to get to know people, to have a glimpse at their culture, at their habits, at their day-to-day life. So I booked three flights: Dublin (Ireland) to Eindhoven (Netherlands); Pula (Croatia) to Paris (France); Paris (France) to Dublin (Ireland); I had a route and not a single bus/train ticket, or a hotel/hostel/B&B booked. My plan was to hitchhike and couchsurf throughout Europe, that would give me the chance to do what I wanted: to meet people.
So if I tell the truth when people ask me about what was my favourite place, it’s difficult to choose one, among being hosted by a couple in the middle of nowhere close to Cork (Ireland), drinking beers and talking non-stop over the night; sharing meals and day-to-day errands with my host in Amsterdam (Netherlands), one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met ; being invited to a neighbourhood/community party/dinner in Bradford (UK) by my lovely host; listening to different stories while hitchhiking; getting dropped in places further than my drives were going, just because they were enjoying the conversations; and so many other things. But I think that my favourite one, and the one that’s been proven to have being a good choice, was to avoid the biggest city in France and going to the third one instead.
Why? People.
So, what do you travel for? What do you enjoy more about travelling? People? Nature? Shopping? Food? Relaxing time? I’d like to know more.
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What do I travel for? 
Yes! That’s the reason! Good on ya!
Thanks, Corinne! 😀
I love meeting local and other travellers , history culture view and food 😉
Im not much of a planner but I do have a broad idea of the places I would love to visit, but definitely people make my experience, let it be locals or other travelers they add so many valuable insights to my experience. I love learning about cultures and languages, and the more natural way to learn these are with people.
I travel for it all!! The experience, meeting new people.. it is when I feel most alive 🙂
Great reasoning… The people for sure… I’d go as far as saying it’s a way of learning how different cultures, and thus the people, experience the adventure of what it means to be human in today’s interconnected yet incredibly diverse world… Great post
The best memories are the ones with human interactions. Sometimes people will ask me, how can you like that place about somewhere we’ve mutually been and it’s the people and the experiences that make it for us! SO I absolutely love your motivation and method of traveling. I don’t think a lot of travels do that enough even if they really want to. Maybe we’re hesitant, shy or apprehensive about finding locals to hang out with and become distant relatives with because of removing ourselves even more from a comfort zone than traveling already forces you too. Anyway I admire you’re travels and look forward to reading about them!
The plan (definitely, I’m a bit OCD) the people (Yes! I love languages, and anything cultural) which leads us to —- THE FOOD!!
I love walking the streets of a new city, getting lost, and stumbling across things I’d never normally come across.
This is pretty cool indeed! I tend to walk through a new city, turning into new street whenever something calls my attention! (:
For the people, the experience, the food (and the wine where available). I tend to go to places where not much people go as well, without much planning. It’s a go with the flow kind of thing, gut feeling to be more “precise”. 🙂
Go with the flows is my motto! Always open to whatever cross my path! 😀
Most people at home never truly understand why we love certain cities so much. We have our own way of traveling, and that’s okay with us. I have a feeling that you would understand.
It´s pretty clear to me: long ago I stopped being that impressed by the nature or amazing meals..I still enjoy them, but it´s all about people for me!
Hell yeah! 😀
I like researching and planning almost as much as taking the trip itself!
That’s a pretty cool party of the trip! I love this too, get thrilled some times! (:
Great article! We travel to experience different cultures to get a better understanding of the world. Also love to photograph the unique differences each place has.
Cool, Stephen. I agree with you and I think the more we travel and get to know other cultures, the more we as a society can evolve towards a better world.
Oh I’m riight there with you! I travel for the experiences, the contact with the people, discovering a culture, the food…honestly sometimes I could care less about seeing a certain monument or museum, even if it’s famous, traveling is much more than that!
That’s true, Steph. The monument will always be there, so I’d rather spend some time talking to people than just go and snap pictures in a certain monument. Although, some are pretty cool 😛 haha
I’m a mix of everything but love meeting new people and experiencing such different cultures. Great post 🙂
Traveling all the time is something so special and people that haven’t done it are very confused by it. It’s such a special way to live. I travel for the people, the food, the memories, the experiences and the wine.
Oh yeah, food and wine too! Hummmm, I once travelled to France and had to come back, think people, food and wine let me a good impression in this country haha 😀
Yep people definitely make the travel experience that much more meaningful. Learning about different cultures and ways of living from people you meet along the way is one of the best reasons to explore this beautiful world.
Yeah, people will always have something to teach us! 😀