2020: The year travel-hungry wanderlusters were forced into hibernation. For someone like me, who lives to plan trips — even for other people — and needs an upcoming vacation to feed my soul and drive me through the daily doldrums, the pandemic has been difficult. To put it very mildly. I, like many of my fellow travelers, had big plans this year. Birthday trip in May to Colombia, which would have been my 45th country: Canceled. End-of-summer jaunt to Croatia in September: Canceled. Countless weekend getaways within my own country: All canceled. Thankfully, I was able to spend an incredible whirlwind weekend in Paris, Bruges and Luxeumbourg in February — right before the world stopped turning.
Of course, I know the sadness I feel about canceling trips is absolutely nothing compared to the devastation this pandemic has wrought on people who have been afflicted. And I know international travel will resume — even if it doesn’t look the same for a long time. I can only hope the world starts healing sooner rather than later.
I’ve spent a lot of time wondering how I’m going to think about travel in the future. In recent years, I have booked so many trips on a whim for a wide range of reasons — to go to a concert, to drop an insane amount of money on a meal at a famous restaurant, or because “why not?” Really, all my trips have been about escaping reality. I don’t necessarily think that’s such a bad thing. Escaping responsibility, yes. But taking a break from my own reality to explore an alternate reality somewhere abroad for a few days — that’s healthy. But it’s been at the expense of a lot of things in my “real life.” I’m hoping that this forced pause will help me be more thoughtful about my travel plans. Less scratching an itch or checking a box and more deliberate and conscientious of how my travel whims may affect other things that are important to me and those around me.
So, as I sit here in “Airplane Mode,” travel planning turned off for the foreseeable future, I’m taking stock of where I want to go when the world starts turning again. Who I want to go with. And how I will be thoughtful, both as an individual and a global citizen, while still keeping my signature wanderlust and whimsy intact.
Until then, I’ll always have Paris…
xoxo