Tag: travel

Travel Around the World With These 15 Travel-Inspirational Films (vol. 1)

While we’re in the midst of the current pandemic, it’s hard to think about traveling: we miss it, but since we can’t travel, the best we can do is daydream about it, or plan future adventures.

In the meantime, here are 15 of my favorite travel-inspirational films to give you something to daydream about! I’ll post more lists over the next few weeks.

Links are included in each recap to view the trailer for the films, as well as potential books or other guides to help you discover more about the subject matter.

15. The Way (2011)

15-the way Based on the book Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain by Jack Hitt, and adapted for the screen and directed by Emilio Estevez, The Way tells the story of a father who receives a phone call and discovers that is estranged son has died while traveling the historic El Camino de Santiago, also known as “The Way”, in Spain. Once he arrives there and receives his son’s cremains, he decides to take the pilgrimage himself.

It is not simply a film about self-discovery and growth, but a tale about the adventures that people have while taking one of these pilgrimage walks. There are no limits to the backgrounds or ages or lifestyles of the hikers, or what inspires them; they become bound together on a common quest with a shared goal. It is powerful and moving, and also shows you the beautiful northern Spanish countryside that the historic Camino wanders through.

14. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

14-seven years in tibet Based on Heinrich Harrer’s memoir of the same name, Seven Years in Tibet tells the story of Heinrich Harrer, one of the first Europeans to ever enter Tibet. An Austrian who was also a Nazi, Harrer was in India when WWII broke out. He was jailed, and eventually escaped, traveling over the Himalayas – without permission to be in Tibet – and eventually reached the city of Lhasa.

He became friends with the young Dalai Lama, a friendship that changed his life and his world outlook; and later, when the Chinese invaded the country in 1950, they fled the country together. You’ll have to make an effort to ignore Brad Pitt’s accent in this (Empire magazine ranked it third on all-time worst movie accents) and instead focus on the beauty of the landscapes. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud snuck a film crew into Tibet, and about 20 minutes of their footage made it into the final film; the rest was filmed in Argentina.

13. Out Of Africa (1985)

13- out of africaDanish author Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen, played by Meryl Streep) was 28 when she moved to British East Africa (now Kenya) in 1913 to marry Baron Bror von Blixen-Fnecke. Based on her memoir of the same name, Out Of Africa tells the tale of her marriage of convenience (and later subsequent divorce), and her love affair with big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton.

About 70% of the film was shot on location in Africa. Out of Africa won a number of accolades, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. If you’ve ever dreamed of a safari to Africa, this film can help give you a taste of the majesty of the Dark Continent.

12. Score! A Hockey Musical (2011)

12-scoreYes,  the premise of Score! is downright goofy – a hockey-centered comedic musical. The story centers around Farley Gordon, a home-schooled teenager who becomes an overnight hockey sensation while he navigates the rough waters of instant fame.

Musical numbers aside, it is a cute love story between Farley and his best friend Eve, and most of all, a love letter to the city of Toronto and the sport of hockey. Loaded with hockey and celebrity cameos, if you love hockey, you’ll probably get a few laughs from the film.

You can watch the entire film for free on YouTube.

11. A Walk in the Woods (2015)

11 walk in the woodsIt really shouldn’t be a surprise that a number of great travel-inspiring films are based on personal memoirs, and here is another one: A Walk in the Woods (starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte) is based on Bill Bryson’s 1997 hilarious tale of attempting to walk the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.

Originally completed in 1937, the trail continues to evolve each year. Three million people hike stretches of the Appalachian Trail each year, with under 1,000 people per year doing a full “thru-hike”, or complete hike of the ~2,200 distance between Georgia and Maine.  The fastest completion of a thru-hike was set in 2018 (41 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes); but the average hiker takes 5-7 months.

10. Bottle Shock (2008)

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In 1976, a British wine merchant living in Paris named Steven Spurrier held a blind tasting of French versus American wines at an event that came to be known as the “Judgement of Paris”. It was covered by just one reporter, named George M. Taber, who went on to write a book about the event called Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine.

In 2008, that book was the inspiration for Bottle Shock – and while the film took a few liberties with the true-life narratives, it’s a valentine for Napa Valley and the American spirit of hard work. The late Alan Rickman (who plays Spurrier) is our curmudgeonly guide between the French and American wine worlds; and Dennis Farina plays a great supporting role.

9. The Darjeeling Limited (2009)

9 darjeeling

Wes Anderson is known for his films which are filled with brightly-saturated, vibrant imagery, and dysfunctional families that are searching for a more… normal life.

The Darjeeling Limited is no exception to his style. Three brothers (played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman) who have not seen each other in a year, since their father’s funeral, reunite on the title train in India. They eventually travel to see their mother, who they have also not seen in years, and who is now a nun at a convent in the Himalayas.

Most of the film was shot in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and the Himalayan scenes were filmed in Udaipur. India’s amazing, colorful landscapes are perfect for Anderson’s style, and the film garnered a lot of accolades and some minor awards.

8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

8 mitty

James Thurber’s 1939 short story of the same title was the inspiration for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, telling the story of a man – Walter Mitty – who manages the photo files of Life magazine. The magazine is about to cease publication and convert to only-online presence, and Mitty feels he has the perfect picture for the cover – only he cannot find the negative for it. His pursuits take him to Iceland and the Himalayas – these lush, stunning landscapes are really spectacular on the big screen, but your TV will just have to do! – and he has many adventures along the way.

Starring and directed by Ben Stiller, this is a bit of a departure from his usual manic-comedic roles, although this film can be classified as a comedic drama. The gorgeous scenery will have you eager to leap aboard a flight to Iceland.

7. A Good Year (2006)

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In A Good Year, Russell Crowe plays Max Skinner, a high-octane British investment banker who inherits his uncle’s chateau and vineyard in Provence, a place that he spent his childhood summers. The film is loosely based on Peter Mayle’s novel of the same name.

Skinner visits the property, expecting to ready to hastily sell it so he can get on with his very busy life, and finds it is poor repair. As he hurries around the property taking pictures, he falls into the empty swimming pool, and is stranded there until Fanny (played by Marion Cotillard) is able to back-handedly rescue him — but because of his mishap, he misses an important work conference call, which causes him to be suspended from work for a week. As he spends the week trying to defend his job while simultaneously trying to ready the estate from work, he comes to understand that he has missed the idyllic Provincale lifestyle, and wonders if the high-stress London workaholic career he’s had is still what he wants out of life. A lovely ballad to Provence!

6. The Bucket List (2007)

6 bucket list

In The Bucket List, billionaire health care magnate Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is infamous for his cost efficiency. “I run hospitals, not health spas. Two beds to a room, no exceptions!” His philosophy kicks himself in the butt when he becomes ill, and ends up in one of his own hospitals, finding himself roommates with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), a blue-collar mechanic. Both men have terminal lung cancer, and they eventually begin to find common ground together.

Carter has been writing a ‘bucket list’, but after discovering he has less than a year to live, he throws away the list. Edward finds the list, and unexpectedly proposes financing the bucket list for the both of them. The two men go on a series of adventures, facing the end of their lives with a joie de vivre, traveling around the globe. The film is a good reminder to not only appreciate every day as if it’s your last, but to also travel when you have the chance.

5. Roman Holiday (1953)

5 roman holiday

What do you do when you’re a princess (Ann, played by Audrey Hepburn) and you’re having a bit of a breakdown due to your overloaded schedule? Why, you run away and have marvelous adventures around Rome with a handsome reporter, Joe (Gregory Peck), of course, doing all the things she always wanted to do, but could never do as a proper princess.

Roman Holiday is a classic romantic film set against the beauty of 1950s Rome, shot at some of the most famous sites in the city, including the Mouth of Truth at Piazza Bocca della Verità – a scene often homaged in later films, like 1994’s charming romantic comedy Only You.

Hepburn won Best Actress for the film, and it was nominated for Best Picture. It continues to inspire travelers to Rome even now, painting an image of a lovely, joyous Italian city.

4. French Kiss (1995)

4 french kissFrench Kiss is a perfect romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Klein. Kate (Ryan) is an American who is in the process of completing her Canadian citizenship in order to marry her fiancee, Charlie (Timothy Hutton). Charlie has to go to Paris for work, and wants Kate to come with him – but she is terrified of flying – so he goes alone. A few days later, he drunkenly breaks up with her by phone call, saying he has found “the one” in Paris. Anguished, Kate manages to get on a plane in her determination to win Charlie back – and it is on that flight that she meets Luc (Klein), a small-time French crook who is on his way back from the States after a score. Luc uses her to smuggle his loot into France, but then struggles to keep up with her as she chases through France, trying to find Charlie.

This is one of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, and Ryan and Klein play off each other perfectly. Travel ranges from Paris to the Côte d’Azur. Pair it up with A Good Year, Bottle Shock, and your favorite French-inspired foods and wines for a great weekend of French travel inspiration.

3. Romancing the Stone (1984)

3 romancing

There’s a scene early in Romancing the Stone that will make all travelers laugh: Jack (Michael Douglas) and Joan (Kathleen Wilder) have been hiking through the Colombian jungles. Frustrated by their progress, Jack takes out his machete and whacks the high heels off Joan’s shoes.

“Those were Italian,” Joan bemoans, picking up her beloved shoes.

“Now they’re practical,” Jack glibly replies.

This mid-1980s comedy is a romance, sure, but it’s also a solid comedy that will give you plenty of laughs. Jack clearly takes influence from Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s Indiana Jones, wearing a similar outfit and having a skill with a machete, though he’s more of a freelance opportunist to Jones adventurous researcher.

2. Midnight in Paris (2011)

2 midnight

In Midnight in Paris, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood writer on vacation in Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her family in Paris. He is also struggling to write his first novel, and he is hoping that the city he once lived in will help give him the inspiration he needs to complete it.

The couple runs into friends in Paris, and Inez happily takes up going out and about the city with them. Gil – who is very nostalgic by nature – suddenly finds himself transported back to 1920s Paris, which he regards as the city’s golden age, where he meets Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, among others. He can’t believe this isn’t a dream at first, but soon he is seeking out the transformation every night, making friends with the literary and artistic elite of 1920s Paris.

He then meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard), girlfriend to Pablo Picasso, and finds himself falling in love with her – and doubting his relationship with Inez. Adriana, he finds out, has a nostalgia for what she thinks is Paris’s golden age – the Belle Époque, and Gil begins to wonder if any of us are ever truly satisfied with the age that we live in. A lovely tour of modern Paris and a salute to its history as a hotbed of art, music, literature, and politics.

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

10 raidersIn 1981, Steven Spielberg introduced us to one of the most beloved action figures of all time, Indiana Jones, in his film Raiders of the Lost Ark. From the jungles of South America to the frozen villages of Nepal to the deserts of Egypt, Raiders is the film that set the standard for action and comedic adventure in the forty years since, with a leading man who created the larger-than-life casting mold for leading men ever since – and probably inspired many people to have an interest in archeology.

Get your popcorn, put Raiders on, and this timeless film continues to entertain.

How to afford to travel? Start with changing your mindset.

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Several years ago, friends and co-workers used to ask me how I “always seemed to be traveling somewhere.”

Well, I don’t know so much about always – in fact, in my own mind, I felt like I wasn’t traveling anywhere near as much as I wish I did. But it drove home a point: everything is a matter of perception.

Back then, I had a job that afforded me the salary and the time (to the tune of four weeks’ PTO/year) that allowed me to travel much more frequently. I’d spend half my vacation time visiting my parents (blowing my largest chunk of it at the holidays), and the other half would be spread out mostly among long weekends of 3-4 days, versus longer vacations of 1-2 weeks like most people seemed to prefer. I had a high-demand job and it was important, from a mental health standpoint, to get away a little more frequently, even if it wasn’t for as long.

Lots of times, when I talk with friends about travel, they wax poetic about dream vacations in exotic locales, and often end by saying something like, “…someday, when I win the lottery, I’ll take that trip.”

Well, why wait?

I’m not suggesting blowing a hole in your bank account or credit cards, but with a little creativity and more importantly, budget planning, anyone can afford to go to those dream locations. Ask yourself: A) would I rather downscale my grand vacation ideal, and get to see __ location that I’ve always dreamed of, or B) do I want to wait until I’m retired or can otherwise afford this trip? After all, life is uncertain, and you never know what might happen – not just to yourself, but to your dream vacation spot.

Examine your dream vacation, and figure out what you can do less expensively.

Something that’s important to keep in mind when traveling: every place has a “high” season and a “low” or “off” season. Of course, that’s driven by weather – how many people are eager to fly someplace cold in the middle of winter, for example.  The important thing to know is just how different the low, off, or “shoulder” seasons may be from the high season – being willing to travel at other than the peak times can save you considerably in terms of flights and accommodations.

For example: in areas like the Caribbean and Florida, it is actually high season in the winter, when everybody escapes the cold weather elsewhere. While hurricane season technically stretches from June 1 through November 30th, it is at its “peak” from mid-August through October, when the waters are warmest. But this is also generally a great time to be in the islands – regular rain makes everything greener, the warmer waters are more pleasant to swim in, as well as attracting more fish to enjoy while snorkeling or SCUBA diving, and there are less tourists than the winter high season. Hotels may be half the cost that they are “in season” – and in more remote locations, you may have hotels practically to yourself. Flights to Florida in September and October tend to be downright cheap, since school is back in session and it’s still considered hurricane season.

Another example: Paris in August is the low season – the locals tend to leave town in droves. Hotel rooms are cheaper, and the streets are less crowded. The city doesn’t completely roll itself up in August, but you’ll find fewer boutiques open, the city markets aren’t as active, and the weather is hot and sticky. If you don’t mind all that, there is still plenty to do around the city, and you’ll do it for less money.

Is your dream to have a week or two of high luxury? Well, that may require some careful planning and budgeting, especially if you have a particular luxury hotel or experience in mind, but again – it’s a matter of where you feel you can cut some expense corners and still have the kind of experience you dream of.

A few ideas:

  • If your hotel doesn’t offer free breakfast, you can always go to the local market and pick up fresh fruit, snack bars, and pastries for less money than you’d spend on a sit-down breakfast/brunch.
  • Related to this, getting a hotel rate that “includes breakfast” isn’t worth it if the cost is more than $5-10/person over the room rate, especially if it just consists of cereals and fruit. You could go to to Starbucks or McDonald’s and get breakfast for less than $10! (The one obvious exception to this would be hotels that are so far from anywhere else as to be inconvenient or expensive to seek breakfast elsewhere.)
  • Restaurants often offer discounts or even two-for-ones between 3pm and 6pm (generally called some sort of “happy hour”), which tend to be their slowest times of the day; if you don’t mind eating then, it can help your budget. If you’re a late-night eater, some restaurants also offer price breaks after 9 PM.

A little flexibility can go a long way.

If you can travel midweek – Tuesday or Wednesday – that is when flights tend to be cheapest. Likewise, if you’re not traveling during prime hours of the day, you may find less expensive flights.

Do you have flexibility in your plans at either end? If the airline you’re traveling on requests travelers who might be willing to take a bump, you could find yourself in possession of free ticket(s) or airline funds; but the flip side of that is you will spend a little extra time traveling.

Depending on where you’re traveling to, and if you have the time to make up the difference, it may be less expensive to fly via an alternative airport.

For example, last fall, I wanted to visit Montreal for 4-5 days. Flying direct to Montreal – which would be an international flight – would have cost me over $450 round-trip. Instead, we got a round-trip flight via Albany, New York – at a cost of about $138 each – and a car rental for just $64. I ended up with free upgrade to a Prius. Even with the gas tank refill and the parking cost at our hotel, we still spent less for two of us to travel round-trip to Montreal than just one direct ticket there.

Yes, that meant a 3-1/2 hour drive each way, but had had enough time that it wasn’t important. I was able to fit in a side trip to Lake Placid, which I had always wanted to see, and on the way back, we stopped at the duty free shop on the Canada/U.S. border and picked up some incredible perfume bargains – so in the end, it was worth it.

Another example would be flying into an area like San Francisco or Los Angeles – cities served by multiple major airports due to the vast size of their city/region. Depending on flight and car rental costs, you may save yourself considerable costs by where you choose to fly in/out of. Alternatively, in some circumstances, should time be short and if you have a final destination somewhere outside of these very large cities, you may find the extra time gained by choosing an alternative airport worth the extra cost.

But if your time is limited, alternative airports are not always worth it. Do the math – both the financial and the clock – and decide what is worth it for you.

 

“The world’s a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way, everyone forgets it.” – Yes Man

Can another destination give you what you want for less?

There are some experiences that you just can’t substitute for other places: sailing in the Greek Islands; setting foot on Antarctica; hiking the Annapurna circuit; sunrise over the Hawaiian volcanoes; taking in the opening or closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

But there’s plenty of budget alternatives for things like experiencing wine country, surfing at a beautiful beach, hiking in the mountains, and even luxury experiences like spa visits. For example, Napa is lovely – but it has gotten incredibly expensive, and is crowded on the weekends.Did you know there are vineyards in every state? You could do a “weekend in wine country” in your own part of the country!

Being creative about your destination and experiences can be fun. If your goal is simply to get out of town for a few days, why not pull out a local map and blindly put your finger on it, then choose to visit whatever place your finger lands closest to?

In the 2008 movie Yes Man, the main character, Carl (played by Jim Carrey), changes his life by choosing to say “yes!” to all of life’s opportunities instead of constantly saying “no”. He meets free spirit Alison (played by Zooey Deschanel), who fits that kind of mental approach to life.

Early in their relationship, Alison observes, “The world’s a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way, everyone forgets it.” Once they have been going out for a while, they decide to go on a vacation together. As Carl is entering the airport, he runs into friends who he discovers are going to spend time at their father’s “little” place in Tahiti. You can tell that Carl at first is nervous in admitting he doesn’t have a destination; he’s too used to letting others judge him – and judging himself. But when Alison arrives, he happily picks her up and carries her to the nearest economy airline counter, where they ask for two tickets on the next flight out – which ends up sending them to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Not exactly a tourist mecca – and Carl and Alison have no idea what they’ll do once they get there. But they see a sign for a telephone museum in the airport, and they begin their adventures there, eventually visiting a meat processing plant, and taking in a University of Nebraska football game.

I’m not exactly suggesting you seek out meat processing experiences (I’ve had one – it’s pretty smelly), but I’ve tried to embrace that kind of traveling mindset ever since I saw the movie. Schedules can be well and good, but sometimes it’s great to simply explore places you would have never thought of visiting.

Think you can’t afford a vacation? Yes, you can – if you budget for it and stick to your savings plan.

You may need to track your expenses for a couple weeks to decide where you can prune corners from your day-to-day budget, but the easiest way to set aside money for vacation is as soon as you get your paycheck.

Do you have three specialty coffees per day? Do you go clothes shopping every week? It is “impossible” for you to resist a bag of your favorite snack every day at the supermarket? Decide what you feel you can live without, or at least live with less of, and put that money towards your vacation dreams.

If you don’t already have a savings account, open one up – then make sure a debit card is not attached to it, so there will not be a temptation to spend from it. (Out of sight, out of mind, so to speak.) If you have direct deposit, set it up so that an amount gets deposited from each paycheck – be it $10, $25, or more, based on your vacation target plans. You might be surprised at how quickly it can add up; and if your budget is often tight, your vacation fund can also do backup duty as an emergency fund.

Are frequent flyer mile charge cards for you?

Frequent flyer miles cards aren’t for everyone. Most of them come with a yearly fee from $69-$99, and most airlines require so many miles to get anywhere good that you might as well just pay for the tickets.

If I was going to recommend a frequent flyer credit card to anyone, it would have to be Southwest Airlines. Their flights are affordable in general, and you may be surprised at how few miles it can take to get free flights with them. (I’ve gotten flights on Southwest for as little as $59 one-way, and have redeemed miles for flights for as little as 4,000 points.) They also have far fewer restrictions on how miles are redeemed versus other airlines.

Trying to get creative with collecting frequent flyer miles can be challenging, and it can be time-consuming enough that it’s not for everyone. Do your research on them before deciding you want to pursue earning tickets for travel using credit cards.

* * * * *

In short, there are plenty of ways to get creative, have fun, and enjoy travel – and even make travel dreams come true – without breaking your bank. It will take a willingness to adjust your budget a little in order to save for your goals, but anybody can travel if they plan ahead for it.

 

30 great reads that will inspire you to travel!

books

This past month on my Twitter feed, I’ve been naming various travel books I have enjoyed reading. I’ve compiled them below, along with a few other titles I haven’t tweeted about.

ANTARCTICA

ASIA

  • William Dalrymple –In Xanadu – Dalrmyple and his travel companions trace Marco Polo’s route overland from Jerusalem to Xanadu
  • Pico Iyer – Video Night in Kathmandu – Examining American culture’s impact on mid-1980’s Asia – the book that put one the best modern travel writers on the map.
  • Matthew Polly – American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China – Young kung-fu obsessed American journeys to the legendary Shaolin Temple to study martial arts
  • Mark Salzman – Iron & Silk – Young American martial artist explores life as an English teacher in post-Cultural Revolution China, and is mentored by China’s foremost martial arts master.
  • Paul Theroux – Riding the Iron Rooster – Theroux, one of the greatest travel writers of our time, spends a year exploring China via its extensive train network in the 1980s.

AUSTRALIA

  • Bill Bryson – In a Sunburned Country – In his funniest book to date, Bill Bryson explores the extremes and the fun about living in Australia.

EUROPE

NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

WORLDWIDE / MULTIPLE REGIONS

FICTION

  • Sir Terry Pratchett – The Color of Money – The Discworld is about to discover its first tourist, Twoflower, who hires the inept wizard, Rincewind, to be his guide around the city of Anhk-Morpork. The first book in his iconic Discworld series.

Great travel quotes

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“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

“Let us step step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” – J.K. Rowling

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” -Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

“You know, sometimes food is like time travel. You inhale an aroma, take a bite of something and suddenly, bam! you’re back at the moment you first tasted it!” – Star Trek: Voyager

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

“Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there’s nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe.” – Owen Wilson in “Midnight in Paris”

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen

“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“A journey is best measured in friends, not miles.” – Tim Cahill

“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” – Amelia Earhart

“I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. You live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless, it goes on forever, inwardly. The fact that you’re alive is amazing. So you don’t get to be bored.” – Louis C.K.

“Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” – Moorish proverb

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

“When I was a little girl I had an imaginary friend and when I grew up he came back. He’s called The Doctor. He comes from somewhere else. He’s got a box called the TARDIS that’s bigger on the inside and can travel anywhere in time and space. I ran away with him and we’ve been running ever since.” – Doctor Who

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” – Steve McCurry

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Edward J. Stieglitz

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

“Wandering around our America has changed me more than I thought. I am not me any more. At least, I’m not the same me I was.” – Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in “Motorcycle Diaries”

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

“A tourist is someone who travels across the ocean only to be photographed sitting next to their boat. I have no intention of being a tourist.” – Predestination

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

“What would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What life boat would you grab on to? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfil? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write?” – from the movie “One Week”

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

“If you focus on what you left behind you will never see what lies ahead!” – Ratatouille

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes