I see London, onto France.

I don’t know much, but I’m learning more as I go. The farther I go, the more I learn about myself. What I know is that I like to write and that I love to travel. And I’ve been told it’s best to spend your life doing what you love, which can be rather intimidating. I’m writing this on a train to Paris, which I nearly missed. I’m traveling and I’m writing, but no one is paying me for it. And why would they? I don’t know any more about any where that someone can’t google from their couch.
I didn’t start a blog thinking the dollars would come pouring in. I started writing for all of those moments I’ve thought, “I wish so & so could be here.” I started writing after watching people on the subway and realizing we aren’t all that different. I keep writing because it is the easiest way for me to express myself.

I don’t like…

bullets and
how-to’s or
must see’s

Yet I thought that if I want to be paid to travel… I’ve got to monetize my blog, I’ve got to sell my skills. There is a formula, that many bloggers/internet gurus profit from. Package your knowledge in a neat little e-book, test services, promote products. It’s all fine and good until you’re more wrapped up in the how than the why.

I grew up traveling. I was a follower for the majority of my experiences. I didn’t worry about plane flights or accommodations or money. I came, I saw, I soaked it all up. As I race away from my parents, who will go their own way from London, I realize how much I have to thank them for.

Too many people don’t travel because of…

money
time
responsibilities
priorities
fear

And plenty other bullet points that I had no concern about as a child. What I do remember can’t be summed up into one word lists. I remember chasing tiny crabs into never-ending holes in the sand in Bali. I remember being voluntarily covered head to to in pigeons in Argentina. I remember dressing in a silver velvet skirt for a castle dinner in Wales. I remember falling asleep to jazz music at Ronnie Scott’s.

For our last night in London we went to a show at Ronnie Scott’s – seventeen years later. Nothing looked the same, but I was overcome with nostalgia nonetheless. I just thought, how freaking cool is this?

If I followed other blogs on what to do in London on a Saturday night, it probably wouldn’t have suggested Ronnie Scott’s, a music venue offering the best jazz since 1959. If I turned my blog into a how-to guide for seeing the world and directed you to Ronnie Scott’s, you probably wouldn’t have the same experience I did.

I have my dad to thank for my early exposure to live music. It’s his thing. I love learning more about a culture through their food. My mom loves art museums and shopping. Point is – everyone experiences culture in their own way. My blog is & will be filled with restaurant recommendations and where the best parks/architecture can be seen. I couldn’t possibly offer a complete city guide for everywhere I go. I can only offer what I personally consider ‘not to be missed’.

I don’t want to build a one stop site. I’d rather do what I love, which I hope inspires you to pick up and go. To show up and reach for a pamphlet that catches your eye. To research and make the trip your own. With so many resources for how to do one thing or another the most efficient way, I want to remind people why they do it in the first place.

Don’t let the bullet points stand in your way.

This view of the Paris countryside is money well spent.

Now here are #foodporn pictures from our four days in London, a city with the biggest variety of ethnic food I’ve ever had to choose from.