One of the highlights from last weekend on Champlain Abroad’s Western Ireland trip, was watching two of my friends, Hannah and Andy, playing the tune Wagon Wheel for a crowd of Irish and Champlain pub-goers on Friday night. The whole crowd launched in at the refrain, filling up the room with spontaneous performance. Singing in a Doolin pub certainly wasn’t part of our trip itinerary, but, then again, the unplanned bits are always the best parts of traveling.
Planning can help you give your travels some structure, and it’s important to have some idea of where you may head or what you might see, but this semester I’ve been able to figure out how to roll with the unexpected parts of traveling and have the time of my life while doing it. Like any part of travel, there’s no recipe to make it work out right, but you can take a few steps to get your spontaneous energy going.
1. A good starting place when planning a trip is to talk to someone who’s already been there. Stephen, Lilly, and Claire can usually offer some advice, or direct you towards a good place to find information. The biggest tourist traps can sometimes be fun, but just as often be overpriced and hokey. Asking around before you invest in expensive tickets is usually a smart idea. Also, people who have already visited or lived where you are traveling might already have insider information little-known sites.
Last weekend on the western Ireland trip, Stephen suggested that we rent bikes on the Aran Islands, and I was hesitant to at first, but I’m glad I did. After being confined to the sidewalks of Dublin for months, it was liberating to set out on the open dirt roads, only having to move aside for the occasional tractor.
2. The next thing to do is ignore what everyone tells you. I know, my second piece of advice is completely contradictory to my first, but just remember that if there’s something you really want to do (or don’t want to do), you might as well act on it, because other people’s advice can only tell you so much about a place.
When Sam, Darin, and I went to London two weeks ago, Sam had this vision for a photograph that she wanted to take on the London Bridge at night. It took some complicated maneuvers at the ticket station for the tube, a few death-defying minutes standing on a skinny traffic island in the middle of oncoming cars, and plenty of odd looks from passing cab drivers, but all-in-all we had a hilarious time and got a fantastic photo of ourselves.
3. My third tip is to pursue whatever “leads” you find during your travels. Whether it’s a colorful sidestreet that catches your eye or a delicious-looking scone in a bakery window, the whole point of traveling is to have the time to explore whereever your mood takes you, so you might as well live it up.
While visiting Barcelona, Darin and I ended up spending half a day in the Parc de Montjuic because we kept running into cool places we never expected to find. We went there for a castle, but stayed to check out the Olympic Stadium, the National Museum of Art, a gondalla ride, and these musical noise-making pillows in the garden (see video).
4. Set realistic goals for your trip. Traveling is exciting, but it can also drain your energy and your bank account. In order to truly be able to enjoy your time, try to vacation with a small group a friends that has similar travel interests as you. Also, plan to have 100 more Euro in your bank account than you think you’ll need (just in case). Finally think about how many days you’ll be able to walk, explore, and order food in a foreign language before you drop from exhaustion–sometimes a 5 day trip is better that a 7 day trip.
For those already studying abroad and those planning to go abroad in the upcoming semesters, best of luck with your travels, whether its sunny or raining, whether you’re plane arrives early or you just missed your bus, have the time of your life. The best thing you can do is to relax and have fun no matter how your planned and unplanned adventures go.
-Rachel