- Photo by Minh Ha Nguyen
It was in one of my trips this year, precisely during take off, that I thought about many things I needed to confess. Traveling a lot does not mean you will always make/get things right, or that you are such a pro that you are brave about everything, or even that you will never miss a flight.
During that same take off, instead of letting my fear of flying – yeah, that’s right – take over my head, I started making a list in my mind of things I wanted to confess to you. So, here are my confessions of a travelholic:
I am afraid of flying
It wasn’t always like this; at first I was only afraid of turbulence. Now I am afraid of take off, turbulence, landing, and during the flight I imagine things, like that the wing of the plane will break and we will fall. Oh well, the good thing is that I know how to control the fear most of the time, somehow, sitting by window helps.
I am always thinking about the next trip
A travelholic is always thinking about the next trip. I do get anxious when I don’t know when is going to be the next one, or if my plans will work out. I love browsing through hotels, thinking of possible itineraries, and reorganizing my bucket list. It is an addiction.
I annoy travel companions
During my trips I annoy whoever is with me, most of the time W. I stop to take pictures all the time, a short walk might turn into a long one, and the food might get cold by the time I get the shot I want.
I stay in cheap/bad hotels several times
I have stayed in hotels just because of the price, with some of them I got really lucky that they were actually nice, but with others not so much. I don’t really mind staying in cheap hotels as long as I make the trip. There, I said it!
I don’t like museums
Don’t judge me for that. I have been to many interesting museums, like the Louvre. But honestly? I don’t enjoy all that slow walking and admiring the object for half an hour, or learning everything about how the painting was made. I pass by, if I like it I stop, take a fast look and move on. This all means that I normally don’t visit the cities’ museums, unless is a very famous one.
I’m afraid of heights but I’m always looking for a nice view from above!
Controversial I know, but true. I am very afraid of heights, though I love a nice view, so when traveling I am always looking for spots from where I can see the city from above. Sometimes I pay the price, but most of the time is worth it!
I hate public bathrooms
Who doesn’t?! Especially the ones you find on the roads or on the streets. The thing is that all travellers know that sooner or later they will need to use them.
Some places made me cry
There are many special places for me in this world, and some of them made me cry. Maybe because the time spent there was so amazing that I will miss it, or because I have no idea when I will be able to go back there, or because I simply would like to stay there forever. A nice example for the three of these cases: the Maldives.
Sometimes I do cliché things
When you travel to a place, you feel the urge to try the things everyone does, like riding a gondola in Venice, taking a picture of the leaning tower of Pisa to make fun about it, or with the pyramid of the Louvre or Egypt. I still do cliché things, because most of the time I need to show them here on the blog.
I don’t always like the local food
I am a foodie, and I love trying local dishes, but I got disappointed many times. It happens. Sometimes it’s just not the taste you expected, and you wonder why people talk so much about it!
I hate Ryanair
This is a major confession. I flew with Ryanair only once – well, two because I had return – but I will never do it again, even if Prince William is on board, or if it’s for free. I did not feel safe, and I hated the fact that they annoy you the entire flight to buy something. Not to mention that you almost need to pay to breath in the aircraft, because everything there has a cost.
I have missed a flight!
Speaking of flying, I did miss a flight, actually, more than one, two, and three. Only once was my fault, the others were missed connections because of flight delays, but once was enough to teach me a lesson!
I once passed through airport’s security with a fork
I didn’t know, I promise! I used the fork for my lunch at university, back when I lived in Geneva, and forgot to take it out of my purse. The result: I passed the security check at Geneva’s airport, and only hours after arriving in Munich I realized I brought a fork and no one noticed. Are we actually allowed to bring a fork on hand luggage or did the security people miss it?
I feel happy to be back at home
I love traveling, no question. But I also love arriving at home, sleeping on my bed, using my own bathroom and hugging my dog again. Then I start thinking about the next trip again.
