A GUIDE TO TRAVELING WELL

Ever since I burst forth into this world, I’ve been traveling overseas.

Seriously.

Now, I’m not special in this regard. There are a lot of military kids born around the summer of 1991 who are in the same boat (battleship? helicopter? tank?) as me. We all just happen to be born in Germany around the time of the Gulf War. I wrote a whole paragraph about military bases in Europe and their uses after the end of the Cold War, but it wasn’t giving off the sheen of le glamour that this blog attempts to radiate. Long story short, military kids move a lot, and the one benefit of that is that–if you’re lucky to be posted overseas–you can travel to cool new places.

Anyway.

I moved eleven times between birth and eighteen, and I only stayed in one place every one to two years until college. I’ve lived on three continents and I’ve visited twenty-five countries. Merely because it’s what I grew up doing, every couple of months, I start to get the itch to go somewhere new. It’s my dream to travel to all seven continents, but we’ll see if God, my savings account, and my cholesterol have that same goal in mind.

So, here are the basic axioms that I have picked up in my three decades of travel:

1. Eat local and be adventurous.

Food is culture. When traveling somewhere new, the best way to engage with the culture is by sampling as many regional specialties as you can. Are you in New York City? Great! Find yourself the widest, floppiest, greasiest pizza slice in Brooklyn and dig in. Are you in Seoul and you don’t know what half the street food is, except for something that smells horrible and resembles fried squid? EAT IT. 

I’m serious! Getting adventurous with food can lead to some of your best memories while traveling. For instance, I have eaten fried squirrel, bird’s nest soup, calf cheek, braised tongue, face meat tacos with cow’s eyeballs, and spicy crickets… most of the time alongside a stiff drink. And you know what? I loved all of it. The only exotic food I’ve ever tried that I found to be absolutely disgusting is sea cucumber, which looks like a turd and tastes like unseasoned gristle. And the weird thing is that I don’t regret eating it because, like… now I know that’s the most disgusting food in the world so far?? Which has its own value??

But chances are, you’re not going to be eating disgusting food. You’re going to be tasting the freshest, most flavorful, most authentic version of that food that you just can’t get in your backyard. Do your research ahead of time and find the regional specialty of that area, and then search for the oldest and best (they’re not always the same, but I go for oldest over most popular every time) restaurants offering that particular dish. You won’t be sorry, and if you’re real sweet and precious to the owner and staff, maybe you’ll walk away with a recipe.

2. Ball out on food, save on stays.

If you’re really sucking the marrow out of your vacation, a hotel room is really just a place to crash, right? I’m not suggesting staying in a roach motel, and I love a luxury suite more than anyone, but at the end of the day… it’s just a bed and a bathroom. Find a cost-effective hotel (or Air B&B, but with hidden fees, it’s really the same cost, so just go with a hotel) that is close-ish to the historic part of town or close to public transportation. The less you spend on amenities, the more you can spend on croissants.

3. You are a tourist. Be touristy.

You know those people who are like “when I travel, I never like to go anywhere touristy, I just want to talk to the people and live as the locals do”? Pfft. So you didn’t go see the the Empire State Building when you went to NYC; what do you want, a prize? You are a tourist. You spent good money to go to this new place that has a famous thing there. Go see the famous thing!! It’s famous for a reason! You will have plenty of time to talk to the people and live as the locals do, but don’t forget that they have their whole lives to see their landmarks. You have, like, three to seven days, and then you have the rest of your life to kick yourself because you missed out. That being said…

4. Avoid tourist traps.

Again, do some research here. There’s a difference between seeing that particular country or city’s claim to fame and being caught in a tourist trap and getting ripped off. For example: you should absolutely see the Eiffel Tower when you go to Paris. (In fact, it’s pretty impossible not to see it, because of the whole tall thing.) That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go up the Eiffel Tower in order to feel like you conquered Paris. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower can take up a whole day, it’s crowded, the restaurant at the top is bad, and when you get to the top it’s like… okay we’re really high up yay. In fact, subrule:

 4a. Avoid climbing towers. Why do we do this? Why do we look at an old, tall tower and think “dang, I’d like to spend a majority of day schlepping up to the top of this thing to see a view?” And you go all the way up, and what do you see? The tops of buildings. Meanwhile, you could have spent your valuable vacation day seeing other historic landmarks or doing fun excursions, or more importantly, eating and drinking very yummy things.

5. Plan, plan, plan. 

Plan your own trip! Don’t be intimidated! There have only been two times where someone did my travel planning for me: when I went on a cruise and when I went to Egypt. In both cases, I was really grateful that someone was thoughtful enough to plan out my daily excursions because it would have been too overwhelming to do on my own, but for the most part, traveling in an unfamiliar country is easier than you think. Do a lot of research on what that country or city has to offer, think about excursions that appeal to you and your interests (I love history, so anything super old is always going to be the most appealing thing for me to see), and make a plan of how to make the most of your time.

    5a. When traveling internationally, get to know the public transportation, and if all else fails, Uber. Especially if you’re traveling in Europe. We’re so  s p r e a d  o u t  in America, so we all have our own cars, and we distrust a lot of public transportation because it’s more convenient to drive and park. That’s not really how it is in other countries. Read up on the public transportation and don’t be afraid to ask for directions. You’ll save yourself some money and some anxiety because you won’t be worrying about crazy driving rules or finding parking.

6. When traveling internationally, remember that most people speak a little English. 

The only place where someone outright refused to help me because they said they didn’t speak English was, ironically, Canada. But it was Quebec City, and some Canadian friends we made later assured me that guy probably did speak English, he was just being a pretentious jerk. Most people who work in retail, restaurants, or the hospitality industry know enough English to help you out. 

That being said, download the Google Translate app and learn how to use it in case the person you’re talking to doesn’t speak English. The internet is your friend. Definitely get an International Roaming plan (you can pay like $10 a day during the time you’re traveling) for the internet usage alone. Don’t depend on being connected to Wi-Fi as your sole means of communication/maps/knowledge because there will be so many times when you won’t be able to connect. It’s better to just use International Roaming.

But don’t be that guy. You know, that American tourist that’s like real loud and gets upset at language barriers. “DOES ANYONE SPEAK ENGLISH IN THIS DANG COUNTRY” “EVERYBODY MOVE” “GREG TELL HIM WE DON’T HAVE OUR PASSPORTS”. You’re a guest in that person’s country. Mind your manners and use your polite voice.

7. Your memory sucks. Take lots of pictures! 

Not like in a vain way, like those tourists that take too many selfies. But the more pictures you take, the more you’ll remember it later. Take pictures of all the little things, and make sure to get a lot of pictures of YOU, even if you don’t like getting pictures of yourself, even if you don’t vaingloriously post to social media the first chance you get (like moi). I feel like this is a really obvious rule, but what I mean is the memory sticks in your brain better if you have a picture to go with it. So even if you don’t like taking pictures, trust me, you won’t regret it in three years when your memory starts to fade. Hiring a professional photographer to get some really beautiful shots of you is becoming popular, but I personally wouldn’t go that far to get pictures unless maybe you’re traveling solo.

In this blog, I will tell you where I went, what I saw, how I packed, and most importantly: what I ate. Everything else you’ll discover for yourself. Because that’s the joy of travel, right? The discovery!

For more pictures of the French Riviera and travel inspo, follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/rebeccamcqueenwrites!