by Jodi Beznoska 

Four years ago,  I, a single woman, was lamenting to a friend that I wanted to travel but couldn’t because I didn’t have a partner to travel with. My friend scoffed, looked at me like I was nuts, and said “what are you talking about?  Just go! Why do you have to have someone to go with?”

It was a good question, one that I hadn’t asked myself before.

It turns out that that little conversation opened up a whole new world for me.  I realized she was right, and planned my first “solo” trip, which was actually a combination of visiting my folks on the east coast, and some friends on west coast, with an experimental solo jaunt to San Diego for a day or two.   It was wonderful.

After that trip, on a whim, one day I posted on facebook that I was thinking of taking a late summer trip to the mountains, and I jokingly asked if anyone wanted to go with me.  Turns out, someone did.

This someone was Jenn, a stunningly smart and gorgeous woman a few years younger than me whom I admired tremendously.  She seemed so together, so polished, so confident.  We’d never traveled together before.  In truth, we’d only hung out at conferences and board meetings.  I was nervous about how we’d mesh together.  I needn’t have worried.

The trip was amazing. Four (4) days in the mountains of Colorado, full of adventures and conversation.  I discovered that this incredibly put-together woman was like me; seeking, trying to figure out where she fit, a combination of confidence and fragility that I instantly recognized.

When the trip was over, we hugged slightly awkwardly at the airport, and agreed we needed to do this again.   The following summer, we enjoyed the Grand Pacific Northwest adventure, where my brother and I met up in Seattle before I traveled to Portland and Vancouver with Jenn, who was about to move to Paris.

Yes, Paris.

I’m sure you know where this is going.  Why have a travel buddy in one of the coolest cities in the world if you’re not going to visit?

That fall, another friend, Sarah, suggested that we go to Paris to visit Jenn over Christmas.  So we did.  For two weeks.  Let me say that again.  We were in France for two whole weeks.

You can read all about the trip from the list of blog posts below; I was pretty prolific with my blogging while I was there.   It was an incredible experience, made more so by the company I was keeping: 3 smart, tough and searching women, unafraid to travel without a spouse/partner.  Jenn spoke great French, I could order food, Sarah kept trying to speak in Spanish.  Sarah and her gluten allergies suffered mightily as Jenn and I devoured crepes and baguettes.  There was wine, so much wine, and art, what felt like dozens of museums.  Sleeping in different hostels every night, driving too fast through the French countryside, fearing for our lives at the New Year’s Eve fireworks free-for-all in Strasbourg; it was such, such fun.

 

 

I’d originally planned to write this post all about my France trip, but this is Arkansas Women Bloggers, after all.  It seems better to write about how, as a single woman, I was able to break out of my self-imposed funk and find a way to see the world.  And here’s the magical part of all of this.

I was fully prepared to take on my newly acquired travel bug by myself.  Sure, it would be intimidating and probably a little scary at times, but gosh-darn it, I was gonna do it.  And then, because I opened myself up to the universe, it turns out I didn’t have to.  There were people who wanted to adventure with me.   I have had so many inspiring and amazing experiences over the last 3 years, and I owe it all to that smart gal who asked me a really obvious question.

So, if you want to travel, get out and do it!  Here are just a few practical tips that helped me:

1. Save up so you don’t have to be totally freaked about money – do you really need that latte?
2. Go where you know people – if you’re traveling alone, at least you can get a meal and some conversation, even if you don’t travel with them
3. Sometimes, ignore #2.
4. If you’re going to a foreign country: make lots of copies of your passport and leave them with friends, tell your bank you are traveling and use ATMs to get cash and above all learn to say hello and a few phrases in the native language.  It will go a long way if you smile and try.
5. Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/) is awesome and very helpful; there is safety in going where lots of folks have gone before.
6. Consider off times to travel – France in the winter isn’t exactly tourist nirvana so I’m sure we got better hostel rates
7. Plan – my friends and I used Google Docs to share ideas and coordinate schedules.
8. Have a blast!

 

Links:

The Grand Colorado Adventure: Part 1

The Grand Colorado Adventure: Parts II and III

Heading west….

The Grand Pacific Northwest Adventure: Part 1 of 3 – Seattle

The Grand Pacific Northwest Adventure: Part 2 of 3: Portland

The Grand Pacific Northwest Adventure: Part 3 – Vancouver doesn’t exist apparently.  I guess I got busy.

Day One in Paris

Paris – day deux

Day 3 in Paris

Day 4 in Paris

Day 5 in Paris

Day 6 in Paris…and Beaune…and Alsace…

Day 7: Colmar-strasbourg and NYE

Day 8: you should really check out days 1-7

Day 9 in France: Castles, castles everywhere

Day 10: Mont St. Michel and more

Day 11 and 12 in France: Bayeux and Normandie

Day 12 & 13: Montmartre, Sacre Coeur and heading home

 

Jodi Beznoska blogs at Everything and a Racehorse about travel, art and whatever else she can think of.  She hails from New England and served as the Vice President of Communications at Walton Arts Center for the last 8 years.  She lives in Fayetteville with her adopted therapy dog, Sadie.