Last month took me to Portugal for the first time. I can't remember the last time I had the joy of experiencing a new country. There is something about being displaced in a new culture. Your senses are stimulated and you feel everything more deeply. You're open to the world around you. Of all the moments I recall, my favorite were the aimless wanderings, discovering the Porto and Lisbon by foot with no plan. I felt myself come alive, and my spirit revived.

 

When I first moved to Italy, I was entranced by a peculiarly Italian phenomenon, la passeggiata. The word derives from the Italian verb passeggiare, which means to walk. A stroll with no purpose (first rule of the passeggiata – you promenade slowly). Almost always these strolls would inevitably lead to gelato. 

 

What fascinated me about this experience, come dusk half the city is out on the street, not really doing anything, greeting one another, and enjoying the view from the grand piazzale over the sparkling lights of Florence. 

 

One of the benefits of this evening stroll aside from getting out of the house, this time reinforced a sense of belonging. Like a daily party everyone is invited to, all you have to do is show up. Soon it became a way of life.

 

The Wall Street Journal published an article about the emotional benefits of wandering. The article starts off stating one of greatest pleasures is to be what the French call a "flâneur" — someone who wanders randomly through a big city, stumbling on new scenes. 

 

Two new studies led by Catherine Hartley of New York University and colleagues suggest that being a flâneur is good for you. But is there any scientific evidence for the benefit of "street-haunting," as Virginia Woolf called it? 

 

In the studies, they cleverly combined GPS data with happiness ratings. The researchers analyzed the GPS data with a measure called "roaming entropy," which captures how new, varied and unexpected your locations are, and compared it with the mood ratings. More roaming entropy predicted more well-being. What's more, how much you wandered on a given day predicted how happy you were later on, but not vice versa. So it looks as if wandering makes you happy, not just that when you're happy you wander more. 

 

Here's to making space for aimless wandering, street haunting and lingering strolls with no destination. And to increased joy and a sense of belonging.

 

If it end with ice cream, even better.

 

 

Here you'll find my round-up of recent European travel-related news, tips, and resources so you can be in the know:

 

 

“I've never ridden a train before!" Exclaimed a recent guest as I explained arrival day instructions prior to our meeting next month. If you've traveled or plan to travel with me on tour, your journey begins with a train ride. 

 

For most, train travel is an exhilarating first time experience.  

 

After decades of riding the rails throughout Europe, I continue to feel a heightened anticipation each time I stand on the station platform awaiting the arrival of my train to whisk me away.

 

In America, the idea of traveling by train is something of a touchstone. Mention it to some people and their eyes light up; an instant bond is formed and stories of memorable journeys tumble out. For others, the idea of train travel conjures romantic notions and visions of faraway places.

 

The prevalence, ease, and efficiency of train travel in Europe, matched with the continent’s size relative to our own, has a profound effect on culture. When distances are shorter and no real for advance booking is required, one can wake up feeling restless in Berlin and arrive in Paris or Copenhagen in time for dinner—having read an entire novel, gazed at some scenery, and snacked on tea and cake along the way. The spontaneity and comfort is thrilling, why fly to another continent when a train will carry you to the Mediterranean Sea or Paris or even Rome in less than a day?

 

Trains are, by definition, liminal. Literally, of course, they facilitate transition from one locality to another. They also, however, unite many dichotomies: the exotic and the banal, freedom and luxury, nostalgia and modernity, the possible and the real. To travel by train isn't simply a mode of transportation, it's an entire experience. 

 

 

My encouragement to you: next time you consider your travel plans throughout Europe, include at least one train journey in your itinerary. 

 

You can easily enjoy a day trip from any city or town to a smaller town, a village or the coast. Maybe the mountains. Or another country! 

 

 

 

For long-distance journeys, it’s not obligatory but always advisable. The further in advance you book, the more likely you are to find cheaper fares. This can get slightly complicated, as different routes and rail operators have different booking windows. Eurostar tickets, for example, can usually be booked 330 days before your return rail journey, whereas SNCF (France’s national rail operator) usually allows bookings only up to four months ahead. In the UK, 12 weeks is as far out as you can book. For multistage journeys, it’s generally best to wait until you can book all journeys at the same time. I must note that in the recent years, rail strikes have unfortunately become a way of life. By law, rail strikes must be announced in advance. It is wise to keep up to date in the event a strike impacts your ability to travel.

 

The most useful booking tools for independent travelers are the websites Rail Europe and Trainline. Omni is a fantastic app for booking rail journeys but it isn't always reliable. Alternatively, head to The Man in Seat 61 for up-to-date advice on virtually any European rail route imaginable; it’s particularly strong on travel from the UK. Interrail passes are well worth investigating, as they can often save you a considerable sum.There’s no upper age limit on who can buy them. Rail discounts are available to those under 25 and over 65.

  

 

This month's photography challenge: Capture street scenes.

 

Street photographers are observers, flâneurs by nature. It is a way of connecting with the world and bringing back the moments that stand out. It can be likened to a visual form of poetry – while beauty and form are important aspects of street photography, great street photographs often have something going on beneath the surface. 

 

There are hints, feelings, ideas, stories, or questions to be explored with your camera. These photos are meant to prompt the viewer. Whether street photography depicts reality or not can be disputed, but I would argue that it depicts the reality of the photographer.

 

A few ideas to shoot:

If you take an image you're proud of, let me know. Tag @suddenjourneys when you share your images.

 

 

 

This story-focused tour is for those who feel untethered to their heritage, are seeking healing, hope to fill in mysterious gaps in family history, or to reconnect/better understand their personal background. It's an opportunity for rich engagement around your personal story and heritage with a curated itinerary located on the edge of Cornwall.
 

Each day is carefully curated to invite you into a beautiful story. 

The experience is personal and authentic, with time to immerse yourself in local culture, discover gorgeous scenery, meet lovely people and time set aside for your own exploration.

 

 

Family of Origin Stories - Epigenetics -  Bioarcheology - English Ancestry

and History - Immigration Studies - Candlelit Dinners - Evocative Landscapes - Seaside Villages - Wild Moorlands - Group Discussions - Rest and Retreat in Quiet Spaces  - Countryside Walks

When in York, this is my go-to hotel. Located just outside the city walls and the Bootham Bar gate, this hotel is a smart choice if you want somewhere close to York's attractions but without the tourist masses. The Minster is 10 minutes away, the walls are even closer.

 

The handsome grey-brick Georgian townhouse, with its stone-pillared portico and tall sash windows, is a bit of a show-stopper. With gorgeous interiors, a mix of old-school cool, bold colors, a lounge-like vibe and a dash of whimsy. A model train runs around the walls of the fire-warmed bar where a turntable plays classic vinyls; the Marmalade Lounge is sunny in shades of gold and orange; the dining room breezy in eau-de-nil with striking displays of white porcelain; a black-walled staircase, hung with black violins, sweeps up to a glass canopy. 

Spread over three floors, the 39 bedrooms share the same light and pared-back style but differ widely in shape and layout. Milky-white panelled walls and sheer curtains framing windows and four-poster beds create an illusion of airiness in often smallish spaces (Large rooms and suites, aside) while sleek, minimalist furniture and bare floorboards, both painted rust-red, lend warmth. I especially love the portable turntable with a selection of vinyls. 

 

Double rooms from $180, year-round. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi. 

 

This summer, my reading list focused on tales of immigration, cross-cultural insights and research on family heritage. Here are a few of those reads:

 

Gripping from the first sentence, this captivating novel opens with an unforgettable scene (of which I won't give away). Set in 1850 Håkan, a young Swedish boy, penniless and without a word of English, embarks on a journey across America in search of his brother. So begins an adventure story that is also a profound meditation on solitude and companionship, foreignness and home. On more than one occasion, Håkan’s lonely odyssey and his acute sense of his own apartness, and his search for a place in the world moved me to tears. Some of the most poignant passages deal with his tentative intimacy with others. When he does experience a physical awakening, he is slow to understand what’s happening, even while he discovers the pleasure of being cared for, and what it means “to be seen by someone, to be in someone’s brain”.  A deeply affecting portrait, we are given the opportunity to see humanity through one man's life of immense tenderness, strength and conscience, and experience the wonder of Diaz's writing. This book will stay with you long after the last page is read.

 

A leading world authority on DNA, Professor Bryan Sykes, gives us a firsthand account of his research into a remarkable gene, which passes undiluted from generation to generation through the maternal line. After plotting thousands of DNA sequences from all over the world, Sykes found that they clustered around a handful of distinct groups. Among Europeans and North American Caucasians, there are, in fact, only seven. This conclusion was staggering: almost everyone of native European descent, wherever they may live throughout the world, can trace their ancestry back to one of seven women, the Seven Daughters of Eve. A fascinating read!

 

From shepherd's bread in Jordan, to paan in Sri Lanka, there are few travel experiences as intimate as sharing bread with others. But bread is about more than the pleasures of eating; it also carries the stories of cultures past and present. Like many foods, its very existence is rooted in migration, assimilation, and evolution. Those roots are often complex, and sometimes messy, but the very act of breaking bread with another is an open invitation to commune. Perhaps that is where, for us as travelers, the food performs its greatest role.