Hello, Reader!

We’re just back from our European adventure and have much more to share than will fit in one newsletter.

We learned how to navigate three different countries, where to eat for some of the freshest, most delicious foods in Crete and Ibiza (and where NOT to eat for the same in Venice), and how to truly immerse yourself in a destination that isn’t home.

But one of the things that struck a chord deep inside me was a hand-written quote on the wall of an Italian bistro in the heart of Ibiza Town:

“El viaje importa más que el destino.”

“The trip matters more than the destination.”

When we start dreaming about taking a vacation, it often revolves around a place we’re heard about or seen pictures of on social media. There’s a specific map dot or activity we feel drawn to.

So we start planning.

We book a hotel and flights, or map out a route for a road trip.

Maybe we research other things to do nearby or “don’t miss” destinations in the vicinity.

Maybe we start making a list of foods to try, “best restaurants,” and what to pack.

Of course, all that matters. Without a place to stay and a way to get there, there is no trip. And the enjoyment, or challenges, related to both of those critical elements definitely sets the tone.

But when it comes down to what you’ll remember years from now, it’s not that one specific destination, it’s all the little things that happen along the way.

For us on this trip, the destination was simple. We wanted to spend time in the Mediterranean.

Then we broke it down further to Crete, Venice and Ibiza based on where we booked places to stay.

The destinations were amazing and, if you’ve never been, I highly recommend adding all three to your bucket list. But the things that endeared each one to me were much more simple.

In Crete, it was the squid tentacles, hanging from a sign, that became our lunch after talking to the restaurant owner and learning how his family prepares this local favorite dish.

It was the friendly banter between our tour guide the day we visited the Palace of Knossos and the boat captain we sailed to Dia Island with two days later.

It was the shop owner of the corner store in Old Town Hersonissos who told us to “turn right for authentic Greek food” that led us to her sister and the cutest little taverna with amazing food lovingly prepared by her parents.

It was the three random doorways we walked through in Venice that led us to temporary art exhibits, each stirring up emotion and social awareness.

It was Willfred from France who we met in Ibiza Town. He was carefully cleaning menus in the café we stopped at for cappuccinos. After chatting for several minutes, he commented on how things had changed in the 35 years of his living on the island and how people don’t talk anymore, they just want to arrive, snap a photo for social media to prove they’d “been there,” then move on. Until two crazy Americans struck up a conversation. 😊

So the next time you start planning a trip, work out the necessary details, but leave room for the unexpected. Wander with your eyes and heart open to truly *experience” where you are.

We'll be sharing more of the places, people, and unexpected moments that made our European adventure special in the weeks ahead. Because the destinations were wonderful, but the stories along the way? Those are the ones we're still talking about.

In the meantime, here's a little challenge for you: leave one part of your next trip unplanned.

• Ask a local where they'd go for lunch, then go there yourself.
• Take a walk down a street that catches your eye and see what you find.
• Strike up a conversation while you're waiting for your coffee.

And if you don't have a trip coming up anytime soon, try these things around your own hometown. You never know what you might discover in a place you've passed a hundred times without really noticing.

Until next time,

With love,

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