Monthly Archives: November 2023

Solo Skills: Learning On The Road

In everyday life, I rarely have sense of pure learning – using all my wits to learn with intention, speed, in real-time. Negotiating, assessing, aligning. We do that everyday but not pure survival learning. Maybe a new device or a new tool but it’s rarely pure or primary.

When you travel, particularly when you travel alone, you are called on to learn new skills in order to go forward. When you’re traveling, whether it’s how to use an electric shower (first, really, and, second, who knew you had to turn on the outlet) or driving in a new way, it’s full body and fast track.

Keep Left: Survival Learning. Imagine you arrive in Edinburgh with jet lag using your last spark of energy to argue with the arrogant rental car clerk who thinks you can be swayed by an upgrade to a monster truck with backup screens and refuses to address the incremental cost on your prepaid car. At last, spent, you find yourself sitting in the driver’s seat, on the unfamiliar side of the car, in a cramped lot, pointed toward EXIT with twelve roundabouts between you and your destination.

Here is what I discovered on that first day. There isn’t anyone but you. This creates clarity. No help but also no distraction. Finally I was safely parked in Stirling and there were three rules that helped get me there.

  • First observe deeply, taking time to watch everything around you. Then watch again.
  • Accept that following is acceptable for a beginner. The guy driving the plumbing van – it isn’t his first day. Follow until you figure it out.
  • Last, go slow, go with flow.

Beware Right Turns: The Discipline of Attention
Since I did survive, the next step is attentiveness. Every time I got in the car, I repeated the mantra. Every time. Pay attention. Keep left. Beware right turns. Driving well is more important than the GPS lady’s instructions or her begrudging approval. You can always turn around. Eventually.

The first time I thought I had it down and relaxed, I turned right with great confidence into the proper left lane, but had the left-over and inappropriate relaxed approach to the right turn.  I was lucky that the truck coming my way was still far away. It helped me maintain a keenness of focus for the rest of week.

The Good Stuff: Getting Creative
It was time to go to the Isle of Mull.  I had my driving mojo and was ready. Then I landed on a single track road, going up a mountain full of hairpin turns, and, should you begin to relax, recalcitrant sheep.  It seemed there was no way to know as you went around a blind curve if you’d meet a truck or van or worse, another tourist. After thinking it through, I realized that while I couldn’t see the next 300 yards, with the switchbacks, I could see the road farther along. If I waited a bit on the shoulder, I could know the hidden road was clear. I started keeping my eye on the mid distance…and the sheep.

So What?  Why Solo Travel Keeps You Sharp
When you meet an new, out-of-your-zone challenge on your own, you use your whole intellect, your ability to observe, and your experience. It’s a souvenir that you bring home.

I thought about John Wesley’s teaching and the quadrilateral of seeing life and faith through scripture, tradition, experience and reason. It’s not a great fit since both my travel scripture and the traditional writings of the Church fathers would both be Rick Steves and Karen Brown, but you may find that you depend a lot on reading and research, experience and observation, and daily honed reason.

In the end, is it heightened awareness or high-speed learning? Is it just truly paying attention?  Whatever you call it, I want to take this into my everyday life – upping the percentage of wit and wisdom I bring to the opportunity at hand.

What I Learned about Travel

Travelling on your own, even for part of a trip, heightens your senses.
Never go on auto pilot. Ever.
It is worth it – get the car!

Solo Travel: Estimated Time of Arrival

 

In the weeks before, you lean forward into that moment when the trip begins. The moment when you will put one new shoe over the border and step into the adventure, when everything goes Technicolor around you, and you become The Traveler.

When is the exact moment when you cut the invisible cord and truly, irrevocably depart?

My dear friend drops me at the airport door as he has done many times. He dispenses blessings like a priest giving last rites and sends me on my way. Once through security, the detector arch like a door, I’m on the other side, in this new space. There is nothing but Me and a very compact roll-on bag that contains only what this anonymous “Me” will need to trek through the world without footprints.

One thing I like about travelling on my own is that I own my time. I know I will land at my connecting airport earlier than is really necessary. With airline club day pass in hand, I savor the hours with my maps and iPad.  I buy the last glass of wine on this shore…with bubbles. The journey has begun.

Air France knows what they are doing. There is something wonderful about the line to board the plane. How is it so civilized? I chat with a spare and chic older couple as we wait. We are blank slates to each other. We share stories and they ask who am I. (I’m not sure yet.) As we file in, we realize we are seat mates. We settle in and the flight attendant brings us an aperitif. (yes, an aperitif. In coach. Merci.) The entertainment system on the seat back has not just movies and TV but audio presentations of entire operas. I pick La Boheme just because. Oh, Air France. I’m happy for this cozy respite.

A weak sun greets us as we land in the early morning. We fly through customs. There is no waiting for luggage with my wheeled closet. I sail into… a mass of unhappy people trying to understand how to take the train into the center of Paris. North American credit cards don’t read in the ticket kiosks and the change machine is not working. And the ticket kiosks take cash but only exact change. One pauvre l’homme mans a solitary window for two hundred people.

Is this like child birth, the sweaty, grubby, peevish part of a trip that you always forget upon arriving home? Finally I’m on the RER train, surrounded not by urbane French citoyens but equally sweaty Canadian and British tourists who look too large and open-faced for their surroundings.

I did not give up on this RER train. One of its major stops is beside my hotel. The idea was genius two months ago in a world where my credit card and currency were at home. I prevail.  Once a ticket was in hand, it could not be more convenient. And cheap.

I roll my not-now-so-compact seeming bag out of the train.  My bag, my maps, my crumpled jacket and I ascend the mossy steps out of the station.

I am now The Traveller.  The mid-morning sun has burned off uncertainty as I rise out of the depths into the very heart of Paris.  Notre Dame is over my shoulder. Around me the British and Canadian counterparts have scattered through our previous stops and it’s…just…French… in my ears.

What I Learned

  • It’s great to get your local currency from the ATM at the airport, particularly if you have checked on the international fees.
  • With credit and debit cards at simple machines like train and metro ticket dispensers, however, unless you have a chip or in some cases a chip and pin credit card, you can be in trouble . (Stores, restaurants, or a staffed window at the train station, no problem.)
  • Safety flash – if you travel down the escalator into a sea of frustrated tourists, turn around.  Once I realized that we all needed cash AND the correct change, it was over.  No store or coffee shop facing this mob was going to pony up.  Backtracking, I bought coffee back near the customs area. Twice.  Change in hand, I dove back in and pretended to be from Barcelona.
  • Be nice, be helpful or be quiet as you stand in the boarding line. While solo travel brings anonymity, the plan is different. You may be spending eight hours in the company of the person next to you. They may have good chocolate or at least give you shared time on the armrest.

 

Going Solo Behind the Wheel: Your First Driving Adventure

I imagined winding through Tuscany in a convertible with the top down, a scarf around windblown hair, past hill towns, vineyards, and down lanes lined by tall cypress trees.  Reality was that my first driving abroad did wind through the Tuscan hills but in a Ford Escort wearing a hoodie with my nervous and reluctant parents in the back seat.

It was still great!  Having a car let our family explore the countryside with freedom and see places on country roads that a train could never reach. And we felt more a part of the life of the community and countryside.

When I began to take trips on my own, driving alone seemed out of reach. It took a while to build my confidence to set out in my own wheels – but when I did it was spectacular.  This isn’t about the technical how-to of driving but about how you can feel confident and enjoy a solo driving trip if you like the idea.

I started in Iceland which was surprisingly ideal. For one, it seemed to be a necessity.  There isn’t a train system and many of the sites are not within towns or cities. It’s an easy start to driving on your own – the traffic is light and for my itinerary, it was mainly rural driving and…all on the right side of the road.   

My plane landed in the early morning at Keflavik. I rented my car and loaded my bag…and realized it was incredibly windy and dark. It’s ok to take a minute so I decided going right back inside for a bit of breakfast was a good plan. As the sun rose, I took off for my hotel at the Blue Lagoon, near the airport.

The highlight of the Icelandic driving trip for me was waking before dawn (which wasn’t challenging in November) and driving through the starlit morning to see the sun rise over the glacial lagoon, Jökulsárlón.

What about that confidence? Before I set off, I considered those worries and faced them head on. I knew that here the actual driving was much like home. The car and the roads were familiar but what was the concern?  The evening before, I had a long talk with the hotel staff. Was it safe to be on the road before dawn (well, yes, most working people are in winter), what should I do if I had a breakdown? Were the gas stations manned? I got good and reassuring information, an offer of breakfast box, and set my alarm.

At Jökulsárlón, I pulled into the small lot just before the sun broke the horizon at about 10 a.m.  I was there with a hearty group of fellow travelers and watched the light hit the blue ice for the first time that day and walked along the volcanic black sand in the morning mist.  Many of us decamped to a travel center/gas station and had the best waffles in the world.

Driving back to the hotel, I had a surge of joy in being on the road in such a beautiful landscape and feeling that I was a confident citizen of the world.  And glad I was at ease with a stick shift.

Since then, I’ve built my confidence to drive in Scotland, Ireland, Mallorca, and again in Italy. There are great car rental places abroad, some with names you know. Do read up on how the insurance works. Your credit card may provide insurance if you follow their guidelines. Know that the same rental chain or credit card may have different rules depending on the country you visit.  It just takes a little online reading and research.  Here are a few tips that work for me.

What I Learned

Where to start is important. If your trip begins in a major city, enjoy the public transportation then take a train or subway to a rental office outside the urban area to rent your car and start your drive.  For example, leave Dublin on the DART train and rent in Dun Laoghaire.  It’s a calmer start and easier return.

Rent the smallest car you can. You may be graciously offered an “upgrade” to a larger car.  Insist if you can on the car you chose – easier to park, navigate narrow country lanes, and keep fuel costs lower.

Watch some of the online videos about driving in your area. It’s oddly useful to watch a video from behind the wheel.

Print out your map and directions even though you’ll likely depend on GPS.  I use my phone now just like I do when I’m home but sometimes your connection can cause a little delay, or you may lose your connection.  It’s good backup!

Learn the street and highway signs before you go even if you know the language of the area. Some are just icons and shapes and colors.  Seriously do this homework and you’ll feel like a pro.

Always fill up or top off your tank when you see a station. Why not? It’s an easy stress relief.

Breathe. Pack snacks. If you love to drive, the freedom of your own wheels is exhilerating.

Getting Started Part 3: One City, Expanded

When you think about a favorite travel stay, do you remember walking the neighborhood early in the morning, finding that great little bakery, or shopping the local markets?

A well-traveled friend, also named Susan, described her favorite hotels in a city she visits often – one small hotel she loved for the quiet street, the walking neighborhood, and the cozy bar.  But another larger hotel was full of history, great Art Deco décor, luxurious afternoon tea, and was, for her, full of memories.  So many choices each time she visits.

I shared about an easy way to travel alone by picking just one city and diving deep. A few years ago, I found a 2.0 version of this approach. There are easy ways to expand and experience more without managing many travel details.

First, your hotels.  When I first started travelling solo, due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’, I didn’t stay in the same hotel for my entire visit in Paris.  For the first few days, I was near the Eiffel Tower and close to the food markets on Rue Cler.  I visited little shops that only sold mustard or had fantastic arrays of French cheese and I picnicked in the Champs de Mars.  But then I had to relocate.

For the end of the week, I stayed in the Marais, near the Place des Vosges. It is one of the oldest parts of the city. The whole atmosphere was different.  The streets with the flower shops and balconies were like something out of a children’s book about Paris.  Both hotels and neighborhoods were beautiful but each left me with an entirely different view of the city.

So, as odd as it is, if you are just beginning to build your travel chops, and not quite up for maneuvering planes, trains, and automobiles, you can have varied experiences in a city by splitting your stay.

Now, day trips. Europe in particular has excellent rail systems. From London, you could take a day trip to Cambridge, Oxford, or Bath. From Zurich, take a scenic rail trip through the Alps, have lunch and return in the evening.  Leave your luggage behind and train hop.  All you have to do is catch a train, enjoy the scenery rolling by, and you’re back for dinner and a good night’s sleep.  If you are in a major city and visit a popular area, you’ll have many choices for your return.  This is an easy, low key way to gain experience traveling alone by rail.  (If you are travelling with others, taking a day to yourself to do this on your own as a great beginning.)

What I Learned

Have fun picking your hotels. If you are only there for a couple of nights, try something different or a little unusual. Or a bit more luxurious than your usual choice. It’s an opportunity!

Correspond with the hotel or inn.  I wrote to a small hotel in Paris on a whim just to let them know that I was travelling with only hand luggage. If there was a great room that wasn’t quite reached by the elevators, I was game. I ended up with a view of the Eiffel Tower. And I got plenty of steps in.

Take a vacation from your vacation.  Having a day with no plans and just going to the train station can be incredibly freeing.  Where can you go in 2 hours or less? Is there a great return schedule? Try it.

Pack light, try new things, and wander!