The beauty about travelling is the way it holds you in the moment. Almost as if you are in a deep state of meditation, your mind is present and your body is aware of its surroundings. When immersed in a captivating travel experience, your mind does not wander – it is still. You do not think about your grocery list, or the birthday present you need to buy. Your day job is completely forgotten.
That frees up space to take in all that is around you – the sounds, tastes, smells, sight and feel of your surroundings. This heightened awareness is what helps make travel experiences so memorable.
Some of the experiences I remember the most are those that involved all the senses, such as the following:
Romantic Dining in San Gimignano
As often is the case, the first dinner in a new country is especially good. Is the food really that much better than at subsequent dinners? Probably not, but the novelty of the environment makes it easy to live in the moment and forget your worries. Looking back at our first dinner in San Gimignano, a beautiful medieval town in the heart of Tuscany, I can still taste the wine and the excellent parmesan cheese, ruccola and Prosciutto appetizer. At this dinner, I was totally present and the memories are therefore especially vivid.
Scenic Drive on the West Coast of Mallorca
Often, a heightened awareness is achieved when your senses become reacquainted with long forgotten sensations. After a long winter that did not want to end, the sun and warmth of Mallorca created a greater sense of awareness in the body and mind. I remember feeling the rays of the sun shining on my face, the sound of the waves gently hitting the coast and the olive groves swaying peacefully in the Mediterranean breeze. On a late summer’s day, this might not have been so memorable. But taken in this context – after a long winter bereft of sun and warmth, the sense of awareness was extraordinary.
Fantastic Day Trip Hiking in the Alps
Hiking is a great way to experience life in the moment. The weight of your pack on your shoulders is hard to fathom, your legs burn from climbing steep precipices, and you long for small comforts like a piece of chocolate. This pain, however, forces you to stay in the moment. There is no where else to go. After a hard day of hiking up the mountain in Lech, Austria, the soup we ordered in the lodge exploded with taste. The soup, which probably came from a can, tasted so good because it felt so rewarding after the strenuous climb.
To me, the beauty about travelling is the heightened awareness of all that is around me. It is why the memory of a simple soup can linger for months or even years after eating it. Sure, this is possible at home too, but the change of scenery makes it so much easier to eliminate distracting thoughts and brings you into the present, fully aware of yourself and your surroundings.
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