One thing I've learned from traveling is how you travel matters just as much as where you go.
I used to arrive somewhere new with a packed itinerary and a color-coded spreadsheet. Restaurants pre-booked six weeks out. Museums timed to the minute. Every hour accounted for.
I called it "making the most of it."
What I was actually doing was bringing my regular life along for the trip — just with a prettier backdrop.
It wasn't until I handed the clipboard to someone else that everything changed.
When I stopped organizing the vacation and just… showed up for it, something happened that I hadn't expected.
My shoulders dropped.
My phone stayed in my bag.
I noticed things I would have walked right past if I were navigating.
A woman selling lavender bundles from a bicycle basket. The particular sound of café chairs scraping against cobblestones. The way the light through narrow streets feels like it's doing something on purpose.
Being present instead of productive changes everything.
That's what Abroad on Purpose is built on. Not more. Better. Not busier. Slower. Not impressive. Memorable.
The how of travel matters just as much as the where. Maybe more. 🇫🇷
