This was my first time dabbling in travel. We checked out London, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Florence, Rome, Athens, Crete and Dublin. 12 flights, 19 days, unforgettable memories.

Here are some of the lessons I learned from my traveling experience.

1. Always ask. You'll be in no worse position if a person doesn't help, but if they do, you'll be swiftly on your way to your end goal. There's no point wasting your time trying to figure something out when another person will readily help you.
2. Being a contrarian is no better than being a conformist. Either way, you give up thinking for yourself.
3. Try it before judging. You can't be certain that you won't like an activity without having tried it. Jump in, and if you end up liking it, you can do it again. If you don't like it, you can move onto the next thing.
4. How you make a person feel matters more than anything else. It's not what you do, but the feelings that you evoke in another person that determines their attitude towards you. People do shy away from those that make them feel worse.
5. We all want to connect with others and feel significant, whether we explicitly express it or not. Make others feel that way.
6. The adventure comes from within. It wasn't the external environment that makes the most magical memories possible, but instead the decision to do those things. I could climb a mountain in Vancouver, I could have a picnic here in Vancouver, I could watch the sunset here in Vancouver, I could do 90% of the activities here, yet in the past I've decided not to. The adventure is within me and I can express it whenever I'd like.
7. You can give 110% of yourself to a friend, yet not fill their needs. Sometimes they just need 10% of a different personality. Don't take it personally.
8. Your examples have a greater influence on others than your explicit advice does. People will do as you do if they see you getting the results they also want.
9. Care.

                 

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Eurotrip_2009.zip (973 KB)