Travel is back and it feels… exhausting?
What I learned from three weeks of recent travel
A background tune for reading this newsletter:
Hey y’all, it’s been a while! We took the last two weeks off publishing.
I was on a whirlwind trip to the US (Ohio, Detroit, Washington, D.C.) and a remote farm in Paraná, Brazil. I was so looking forward to seeing family, friends and getting a bit of time off after the intense year and a half we’ve had. You may also be dipping your toes back into the travel pool, so in case it helps, this week, I’m sharing what I learned from my experience.
Travel anxiety is real.
Leading up to my trips, I was so happy to be going, but also started getting a tightening in my chest two weeks out — the separation anxiety of leaving my boyfriend and dog, the worry I wouldn’t be as fun as I used to be, the stress of getting all my work done so I could shut down Slack, figuring out when exactly to take my PCR test pre-flight... We haven’t done this in awhile, not to mention the new aspects thanks to COVID.
Flying really sucks right now.
This probably varies by country, but the added stress of gathering the right PCR tests at the right time, understanding each country’s quarantine laws and wearing a mask for a long haul flight all combine to make what was never a very glamorous experience even more headache-inducing. Not to mention that in places like the U.S., airlines have cut down on flight routes, leading to more connections and fuller flights, all with understaffing. From someone who spent 7 hours overnight in a rebooking line in the Miami airport, trust me — if you can avoid flying in the next few months until things are more sorted out, do.
Seeing friends and family lives up to the hype.
We’ve all missed spending time with those we love most, a feeling heightened for me by living abroad. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we had new experiences together. That post-vaccine “it’s completely ok to be in close quarters with those I love” high is real.
We all need a longer vacation.
I managed to (mostly) take two weeks of vacation from work, but I still came back feeling like I still could use an additional month off. As a freelancer, it can be tricky navigating how to take time off without letting down your clients and making sure the work is done, especially when you mostly work alone and you don’t have backup. On top of that, we’re all still so exhausted from the past year and a half and have a vacation/travel deficit that’ll take time to refill.
It feels so good to go somewhere new.
For me, that was Detroit and the nature of Paraná. I loved the feeling of doing research and pinning places to visit on Google Maps again, walking around a neighborhood that looks different than mine, and even getting a little bit lost. We all could use the inspiration of the unfamiliar again.
Home is actually pretty great too.
We’ve all reprioritized making our homes feel more comfortable during the pandemic, and I really felt that coming back. Returning to “real life” felt pretty dang good. Could that be a small upside to this terrible period?
These trips really felt like “getting back out there” — they weren’t 100% perfect and I wish I could have balanced everything better, but maybe that’s just life and I’ve forgotten that aspect; it’s crowded with priorities and things we can’t control.
We’re all out of travel practice, but it’s heartening to see it become more accessible and safe again, especially with the increase in vaccinations around the world. If you’ve traveled recently and have a tip or want to share your experience, let us know ⤵️
xo
Brandy
Good Trip Founder
Local’s Corner
This week we’re visiting Tunis, Tunisia, a North African capital situated on the Mediterranean just across from Sicily. A true citizen of the world, Good Trip Advisor Kirtika Challa — originally from Mumbai and formerly based in NYC, Philadelphia and Lagos — lives there helping entrepreneurs in emerging markets with CrossBoundary.
The song she has on repeat:
I have about 4 or 5 songs on repeat as of late – “Pona Pogattum” from the movie Master, “Lo Vas a Olvidar” with ROSALIA, “Enjoy Enjaami”, “My Bebe” by Omah Lay. I do tend to be an obsessive music listener – when I find a song I love I get completely hooked and can’t get enough of it.
Where she wants to travel next:
My partner lives in London and I’m based in Tunis (with one foot in London) and last year, like most people, we held out hopes for COVID to “go away” and kept pushing a potential summer break until summer had passed us by, and we were already at Christmas. One of my main lessons from last year is to not try and wait for the perfect time to do something, but just take the opportunity when you get it.
And so, this year, somewhat unexpectedly, we found out that he’d have to be off for a month and so we took 2 weeks in June to drive around Tunisia and explore the country! Tunisia is such an underrated country and there is so much to see and discover — you have the beach, mountains, the Sahara desert, Roman ruins, salt flats and landscape that sometimes feels extra-terrestrial, all within about a 4 hour drive of each other.
The place she’s traveled to that she’d like to go back to:
This is quite a big dilemma for me — to go back to places I love or continue to explore this big beautiful world we live in… but to answer your question, and as cliché as this is, Paris will always have a special place in my heart. I never had the opportunity to do a gap year because it was something I hadn’t heard about before going to the U.S. for my undergraduate studies.
So when I decided to go to business school, I took nearly half a year off before starting school to do some of the things I always wanted to do, one of which was to live in Paris. And to be honest my “Sejour” in Paris got off to a rough start: one of my checked bags didn’t make it there with me, I got scammed out of rent for an apartment, and my phone got stolen within the first few weeks there. But once I settled in, it was the most magical 3 months — taking time to explore all the different “quarters”, discovering hidden gems, shopping for clothes in vintage stores, drinking wine by the Seine with friends, watching ballet at the beautiful Palais Garnier, taking a road trip to the south of France and eating the best strawberries of my life.
I think one of the things that made it magical was that it was short enough that I cherished every moment, but also long enough that I could explore to my heart’s content and feel like I was really getting to know the city. Going back and wandering through Paris’ streets and grabbing coffee or a glass of wine on one of the terrasses always takes me back to this time.
Her favorite local spot within a 15 minute walk of her apartment:
There’s a few great spots depending on what I’m looking for.
Le Golfe - An upscale seafood restaurant right on the beach
The Cliff - A bar on a cliff also overlooking the Mediterranean where you sometimes can’t distinguish between the end of the sea and the start of the sky
Café Opera - One of many cafés on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, which is a main road running parallel to the beach in my neighborhood (Marsa), lined with palm trees and cafes.
There’s really one common theme between all three: they all overlook the Mediterranean Sea. No matter how many times I see it, it always takes my breath away.
Her favorite local-to-Tunis snack or food she can't get enough of:
For those of you with a sweet tooth, it would have to be a Bambalouni. It’s like a Tunisian doughnut — larger and less dense than a regular doughnut, but deep fried and also sprinkled with sugar. And the best ones you get are in Sidi Bou Said which is a neighborhood of Tunis that looks and feels like Santorini.
And for a savory snack a Fricassee, which is a small fried brioche typically filled with harissa, potatoes, olives, tuna and boiled eggs.
An ideal day for her in Tunis:
Waking up and getting a coffee and a croissant at one of the cafes on Ave. Habib Bourghiba while catching up on news or reading a book. Then going to the Hammam in Marsa and feeling refreshed and rejuvenated having gotten steamed, scrubbed and massaged. Then picking a neighborhood to explore or wander around in, be it Sidi Bou Said, Centre Ville or La Goulette.
If I’m in Centre Ville then I’m going to stop by Fondouk El Attarine for their delicious lamb couscous and to enjoy their beautiful restaurant which is a quite hidden oasis in the often busy and chaotic Medina. I might also stop by Dar Ben Gacem if they’re organizing a lecture or a fun activity as they often do, and to have some green tea with Makroudh while I’m there. I would probably end the day meeting up with friends for drinks and some food at a bar in Gammarth – maybe Yuka or Tangerine or one of many options there, depending on the mood we are in.
Must-pin destination
John K King Books in Detroit
This nearly 40-year-old massive used bookstore in a former glove factory is a Detroit institution, with four floors of winding shelves and hand-written aisle signs. We picked up an armful of books for our future travels.
Anyone know how we can hitch a ride on this boat?…
