A background tune for reading this newsletter:
When I look back at my travels in the past 5 years or so, I see a pattern in the reasons behind the destinations: a detour tacked on to a work trip, a destination wedding, visiting a friend in their new city of residence… With so many places sitting on my to-visit list, I’ve inadvertently come across a useful strategy of deciding where to go next: Can I visit someone I know?
Before I moved to São Paulo, most of my friends were still clustered in New York City, making it relatively easy to fly to one place and fit in a bunch of catch-ups at once. But over time — and especially speeded up in the last year due to the pandemic — friends are now scattered everywhere from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. to London to Tunis to Perth.
While sometimes I think to myself hopelessly, “when am I going to get the chance to see (Friend) again?,” on my more optimistic days, I try to look at this as an opportunity. How lucky am I that I have so many cities to visit that count someone near and dear to my heart as a resident?
After all, there’s no better way to visit a new place than crashing in your friend’s guest room (or more likely, sofa bed), catching up over morning coffee on their balcony and getting a personal tour of their favorite certified-great local spots.
As Minnie sings in the song above, “It’s so nice to see old friends.” 1+ year into a pandemic that has heightened loneliness, I heard this song for the first time last week, and, since I seem to be weepy all the time, immediately teared up. I know I’m not the only one daydreaming more than ever about being reunited with those who have supported me through all sorts of ups and downs over Zoom calls and series of voice notes.
While it’s fun to think about hopping on a plane to somewhere as far-flung and unfamiliar as possible as soon as we’re vaccinated, my real dream is to visit as many of my friends as I can. Catch up over wine, karaoke the songs that have gotten us through COVID (I’m coming for you, “drivers license”), see where they buy their groceries, watch a terrible movie curled up on the couch together — be a part of their lives for a few days.
And as for hosting, well, I’m up for that too. To my friends reading this (and heck, even acquaintances), I’m moving to a two-bed apartment soon that will be ready to accept guests to Brazil once it’s safe 💪. I’ve got the perfect coffee shops picked out already.
xo
Brandy
Good Trip Founder
Read all about it
We can’t wait to get our hands on Anthony Bourdain’s new book, World Travel: An Irreverant Guide. Check out this review by Sebastian Modak to learn how it came together with the help of his assistant.
Seeing so much of Anthony Bourdain’s work in one place and being able to compare his impressions country-by-country in a tightly packed medium, makes it easier to see what he stood for. A traveling philosophy emerges: his utter disdain for stereotypes, his undying commitment to challenging his own preconceptions, his humility in the face of generosity.
See ya, it’s time for our afternoon coffee…