Have I become a travel snob?

Before I went on my RTW all I wanted to do was go to Europe. In fact, I spent about half of my 20 months of travel in Europe. Now I actually live in London and the continent is at my fingertips. My husband hasn't been to a lot of the major cities and wants to spend a week in Italy in November. I'm being grumpy and horrible about it, not just because I've already been there, but because after SEA, China and the other places I went to it just seems somehow dull and unchallenging.

How can Italy become fun again?

I find it's all about thinking about what makes places fun to you, and seeking that fun out wherever you go.

Trips to mainstream destinations are less challenging, and less exciting (from an "I could go there anytime" perspective) than trips to far off countries with less in common with home. But there's still lots to see and do that's a clean break from day to day life at home, and provides a reason to go somewhere.

No matter where I go, I make an effort to not make the famous tourist attractions the focus of the trip. Instead, my focus is to visit some small towns, spend a lot of time walking, and generally doing "active" things (biking, kayaking, hiking, scuba diving, etc.) in whatever new locale I'm visiting.

The result is that I usually find my biggest problem with "near" holidays isn't that they're boring, it's that they're too short. It's easy to take off for BC, Cuba, or Mexico for a week, so I have done all of these things. A week away doesn't provide the kind of break from everyday life that I need to recharge, and I think the best thing I could do to improve the experience of less exotic holidays is to not be so stingy about using my vacation time on less exotic destinations.

Best luck, I'm sure once you're there you'll have a good time.

Kathryn M wrote:How can Italy become fun again?

Cycling, Italian language and cooking courses.