It is a good idea to use a different language. Airports were stressful to me. I mean, I still do – I’m the sort of person who glides mindlessly through security only to be swiftly apprehended (“Er, madam, why is there a litre of water and four bottles of sun cream in your bag?”). They are a bit less stressful now. It could be because I tend to travel alone. I can travel as late or early as I please, and drink as many coffees at a high price as I desire. I also don’t panic when I underestimate the distance between the airport gate and my home. Because this is my holiday – and my holiday only!
Travelling solo is a pleasure, a tonic, and occasionally a character-building experience (more on that later …). It was an accident that I began to travel alone. A friend of mine cancelled a last-minute trip to Paris when I was 29. I decided to go anyway and make my life even more difficult by only speaking French. I had not done this since I left university many years ago. This goal distracted me from my solo visits to museums, galleries, and restaurants, which can be taboo for a world designed for couples, groups, and pairs.
In Europe, people care less. I have floated alone around bars in Barcelona, and sampled the best Korean foods for just one. I’ve been to the beach alone in Marseille, and nearly caused a security incident on several European trains when I trailed a suitcase that was too large behind me.
In the past few months, I have become obsessed with it. People I used to travel with got married, had kids or moved away. I didn’t have time to wait around for someone to be free. So I began booking solo vacations. I thought that financial stability in the long term was not important and might even be incompatible with a freelance career. It was both joyful and nihilistic.
Of course, there are challenges. I remember the time when I got a horrible case of food poisoning and alternated between vomiting and crying (the French helped with the cleaning operation). Traveling alone is liberating. You can decide your own schedule (starting my day after 12 noon, for example) and even extend your trip.
I’ll book in for an art class, or attend a language exchange. Both are usually free if you purchase a drink in the bar where it is hosted. But other than that, I quite like drifting – and starting one of the many books I carry around at home but never read.
Travelling alone makes me stop, think and natter for a moment. I love group trips, but it also helps me to pause. I’m grateful for the peace – and for Duolingo.
