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How’s your day started?
A couple of weeks ago, I was in New Orleans for a week, where I got reminded about one of my favourite things about solo travelling – the people. We’re going to take a look at what I mean by this in today’s blog.
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I’ve been going on solo holidays for the last three years now, and, honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without them. I spent years having so many places that I wanted to visit one day; however, time was moving fast, and those days didn’t seem to be coming, so I realised that I needed to make a change.
After losing Nana, Cap and Grampa in such quick succession back in 2023, it served as a poignant reminder of how precious time is. I could spend my life waiting to find someone to go travelling with, whereas, by actually doing these travels now, I’m meeting more people, experiencing more stories and ticking more names off a huge list of countries to explore.
When I went on my first solo trip to Porto, part of me was worried that I was going to feel lonely.
Looking back, I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
When you’re by yourself, you don’t have much of a choice but to chat to strangers and new people (not that I need an extra incentive, mind you 😂)
You never know where these conversations can take you. Take Kyle, in the photo below. His family were a part of my cooking class on Saturday. They were visiting New Orleans for the weekend to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday, and all decided to book our cooking class, making Gumbo, BBQ Shrimp Grits and more.
I got chatting to them, and they really made me feel right at home. They were a lovely bunch. One of Joe’s (the father’s) daughters said, “I’m so proud of you for travelling here solo. That’s such a wonderful and brave thing to do” – such a lovely thing to say to someone you’ve just met 😎
Little did I know that I would bump into them again (as I was arriving for my guided tour of St Louis Cemetery Number One, where the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, was reportedly laid to rest, and where the famous actor, Nicolas Cage, has purchased his future grave) – it’s such a small world after all.
I’ll likely never see Kyle or his family after this trip. That doesn’t take anything away from the conversations, memories and what a good time we had on Saturday.
Over my two weeks in the US, I lost count of how many fantastic chats I had with so many people. It’s such a great thing to be able to. As I always like to say: you never know where each conversation can take you 🙂
So, there we have it, that’s one of my favourite parts of solo travelling. It’s something I’ll never get tired of. What do you think? What’s your favourite parts of visiting new places?
I’d love to hear what you think 😊
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
James
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