The Best Way to Experience a New City

A road trip can teach you a lot about life, if you choose to pay attention.

As I write this, my friends and I are driving through the Dolomites in northern Italy. It’s the second time I’ve travelled with them through Italy, and I can now confidently say that a road trip is the best way to experience a country.

Before my ‘road trip era’ of travelling, I’d often find myself teleporting between locations. There was never any importance on how we got somewhere, just that we did. Now that I think of it, I can’t really remember the journeys of those trips, just the destinations.

It’s sad because most of the experience comes from the in-betweens, not the pre-planned checkpoints.

It’s the singing on the road, the shared ups and downs and the inside jokes no one else would find funny.

The lows give context to the highs. You can’t fully appreciate the mountains without experiencing the valleys.

If we only shine a light on the destinations, we lose track of how we got there, the vehicle that carried us and those who joined us for the ride.

Life is full of milestones that feel empty without appreciation for the process.

So document your journey, the everyday and the mundane in-betweens.

Every trip has an end. Enjoy the journey whilst it lasts.