Saturday, June 7, 2014

Inside The Comfort Zone

One of the best things about traveling is the rush you feel when you step outside your comfort zone and visit a new place. Everything from the streets to the people who walk on them is totally unfamiliar. You don’t yet know what you’ll make of this new destination or what kinds of experiences await you there, and you cannot wait to find out.

That rush is a big part of what I love about traveling. However, that doesn't mean the fun is over once a place has been discovered. Returning to a city you've been to before might not give you a 'rush' but it's special in a totally different way. To me, there's something kind of cool about finding your surroundings familiar when you're on the other side of the world. Perhaps you know your way around without the help of a map, maybe you know the best place to get tasty street food or a particular street corner might evoke a fond memory. It's not as familiar as home but it's not completely foreign either.

I had the pleasure of re-acquainting myself with Edinburgh this past week, a place I've been extremely fond of since my first visit there four years ago. I was delighted to see that I remembered so much of it! I knew my way around (okay, it's not a big city, but still) and was able to point my family in the right direction as well. Many of the city's landmarks, and the stories behind them, came rushing back to me. I wasn't full of the anticipation I normally feel when I arrive in a brand new city; instead I felt reassured, at ease and comfortable. I generally try to step outside of my comfort zone as much as I can while traveling but sometimes it's nice to spend a little time inside of it too.

A few shots of Edinburgh from my first visit back in 2010

The Royal Mile (main street in the old part of town)


A second hand shop


The view from Arthur's Seat

2 comments:

Rob said...

I've never really wanted to visit England. Or any of Europe for that matter, but pics like this have me rethinking that!

Wondering and Wandering said...

Hey Rob, glad to hear these photos are inspiring you! Europe is an amazing place to travel - so many countries completely different to one another in such a small geographical area! Hope you make it over here one day :) Thanks for reading!