bon voyage!

"the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"

Apr 08, 2025

I’ve been very fortunate in my life to travel extensively. Growing up in Eastern Europe1 meant that it was fairly simple to hop over to another country2. Vienna was a favorite weekender as it had an H&M and a Starbucks which were very important to us in the early 2000s. My senior class trip was to Crete, I spent my 10 year anniversary in Croatia and was constantly jealous of myself during the summer of 2022 when I lived in Lisbon for a month before traveling to Nice, Paris, London, York, Tynemouth3, Edinburgh and Dublin.4

When this shelf comes out I shall be in Istanbul after visiting London, Budapest and Prague. The immense privilege of all this exploration is not lost on me so I wanted to share some of the tools I use when planning in case they are helpful to any other travel enthusiasts out there5. Back when I had Instagram I had highlights of Lisbon, Vietnam and other spots for anyone who wanted recommendations, but alas now you’ll just have to message me if you want those lists.

Before embarking on a trip I usually find its Eater site, which may or may not be up to date but will still be useful. Though my mother will send youtube video upon instagram reel to me when she travel plans, I rarely care about these video resources beyond specific How Tos or some general hype building.6 I usually google around for blog posts, listicles or articles and save them on a Pinterest board to review closer to the trip. Besides Eater I look at places like Culture Trip, Sprudge, Raisin app, Lonely Planet, TimeOut etc whatever looks legit in a search really.

Eventually I fill up a google map with all the spots that look intriguing knowing I won’t get to them all. But they are all there at my fingertips in case I end up in a nearby neighborhood with a hankering for a specific treat or experience. If there are tourist hot spots that are a must visit, I try to book tickets in advance. We did this for places like the Sagrada Familia, Hagia Sofia and The Vatican. So… mostly churches I guess. What does that say that they require paid tickets to access?7

And books of course! I usually travel pretty light8 so I don’t bring a travel guide with me unless its small and light. But! I usually take a look at a few books to research and get ideas. If you’ve got the space why not take a small book that you can stain, mark up and fill with memories of your journey? Travel guides also make excellent gifts. Don’t forget to check your local library!

Like reading, travel develops muscles of understanding, empathy and a knowledge that the more you know and experience, the more you realize you don’t know and how much there is still to experience. Today’s shelf has a couple travel guides, one more traditional than the other, and a paperback on the concept of travel as activity. Stick around to the end for a beautiful bonus. If you’ve got some upcoming trips planned or even just wished for, check out one of these titles that will give you stories, insights and tips for your journey.

As Mark Twain says in The Innocents Abroad

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

Get out those packing cubes, find your adapter and don’t forget your passport as you prepare to go on an adventure with one of these.

WILDSAM

These pocket sized field guides are playful, informative and I love the stark colorful covers. They are in the $20 range and there are like 90 different titles from specific cities to wider regions. These books strive to bring a place to life through storytelling and expert knowledge.

Founded in 2012, Wildsam is an American travel brand that sits at the intersection of story and place. The acclaimed field guides go beyond typical travel information, instead revealing a deep sense of place through archival heritage, local commentary and cultural landmarks of the city.

These books contain sections like Essentials, Bests, Almanac, Maps, Interviews and Stories and usually include a smattering of illustrations by a local artist and end with a fold out map. I appreciate how these guides show many facets of a place and not just the best places for an Instagrammable matcha latte. Though it does include many recommendations for anything a tourist is looking for, so don’t worry. My Seattle book9 includes a page on Issues and mentions earthquakes, the housing crisis and traffic congestion. Later the book lists milestones and statistics, artists of note, historical events, excerpts of past news articles, architectural notes, interviews with various Seattlites, poetry and essays by resident writers and much much more — some of the many elements that paint a portrait of a place.

I have never been able to stay very far away from Seattle and its gray. I don’t feel comfortable in places where the sun shines so brightly there’s nowhere to hide. Seattle’s gray encourages a kind of interiority that I value; it’s possible that this is what gets mistaken for the semi-mythical ‘Seattle Freeze’. Gray is a good color for people content to create their own worlds, whether in code or nouns and adjectives.

To me, the gray in Seattle says to relax. It says to go find somewhere inside to read a good book.

HOW TO TRAVEL by The School of Life

This is an assembly of thoughts, ideas and essays around the concept of travel: best practices and ways to approach the activity without the unfortunately all too common feelings of dissatisfaction or disappointment when events fail to live up to the lofty expectations we create in our minds.

A light little paperback in electric blue, this would be a good gift or coffee table/flip through book. It isn’t anything groundbreaking, but contains a few helpful reminders that serve to re-orient one towards their trip. To view travel not as an activity of blind consumption with a go-go-go attitude, but instead to find pleasure in small, simple acts such as speaking to strangers, slowing down, walking, drawing and even how to come home. This could be read as a tad silly and even a bit a ‘much’ at times but I appreciate its mission to encourage a thoughtful, deliberate and respectful mindset towards travel instead of a grasping, cookie cutter, performative one. A good reminder for me personally to embrace discomfort and not be too anxious when things don’t go according to plan. After all, those times of initial conflict often end up becoming the most memorable as they make space for unexpected possibilities and surprising experiences. This book includes photography and some blank notebook pages scattered among essays titled things like:

Travel as a Cure for Shyness
The Vulnerability of Perfection to Emotional Troubles
The Pleasure of the Flight
Holiday Fling
Travel and Pilgrimages
In Defense of Crowds

Travels are often filled with small pleasures. Perhaps it was the rye bread on the terrace of the hotel, the field of dandelions near the canal, a conversation with someone washing clothes at a fountain, the sound of the city heard on a walk through the park at night…

Such things can lack prestige or social support. They sound rather minor. They wouldn’t be what one would ordinarily pick out as highlights of a journey. Yet a pleasure may look very minor — eating a fig, saying a word in a new language, browsing in a spice shop — and yet be anything but. If properly grasped and elaborated upon, these sorts of experiences may be among the most moving and satisfying we can ever hope to have.

THE 500 HIDDEN SECRETS

Each in this series of travel books is written by a local who curates their personal favorite spots showcasing the lesser known ‘secret gems’ that reside off the beaten path. Overflowing with recommendations, each page lists 5 locations around a specific theme such as:

Informal Gourmet Restaurants
Lovely and Small Neighborhood Restaurants
Bars for LGBTQ+ Community
Unique Cafes with an Extra Twist
Concept Stores
Buildings to Admire
Relics from Roman Times
Cultural Centers
Best Places to Take Children
Eccentric Hotels
and many more

Also included is a How to Use this Book Section, an introduction to street signage and pages of maps. This Budapest version I just picked up from the library includes some cheeky yet helpful sections at the end: Secrets even Budapestians Don’t Know, Examples of Bad Taste and Transport Methods. The 500 Hidden Secrets website also has e-book versions and even city walk maps available for download if your traveling ultralight. This book is useful for adding a bunch of spots to your google map.

BONUS!

Another gifty and useful travel resource is the Herb Lester city guide maps. Each map is unique, gorgeously designed and focuses on a whimsically specific aspect of its city. These are easy to bring along on your trip and would make a lovely way to help you along Memory Lane once you return home.