EasyJet Holidays has started an Inspiration Initiative asking bloggers to talk about what inspires them to travel by sharing the Who, What, Where, and When of their travel inspiration. Thank you to Mo Travels for tagging me to participate in this initiative.
WHO:
I grew up in a small rural community in Northern Ontario. I didn't know anyone who traveled anywhere and I didn't have the opportunity to travel anywhere before I moved away to university. I dreamed big dreams about traveling some day though because I read constantly about faraway places that I longed to see. So who inspired me to travel? The only way to answer this question honestly would be to credit the characters in the books that I loved. Heidi, Elizabeth Bennett, Anne of Green Gables and countless others - they were the people that had me dreaming of seeing a world that I could only imagine.
WHAT:
I started traveling as a young adult eager to start experiencing the world and an insatiable wanderlust was the what that inspired my travel. As soon as I had kids though there was a shift in what inspired me to travel. I still have a desire to see as much of the world as possible - that is an essential part of who I am - but now more than anything it is my family that inspires me to travel. I want my daughters to experience what I was never able to at their age. I want them to see the world and fall in love with what they see so that it fuels their own travel inspirations. I fervently believe that travel both educates and broadens minds and I travel so that my daughters will benefit from their exposure to the world.
Our family in St. Petersburg, Russia
WHEN:
We travel absolutely whenever possible! My daughters are in grades 10 and 3 and we avoid taking them out of school to travel so our trips primarily happen during Christmas holidays, spring break and summer vacation. We also take weekend breaks when we can and explore as much as possible in the Toronto area. Basically, I'm inspired to travel whenever we have time off that allows us to get away from home.
WHERE:
I'm not sure that there is a particular place that inspired me to start traveling, however, my first trip to Europe was our honeymoon in 1995. We spent a few days in London, a week in the south of France and finally a few days in Paris. I fell in love with Europe on that trip and felt inspired to see more of the world beyond North America. Our family now has a long list of places that we would like to visit and I'm inspired to get to as many of those destinations as I can with my kids before they grow up.
My husband and I in Paris - April 1995
And now it's my turn to nominate 5 travel bloggers to share their travel inspiration. The nominees are:
- Jessica - Suitcases and Sippycups
- Keryn - Walkingon Travels
- Mary - The World is a Book
- Becca - R We There Yet Mom?
- Sabrina - Country Skipper
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