Nine years ago, when we were just kids, Alex and I spent a vacation in Paris. Although we ate our weight in chocolate croissants and rode bikes next to the Notre Dame Cathedral at night, the part I remember most about our trip was… doing absolutely nothing.
Our Fourth Night There
On our fourth night there, we decided to cancel our restaurant reservation and stay at the rented studio apartment. We bought stinky cheeses and red wine (poured into an old coffee pot) and opened the windows while we watched Seinfeld reruns, as cars honked below us on the street. It’s a night I will always remember. It was so much fun and incredibly relaxing, as if we didn’t care about anything in the world.
Empty Downtime
This week, when I was reading travel tips in a Bon Appétit magazine, this passage by Carrie Polis caught my eye: “It’s impossible to visit every place on your list. So don’t even try. That desire to visit 30 different places is what makes you end your vacation more exhausted than you were when you started. That’s why I always carve out time to do nothing. That might mean sleeping in, having a leisurely breakfast, and reading the books I brought with me. Or I’ll have an early dinner at the one restaurant I really want to try, then go back to my hotel, put on the free robe, and watch whatever awful yet amazing movie is on TV. Nothing says vacation like ‘She’s All That.’
The Importance of Empty Moments
In a way, those empty moments can be incredibly exciting, right? What are the random moments you’ve enjoyed on your travels? I’d love to hear…
Note: Solo travel, and something else weird we do on vacations.
(Picture of Natalie Portman at the Chevalier Hotel)
Source: https://cupofjo.com/2018/05/03/do-nothing-on-vacation/
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