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When I was very young I discovered
that, for me, a journey is the best way to learn. I still have this
pilgrim's soul to this day, and have decided to relate some of the
lessons I have learned, in the hopes that they will be useful to
other like-minded pilgrims.
1] Avoid museums. This advice
may seem absurd, but let us reflect a little together: if you are
in a foreign city, isn't it far more interesting to seek out the
present, than the past? Usually, people feel obliged to go to museums,
because ever since they were small they have been told that traveling
is a search for this type of culture. Of course museums are important,
but they require time and objectivity - you need to know what it
is you want to see there, otherwise you will come away with the
impression that you saw several things which are fundamental to
your life, but cannot remember what they were.
2] Frequent bars. Unlike museums,
this is where the life of the city can be found. Bars are not discotheques,
but places where the people gather to have a drink, pass the time,
and are always willing to chat. Buy a newspaper and observe the
bustle of people coming and going. If someone speaks to you, strike
up a conversation, however banal: one cannot judge the beauty of
a path merely by looking at its entrance.
3] Be open and forward. The
best tourist guide is someone who lives there, knows everything,
but doesn't work at a travel agency. Go out into the street, choose
someone you wish to speak to, and ask him or her for directions
(where is such-and-such a cathedral? Where is the post office?)
If this bears no fruit, try someone else - I guarantee that in the
end you will find excellent company.
4] Try and travel alone, or -
if you are married - with your spouse. It will be harder work,
no one will be looking after you, but this is the only way of truly
leaving your country. Group travel is just a disguised way of pretending
to go abroad, where you speak your own language, obey the leader
of the pack, and concern yourself more with the internal gossip
of the group than with the place you are visiting.
5] Don't compare. Don't compare
anything - not prices, nor cleanliness, nor quality of life, nor
means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove
you live better than others - your search, in fact, is to find out
how others live, what they have to teach, how they view reality
and the extraordinary things in life.
6] Understand that everyone understands
you. Even if you don't speak the language, don't be afraid:
I have been in many places in which there was no way of communicating
with words, and I always found support, guidance, important suggestions,
even girlfriends. Some people think that if you travel alone, you
will go out into the street and be lost forever. All you need is
the hotel card in your pocket, and - should you find yourself in
extreme circumstances - take a taxi and show it to the driver.
7] Don't buy much. Spend your
money on things which you won't have to carry: good theater, restaurants,
walks. Nowadays, with the global market and the Internet, you can
have everything you want without having to pay for excess baggage.
8] Don't try and see the world
in a month. It is better to stay in one city for four or five
days, that visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious
woman, who needs time to be seduced and reveal herself completely.
9] A journey is an adventure.
Henry Miller said that it is far more important to discover a church
no one has heard of, than go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the
Sistine Chapel, with two hundred thousand tourists shouting all
around you. Go to the Sistine Chapel, but also get lost in the streets,
wander down alleyways, feel free to look for something, without
knowing what it is. I swear you will find it and that it will change
your life.
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