Summer 2024 has been one for the memory books, for sure. My 25th law school reunion with dear, decades-long friends (and new ones I didn’t know so well back in law school), my dad’s 80th birthday celebration with family and friends from near and far, the Links National Assembly with sisters of my heart, and more than a month of solo travel through Europe connecting with old friends and meeting new ones along the way—along with so many other amazing experiences—have all been an incredible blessing.
It was a blessing upon blessing to meet new friends in a structured way thanks to Remote Year, where we were guided by our incredible city coordinator, Viviana Alicia, and the amazing Black in Portugal (BIP) community, founded and led by Heather Protector. I also met countless new friends in coffee shops, cafés, Flamenco dance classes, as my tour guide photographer, as a passenger in so many Uber and jeep rides, and on group walking tours.
Solo travel is expansive and filled with opportunities to connect… if you want to.
I’ve done my best to live in the moment and lean into my mentor’s advice—sometimes a charge, sometimes a demand—that I walk through life’s experiences as a traveler. To be fully present in every experience, soaking in all it has to offer, rather than being a tourist passing through, snapping pictures just to say I was there.
Now, while I’ve certainly played the role of tourist this summer, I’ve also taken my desire to be a traveler seriously. I’ve allowed every experience to shape my perspective and help me see myself more clearly.
When solo traveling (which I do quite a bit), one of my favorite things is to book a tour or two—sometimes private, sometimes with others—to get a better sense of the lay of the land and learn about history from multiple perspectives. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Airbnb experiences, I leveled up on this trip by hiring a photography-based tour in each city I visited. I did this for a few reasons: to see each city’s most beautiful or iconic backgrounds through the eyes of a photographer, to experience how different photographers interpreted my goals for the walking tours (I gave the same instructions for all five photography tours), and to have more interesting pictures for upcoming ebooks than just selfies.
I have a favorite from each photo session, and I’ll share them in future posts.
This photo is my favorite from my time in Porto for a few reasons: it’s a stunningly gorgeous shot of beautiful Porto, I walked a lot of steps to get to this location, and it symbolizes this new season of life I’m entering, where seeing the world through the lens of a traveler is a journey worth embracing.
I’m grateful for the summer and excited for the fall.
How about you?
