Travelers' New Year's Resolutions
I'm still struggling among these options for my 2005 New Year's Resolution:
Spend less time seeing sights and more time talking to people.
Remember that time is worth more than money.
Savor solitude in magical places: the Pantheon, Cape Sagres, atop my own Alp.
Share with my wife the most romantic places: dinner on Paris' Ile St. Louis, a hilltown hideaway in Tuscany, the Cinque Terre's Via del' Amore.
Spend more on better wine.
Honestly work our kids' dreams into our itinerary when traveling as a family.
Here are a batch of resolutions submitted to our Graffiti Wall. Perhaps they will inspire you to more and better travels in the coming year.
Thanks for traveling with us through the years. My traveling staff and I wish you all a happy new year!
Rick Steves
Summer Plans
My travel resolutions: I WILL explore southern England when I'm working in London this summer; and I WILL go to Paris before the end of the summer and appreciate the Louvre this time!
Allison
Sun City, CA USA
Leaving the country..
I'm going to Germany by the end of the year. On my own, regardless. I will not live with regret and opportunities missed because I allowed myself to give into fear or insecurity.
K. Lesar
Denver, CO USA
My family and boyfriend refuse to leave the country, so I have decided to go on each of the one week city tours by myself, one city at a time...
Deborah USA
My Resolution
My resolution is to travel solo for two months in Europe. I've planned and saved for the trip for a little over a year now. I am ready to actually see the areas that I've been reading about.
Greg
Charlotte, NC USA
to travel anyway
We wonder if we get to travel this year, not because of the war but because our 39 year old daughter is terminally ill with breast cancer. In the last week we resolved to travel anyway. There's really nothing we can do for her except be supportive. Fortunately she has a loving husband, family and friends. So we just rented an apartment (a hop and a skip from the Boboli Gardens) in Florence for the month of May. We will enjoy Firenze and Toscana from this home base. We also rented an apartment in Rome for the first week of June; still looking for an apartment for a week in Venice and a week in London. We are hoping for a seven-week vacation this spring. We would also like to spend a month in Paris for Christmas 2003. We really enjoy Europe and its people and its culture. We just hope for good health and the means to travel. It is very enlightninhg.
christy
san francisco, ca USA
travel resolutions
To manage the finances to both save for retirement and kids' college funds and satisfy my travel longings.
Chere
Kelso, WA USA
bad habits
Resist sleeping in. Take enough film, instead of running out and missing great photos. To take the glitches in stride and not walk around with a knot in my stomach about the plane crashing, my lugagge getting lost, getting on the wrong train, etc. Not blow my budget on steaks and truffles!:)
elizabeth
houston, TX USA
I will continue to take one major trip out of the country each year. When I am old, I will go back to all my favorite places I saw when I was young. I will continue to try and educate people that foreign travel is not "dangerous" and will actually enrich your life.
Shirley Pethan
Duluth, GA USA
My Resolutions are.....
I resolve to spend 3 months in Europe this fall on my own(though I admit I am taking 2 of Rick's tours). I resolve to be in Paris in November, so I can celebrate turning 29 in style. And mostly, I resolve to get my lazy behind in the gym so I can go on those tours and not be left huffing and puffing at the bottom of the hill!
Jo
New York, NY USA
Aaron's Resolutions
I RESOLVE to continue learning Spanish, to travel to Spain and Cental America, and to share my enjoyment of travel and learning about other cultures with my friend and family. ADIOS!
aaron goffman
Toronto, on Canada
My plan has always been to see Europe before I turn 30. It WILL happen this year!
Hillary
Redwood City, Ca USA
Take Mom and Dad to Europe
Celebrate via a trip to Europe the life, health, and vigor of my 70-something parents, both of whom are cancer survivors and who introduced me to independent travel in Europe a quarter-century ago. (We bought the airline tickets last week! :^)
Paul Hughes
Albuquerque, NM USA
relax and enjoy
I hope to stop working and enjoy all the money I've saved by travelling through Italy and Switzerland.
stephanie
philadelphia, pa USA
I am resolved to learn French this year, so that when I go back to Paris I can get off the tourist path and see new sights and experiences.
Rick
New Orleans, USA
Travel
I resolve to find a way to travel more!! The problem is not so much the money but the vacation time. We're great at travelling cheaply! More arm chair travel is in the works for me this year! I've convinced my husband (who hates the long flight) that we 'need' to take two annual trips to Europe instead of just one. We're planning a week in the Czech Republic in March, and another trip for the summer that was supposed to be Spain and Portugal, but I can't stop dreaming about Paris, Gimmelwald and Cinque Terre!!
Monique
Boston, MA USA
New Year
I am going to travel alone. Always wanted to that, but never did. I plan to travel to Spain, Switerzerland, Denmark alone. I will enjoy the sights, people, culture, etc. I will smile and just be happy that I am able to travel. As far as my itinerary, I will do whatever I want. That's the beauty of traveling alone — you can do whatever, whenever. I like that.
USA
resolutions
Once again, to spend less time looking through my camera viewfinder, to spend more time in places not listed in guidebooks and to get acquainted with people!
Anonymous
USA
New Years Resolution
My 2 top travel resolutions this year are to meet Rick Steves and decide my next destination! I am planning to attend the Tour Reunion next month, which should help me achieve both!
Freyja
LaGrange, IL USA
I Resolve...
To go. Just go. As often as possible, as pleasantly as possible. To pack my suitcase with optimism and enthusiasm and share them with everyone I meet. To remember that good memories are timeless treasures and good people are everywhere. To learn something new, try something new and go somewhere new every day, but never forget old favorites.
V. Allford
Sunland, CA USA
A couple of months ago, I quit my job and sold my house in Northern California to travel. At 28 years old, I resolve to meet as many people and see as much of the world as I can before returning to the 'real world'. Or maybe, that's exactly what this is...
Amie Dworecki
(currently in) Edinburgh, Scotland
This time in Paris I resolve to: Spend more time sitting still at cafes, sketching, people-watching & -meeting, & less time sightseeing! Enjoy more local cultural events. Really taste & savor never-before-tried local foods & drinks. Be brave & kiss a Frenchman!
Terrie Blazek
Palos Hills, IL USA
My resolutions are: see more attractions, try different restaurants, plan things out more, and take Rick's books with me. I am catching up on what I didn't see the first time.
Nancy
Dallas, TX USA
i resolve to actually go beyond the planning stage and actually GO! i've been dreaming of a backpacking trip to europe for 5 years, but i never seem to have the money. i'm starting early, saving for summer 2002. wish me luck, and maybe i'll see you there!
nathan
toledo, oh USA
I resolve to let my travels abroad affect my politics at home. More pedestrian-friendly areas and more emphasis on mass transit.
Mike Kruger
Renton, WA USA
I resolve to: ride bikes in Holland, walk along the wall in Rothenburg, feed the bunnies in Reutte, dance in the Piazza San Marco, watch a sunset and sunrise in Vernazza, run barefoot through the meadows in Gimmelwald, picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower. And, best of all, thanks to Rick Steves, share these wonderful experiences and count my blessings with my new husband starting next June!
Renee
CO USA
I resolve to return to Germany this year. I was stationed there in the Army about 20 years ago, and I want to go back "home" again!
D. L. Williamson
Indianapolis, IN USA
Review French and German so I am more fluent on my next trip. More important than memorizing vocabulary is tuning my ears so that I can recognize words and better communicate. A little language-of-the-country goes a long way toward building goodwill.
Donna Cunningham
San Diego, CA USA
I have another resolution: to visit Provence in July to see the lavender fields in bloom, and to celebrate Bastille Day (July 14) there! This trip will make it hard to abide by my earlier resolution of taking fewer pictures, but I think it's more important to revel in the ambience instead of viewing everything through the viewfinder. Besides, the pictures won't capture the fragrance!
Mary from Oregon
USA
Move slower, stay longer, and savor every moment. I may not pass this way again.
K. Casaday
San Diego, CA USA
I resolve to become a Parisian for two weeks by renting an apartment over a café near the rue Cler. I'm going to buy food at the rue Cler markets, make picnic lunches and eat them in the park near the Eiffel tower, and I'm going to people-watch and write in my journal at the downstairs café.
MJ
Longwood, FL USA
I resolve to take at least one rail trip this year. Living in Germany, we get caught up in the autobahn mentality, always certain that the speed of light is the best way to get where we're going. This year, I'll convince my husband to take the train when we head out for our week's vacation with the kids.
Kristi Little
Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemburg Germany
As an international courier, who travels to a different destination in the world every month (sometimes twice a month), I want to write more adventure articles, listen to more people, visit more orphanages, take advantage of all the free musical concerts in churches and remember to take lots of pens. Kids love pens, especially colored ones.
Ann Garske
Pleasanton, CA USA
I resolve to save some money and begin planning my next trip to Europe. I also resolve to visit Rick's travel center in Edmonds, and take advantage of what it has to offer.
Meghan
WA USA
My resolutions for the year are about to become OUR resolutions:
— Experience Paris as only newlyweds can.
— Take our time to meet locals
— Absorb the culture around us
— Live each day to its fullest, not worrying we won't ever return later.
— eat something ugly!
— Live, laugh, and love our way along life's road.
Deb
Okemos, mi USA