Solo Travel with Renee
I used to think my Fabulous Trips started the day I’d go down to my local Flight Centre and pick up my plane tickets. But a trip really starts with an idea. Bucket list aside, the germ of a Fabulous Trip is planted when something catches your fancy on TV or a snatch of conversation drifts past your ear. Maybe a friend at the office just returned from a place that sounded out-of-this-world amazing. Inside your head, a little voice squeaks “I’d like to go there” or “Wow, that sounds so cool”. But that’s usually the end of it.
So how do you turn that thought into a reality and begin to build your dream trip? Moreover, how do you even begin to entertain the thought of taking such a trip alone?
My first foray into solo travel started 20 years ago with a bottle of wine. Alone and crying into my glass on my 40th Birthday, my red-rimmed 
eyes fell upon the label that pictured a French Chateaux with the word BEAUNE underneath. My husband and I had often talked about touring France. My tears started afresh as I miserably reflected that I had no money and was in the midst of divorce proceedings. Then, that little niggling voice piped up: “Why can’t I go anyway? Who’s to stop me? I should go, have a fabulous time and make that my revenge”. It relentlessly continued until I found myself thinking of possible ways I could manage it, peppered with idyllic images of me enjoying the French countryside. Finally I decided I would just go for it. I would no longer put my life on hold just because I was now single and alone.
The next day, I opened a savings account and deposited $25.00. Every payday afterwards, I siphoned another $25.00 directly into this account. I cut out buying coffee and snacks and started packing a lunch. Every six months, I upped the automatic payment by five dollars, so I barely felt it. If I came across a windfall, got a pay raise, unexpected refund or gift money, into the account it went. Sometimes times were tight and I had to postpone the increase, but as soon as things improved I was back on schedule.
It took me eleven years to save for that initial trip to France. I kept up momentum by plastering inspirational pictures everywhere, including one of a pretty rental cottage near Beaune that I used as my screen saver. I read travel books, watched any French movie I could rent or get from the library, experimented with French cookery à la Julie and Julia and studied French to brush up my language skills.
I also started doing things by myself to get used to travelling alone. I realized most people do lots of solitary activities, such as shopping, going to the gym or taking an evening class. I began with going to a movie, choosing to go during the day rather than at night, when I’d be surrounded by couples. Next, I would occasionally go out to dinner, picking slower Tuesdays or Wednesdays, when restaurants crave customers. A big step was attending a local musical production. I felt so self-conscious during the intermission that I hovered near the men’s room so it would look like I was waiting for a partner!
I began to make small day trips out of town and my confidence increased with each new experience. The most important thing to learn about solo travel, whether it’s in your own home town or across the globe, is to trust in yourself and your resiliency. This will come as you gradually stretch out of your comfort zone, starting with small steps and increasing as you feel more self-reliant as solo traveler.
On a golden October afternoon in 2011, I unlocked the double-doors of my charming cottage rental in the mountain village of Villers La Faye, France. Thumping my bags down, I promptly burst into tears again, bringing everything full circle. I stayed in that lovely cottage for 4 weeks, bicycling around Beaune and its mountainous countryside, living la vie francaise. I learned a lot about myself in that time and that seminal trip changed my life forever.
Since then, I continue to diligently roll money from my paycheque into my Fabulous Trip Account, and I still up it by $5.00 every six months. It no longer takes years to save up for my next Dream Destination as that initial $25.00 biweekly payment has swelled painlessly to a hefty deposit that adds up fast. My next Fab Trip is coming up – two and a half weeks in Paris and a week in Barcelona. In my next blog, I will address a big stumbling block for many people: Solo Travel Fears. In the meantime, this morning I heard some beguiling little snatches of an Italian Aria on the CBC. I began to wonder: perhaps a trip to Italy could be in the works?