My Travel Philosophy

I am cheap.

Now, I don't mean that I will not spend money; I just mean that I want to know that I got my money's worth for what I spent.  I will spend the money to get into the museum to see The David in Florence, but I don't want to spend the money on the overpriced food at the place right across the street.  I would rather go a few blocks to get the cheaper (and probably better) food at the place that is not double charging just because it has the prime location right across the street from the "must see thing".

Sometimes this cheapness is paid for in extra walking, delays, getting a little lost, and some grumbling stomachs   However, in general, I have found it worthwhile.  We have had some of our best travel moments when we have gotten a little lost looking for that subway station or bus stop (I am almost always too cheap to take a cab; besides, there are few cabs that will take five people, so that causes problems even when we do want to), and ended up somewhere where we never would have planned to go, but which gives us an amazing opportunity to experience the real people of a city.

When we go to a city, we obviously have to see some of those "must see things".  You can't go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.  However, my best memory from that trip was getting lost, wandering into a non-touristy neighborhood, and finding an excellent (and relatively inexpensive) Japanese restaurant.  No tourists, just us and the locals having Sushi and Yakisoba for lunch.

For this same reason, I prefer smaller bed and breakfasts or hostels to the larger hotels.  The people who run these smaller establishments are usually much more open about where to go and what to do to get the local flavor of the city, not just the stuff all the tourists go to see.  We stayed at an awesome bed and breakfast in Florence, and the owner's suggestions of where to go eat (where the locals go, not the tourists) were so helpful, I think it actually made our trip.  Another plus, these places are usually way less expensive as well, leaving more of your budget to get into that must see museum, or rent a car to go to a nearby town you may not have seen otherwise.

In my upcoming blogs, I will detail some of the specific places we have gone, where we have stayed, and what worked and what didn't.