Travel Dreams Often Differ From Reality Because You Always Bring Yourself Along

Human life is often a long search for happiness, with various paths to reach it. Some people look for happiness in money, others in love, and some in travel. However, travel reality often differs from the dreams that inspire it. This idea is well shown in the French novel "A Rebours" by Joris-Karl Huysmans, written in 1884. The main character, Duke of Esseintes, hates his village and avoids people. Instead, he spends his time alone in his room, reading classic books.

His reading motivates him to explore the world again. The duke reads Charles Dickens, whose detailed descriptions of foggy London make him eager to visit the famous city. Soon, he packs his bags and sets off. While in Paris, waiting for his train to London, he enters an English bookstore and buys a London guidebook. Excited about his trip, he visits an English tavern filled with British maids and the smell of beer and meat.

Travel Realities: Expectations vs. Experience

The duke's excitement about becoming more British quickly fades. By the time he has to board the train to London, he's completely exhausted. Instead of dealing with the hassles of train travel—rushing to the station, finding a porter, sleeping in a cramped compartment, and waiting in lines—he decides to stay home. He never travels again. Travel disappointments aren't just in stories; they bother people today just as much as in the past. Traveling isn’t the best way to escape problems because no matter where you go, you’re still there.

Alain once visited Barbados, eager to take a break from his daily routine and relax. But when he arrived, he couldn't just relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery or delicious fresh fruit. Instead, he felt sad and anxious, just like he did back in London. Actual travel often isn't as glamorous as we imagine, but it still holds many wonders. The trick is to adjust our modern approach to it.

Air Journey Can Astonish Us, Alter Perspective, And Teach Cloud Appreciation

Charles Baudelaire, a 19th-century French poet, loved big ships. He was amazed that such huge vessels could quickly and efficiently travel from one continent to another. While old-time frigates and steamships were impressive, modern transportation is even more astonishing. Air travel is not just amazing; it also gives you a chance to see the world from a different angle.

If Baudelaire thought a large boat floating gracefully was impressive, imagine his reaction to the takeoff of a Boeing 747. Better yet, picture his excitement inside the plane as it leaves the ground. This moment breaks the routine for even the most frequent travelers. During takeoff, we leave the earth and realize our ability to go through big life changes. As we fly higher, factories, houses, and cars look smaller and smaller. This is a healing experience, showing how small our problems and goals are. From up here, even your country may start to look less significant.

Fly Among the Clouds

As the plane climbs, we find ourselves flying through a surreal landscape of fluffy white mountains and snowy plains. We're among the clouds. On Earth, clouds often get a bad reputation for blocking the sun and bringing rain. But up close, their beauty and three-dimensional shapes are amazing. Historically, this rare view would have fascinated famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Nicolas Poussin. Even the poet Baudelaire, who admired clouds from the ground, wrote passionately about them, saying, "I love the clouds, the clouds that pass by, over there, over there, those lovely clouds!"

Travel Entices us with exoticism, offering an escape from Mundane Routines

Alain once visited Amsterdam, a city that, despite not being far away, felt completely foreign to him. He was fascinated by ordinary things like airport signs, especially the double vowels and unfamiliar fonts in Dutch. These small details confirmed that he was in a strange and exotic place.

Travelers are often drawn to explore different cultures abroad, seeking an escape from their everyday routines. This desire for new experiences is captured by the term "exoticism," which promises a break from the familiar and mundane aspects of daily life.

European Fascination with the "Oriental" in the 19th Century

Exoticism has been a longstanding concept. In the 1800s, the term "exotic" often referred to countries in and around the Middle East, then known as the Orient. This region was frequently mentioned in literature and art. In 1813, Lord Byron wrote a popular poem called "The Giaour." It's set in Turkey and tells the story of Leila, a Muslim woman in the harem of Hassan. She falls in love with a non-Muslim man (a giaour) and is tragically drowned by Hassan in the sea. In 1829, French writer Victor Hugo penned a popular series of poems titled “Les Orientales,” set in the eastern Mediterranean. Around the same time, French artist Eugène Delacroix traveled to Morocco and identified himself as African.

This European fascination with the “oriental” influenced places across the continent. In 1833, the huge Luxor Obelisk was transported from Egypt’s Luxor Temple to Cherbourg, France, aboard a barge named Louqsor. From there, it made its way to Paris, where it still stands at the center of the Place de la Concorde. Exoticism offered an escape from everyday monotony. One of the most discontented authors of the nineteenth century was Gustave Flaubert, who lived in Rouen, France, and grew weary of middle-class conventions.

Flaubert's Escapes and Fantasies

Flaubert's diaries are filled with complaints about the dullness of his neighbors and their trivial concerns. He saw the Orient as a means of escaping this monotony, a fantasy that is mirrored in his 1839 novel “Les Mémoires d’un Fou”, where the protagonist spends his youth lost in daydreams of Egypt. Flaubert was eventually able to live out these fantasies. At the age of 24, he inherited his family's fortune, which enabled him to leave Rouen and travel to Egypt, where he indulged in his fascination with exotic cultures and women.

Travel was once about Discovery; now, Travelers must Inquire Actively

While visiting Madrid, Alain suddenly felt very tired and decided to stay in bed. His rest was repeatedly interrupted by the hotel's cleaning lady, prompting him to finally get up and explore the city. Feeling aimlessly tired during travel is common nowadays but was less so in the past when travel was more about exploration. Take Alexander von Humboldt, a German explorer who went to South America in 1799. His trip had a clear purpose: to gather facts. When not doing that, he conducted experiments to help his research.

During his journey, he was always busy. He carefully noted changes in ocean temperature, learned to find the ship’s position using a tool and stars, and discovered new sea creatures caught in a net overboard. When the ship anchored near New Andalusia, Humboldt continued his passionate documentation. He recorded temperatures and air pressure, sketched plants, interacted with locals, and learned about their way of life.

Humboldt's Busy Exploration

Humboldt was always busy—a trait modern travelers rarely share. Nowadays, most feel there’s no need to explore since the world's already mapped out, thanks to explorers like him. This ease, perhaps, led Alain to feel bored; there was nothing new to discover. In Madrid, Alain visited the Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande. The guidebook's dry facts didn't interest him. Why should he care that the frescoes were painted in the nineteenth century? So he decided to approach things differently by asking his questions.

What inspired people to start building churches? Why aren't all churches designed the same way? How did the architects of this church become so successful? Such questions can reignite curiosity that guidebooks often dampen.

Vacations in Nature offer Lasting Benefits Worth Learning to Sustain

William Wordsworth, a British poet from the Romantic era, strongly disliked city life. He criticized the pollution, traffic, and ugly buildings, believing they harmed people's well-being. Many today agree with him. That's why lots of people prefer vacationing in natural settings, where they can relax and rejuvenate. Wordsworth thought being in nature was good for both body and mind. He said it made your body stronger and your mind clearer. When Alain visited England's Lake District, even though it was raining, he felt peaceful hiking through a dense oak forest with raindrops falling on the trees.

The oak trees, incredibly patient, slowly take in nutrients and water through their roots each season. According to Wordsworth, nature teaches us about patience and endurance. Among the oaks, the author felt peaceful, letting go of daily worries. But what happens when you leave the forest and return to the city? Won’t this peace disappear? Wordsworth found a way to hold onto nature's calm by storing up memories of serene moments. He explained this idea to his sister in a letter from 1790. That year, he explored the Swiss Alps, where breathtaking views of Gondo Gorge and Lake Maggiore left a lasting impression. He believed these memories would bring him comfort for the rest of his life.

Recall Peaceful Moments

Decades later, Wordsworth still wrote about the Alps in his poems. These memorable moments, frozen in memory like photos, were “moments in time” – happy memories of the past that could ease current sadness. Today’s travelers can use this trick too. Take in a beautiful view and soak it up. Then, when city life gets stressful, you can remember that peaceful moment and hopefully relax just like you did back then.

Nature's Splendor Evokes Spiritual awe, endorsed in Biblical Reflections.

Beautiful natural landscapes often seem like they were made by a powerful force. It’s no surprise they inspire deep spiritual feelings. The author felt a sense of something divine while traveling in Egypt and exploring the ancient mountains of southern Sinai. The deep canyons, valleys, and tall granite mountains, all over 400 million years old, were truly breathtaking. The people who wrote the Bible likely had similar experiences, as this landscape appears in many parts of the holy book. For example, in the Book of Exodus, God watches over a group of unhappy Israelites dealing with a food shortage in Sinai, struggling not to worship foreign gods.

Natural beauty often reflects a divine presence. For example, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said nature exists as a way to show God's presence. Biblical stories also encourage thinking about nature.  The Book of Job tells of a man named Job who was rich, happy, and devoted. Suddenly, his sheep are stolen or killed, and a storm takes his firstborn son. Job's friends think he must have sinned. But Job knows he's innocent. Heartbroken, Job asks God why he's suffering. God replies by telling Job to think about the natural world. God seems to say that nature is greater than any one person. It follows its own rules, which can seem mysterious and harsh to humans. These laws, like God's own commands, have a deep logic that may not always be clear to us.

Art Enriches our Appreciation of Landscapes, both Foreign and Local

If Vincent van Gogh hadn't painted scenes of Provence, France, the author might never have wanted to visit there. Many people have similar experiences—like wanting to see Spain after watching Pedro Almodóvar's films or becoming interested in highway overpasses from Andreas Gursky's photos. Art can help us appreciate different places around the world.

It's easy to overlook the beauty around us. Sometimes, the desire to travel fades quickly. Why bother exploring another country? We may feel we've seen it all. But if you feel this way, maybe you just need to look closer. That's where an artist's perspective can make a difference.

Change Perspectives in Art and Travel

Art provides new perspectives, transforming how we view places, and making them vibrant and intriguing. For instance, before the 18th century, England's countryside seemed dull and flat, lacking appeal compared to the Mediterranean. Travelers often chose Italy over Britain, influenced by art like Roman poems and paintings by artists such as Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, which glorified Italian cities like Rome and Naples.

In the 18th century, British artists began painting scenes of their own country. James Thomson wrote a poem called "The Seasons," praising English landscapes. This inspired poets like Stephen Duck and John Clare to do the same. Painters Thomas Gainsborough and Richard Wilson also started depicting the English countryside. These new views had a big impact. Soon, tourists started visiting places like the Lake District and Scottish Highlands in large numbers.

Traveling Benefits from Drawing and Writing For Focused Attention

Tourists often rush through historic sites, snapping quick photos instead of truly experiencing their beauty. But what's the point of travel if you don't take time to appreciate what you see? Drawing, as suggested by John Ruskin, helps you truly observe and internalize the beauty around you. It's a way to deeply connect with the places you visit, beyond just capturing a moment on camera.

As a child, Ruskin was fascinated by grass to the point of wanting to eat it. Instead of munching on it, he found a creative outlet in drawing every tiny detail of the blades. Unlike taking a quick photo, drawing takes time and prompts us to ask questions. For example, how does a tree’s trunk connect to its roots? Why are some leaves a different shade of green? Drawing encourages us to observe our surroundings closely and appreciate them more deeply.

Enhance Appreciation Through Writing

Writing, often likened to "word painting" by John Ruskin, serves a similar purpose: helping us notice and value our surroundings better. Ruskin criticized hurriedly written letters that only superficially describe landscapes or weather. He encouraged asking deeper questions—like why one lake appears more beautiful than another or what else an object might resemble—rather than settling for simplistic observations. Writing prompts us to pay closer attention to details, encouraging a focused mindset that enhances our appreciation of our environment.