Wanderlust


/ ˈWanderlust / A strong desire to travel


1. During one trip, you are already thinking about the next one

The wanderluster never thinks of just one trip at a time, quite the contrary.

During a fantastic trip already on the next one (s) and for this reason he often finds himself organizing several trips at the same time and having more departures scheduled within a few months.

For me it is just like that and if I have to say it all I start thinking about a new destination immediately after booking one.

For the series "who stops is lost!"

2. At the beginning of the year, you know all the bridges and holidays by heart

The traveler suffering from wanderlust syndrome begins to check the calendar for the following year already in the autumn, looking for long weekends and bridges to fit the holidays.

Easter, April 25, May 1, June 2, November 1 and perhaps Sant’Ambroeus coupled with the Immaculate Conception.

By the way: know that Christmas 2020 falls on a Friday, do your math!

3. Book multiple trips as soon as possible

Whoever arrives first stays better is known, especially if you can only leave during the peak season.

So for the August trip we start monitoring flights as early as the end of November, to get to book at the most, but at the very most, by January.

I know pro-level travelers who, lucky them, do not fear the adversities of fate and shape travel plans more than a year in advance: I admit, I haven't arrived that far yet, but I am among those who in January they already have two or three air tickets detached.

In any case, the itinerary has been ready in the drawer for months (if not years!) And this brings us straight to the point


                                                                                                                                                                                 4. You have prepared travel itineraries not (yet) made


                                                                                                                                                                                      The wanderluster is by definition a dreamer.
Nothing satisfies him more than planning trips and when it comes to defining itineraries and movements he considers himself unbeatable.
And so just a photograph, a book, a film, a story of a trip made by friends, colleagues, acquaintances or even strangers (!!!) that he hears about on the train and here he starts reading blogs, guides and everything that happens to be within reach to outline a travel itinerary already divided into days and stages.
For example, I have been preparing for years the itineraries of Egypt (the serious one of the Pyramids eh, not Sharm el-Sheikh), New Zealand, Patagonia, Scotland, Norway, Iceland.
Just to name a few ... ..

5. Open Google Maps randomly
The serial traveler spends hours (o-r-e) fantasizing about Google Maps.
Not only to trace the aforementioned itineraries, but also to explore random places.
I consider myself a street view champion, especially in moments of boredom, but also in those of particular stress: opening Google Maps and zooming in on any dot of the globe is my calming, other than Xanax!

6. Consult the oracle-like Skyscanner
Skyscanner is the best friend of travelers with this syndrome.
Not only to monitor combinations of dates-prices-times, but also to seek inspiration.
For example, I could never do without Skyscanner's "Everywhere" option, especially when I'm undecided.
Not so much because I have no ideas, but on the contrary because there are too many ideas and Skyscanner gives me a great hand in immediately comparing the various prices at a glance.
Holy immediately whoever invented it!

7. Spend all your savings on travel
There are those who spend their savings on clothes, there are those who are a technology freak and want to have the latest model of pc-mobile-smartwatch ... and there are those instead, before buying anything, think about what could do with that figure in terms of travel.
A new designer coat?
Mmm with the same amount I buy a flight for that city we have been aiming for for a lifetime ...
A new cell phone?
Mmm but with that money I can organize a long weekend for the May 1st long weekend ...
In reality the coat is not that I need that much and for the cell phone I can wait ... ok, I book!
Mind you it is not stingy: it is a matter of priority!

8. Always end up in the bookshop in front of the "Travel" section
When a wanderluster sets foot in a bookstore, it is as if an automatic compass clicks, which always leads him to find himself in front of the "Travel" section.
And so, not only does he find himself leafing through guides of destinations he would like to visit, but if the wanderlust syndrome is particularly acute, here he is picking up updated editions of the guides of the places he has already visited.
Not to mention the travel narrative: reportage, travel diaries, photographic books… Because in the end the traveler is always leaving, even if only with his thoughts.

9. Go on a trip, not a vacation
Vacation is literally a time of rest.
Now tell me: which traveler leaves to sit and do nothing and rest?
Perhaps he can last a couple of days, but then he must make the most of the time available to him to see and know.
This means waking up (almost) at dawn and miles to grind by any means, feet included.
For now we have reached our record in Berlin, where in one day we covered something like 42 km on foot, while the alarm set at 2.30 to see the sunrise in Masada in Israel has not yet been outclassed.
In short, other than rest: when the inveterate traveler returns home he would need a holiday to recover from the trip!