A (Lost) Love for Travel on Valentine’s Day

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Sharing a Love for Travel on Valentine’s Day

Can’t travel this Valentine’s Day? Dream about the romance of travel instead.

 

I was thumbing through an old copy of O awhile ago, not The Story of O, an erotic novel from 1954, but O – the Oprah Magazine. In it I came across an article called Sex, Love, and Creativity – is romance the true mother of invention? by Helen Fisher, PhD.

Romance and Creativity

According to a study in the Netherlands, people who were asked to imagine a long stroll with the person they loved boosted their creativity.

Lust and Logic

People asked to imagine casual sex with a hot-looking stranger boosted their analytical abilities.

The bottom line is: if you want to write that travel memoir go for a walk with your sweetheart. If you want to get your taxes done, pick up a guy at the grocery store. (I don’t recommend this, unless perhaps, he’s an accountant.)

Valentine’s Day Travel Plans

I suppose, since it’s Valentine’s Day, you could – instead of going for a walk – opt for some private time with your loved one, pretend you don’t know them and try to accomplish both.

Or you could work on your travel book while trying to get your partner to do your taxes. (Worth a try.)

For those who will be alone on Valentine’s Day maybe you should toss the manuscript, ignore the tax receipts and plan a future trip. If you are with your loved one, you could plan a trip together. If that’s not a path to happiness, what is?

Because here’s my premise: maybe romantic travel is the true mother of invention.

Dreaming of Travel on Valentine’s Day

Close your eyes and imagine it: the scent of turmeric and cinnamon in an Indian bazaar, the screech of a parrot in a humid rainforest, the wintry swish of skis on a slope in Aspen.

Or, since it’s Valentine’s Day, imagine the mouthwatering displays of chocolate in Zurich or some melty crunchy macarons from Ladurée in Paris.

Doesn’t it make you want to reach for your passport? Like, immediately? Doesn’t that stir the romance in your heart?

For me, homebound as I am right now, my travel dreams are many. The first vision that pops up in my head is a little town in Germany with plenty of medieval architecture and half-timbered houses, and probably a thermal water spa nearby. I have no name for this town as I haven’t discovered it yet, but it’s been there for thousands of years.

This travel dream is interspersed with a picture of palm trees in Thailand and a cheap but congenial bungalow on an island with a white sand beach (where I’ve spent more than one solo Valentines Day).

This, in turn, veers into thoughts of a luxury villa with a pool in the Caribbean (which is how I’d be happy to spend my retirement).

My tropical travel dreams are then replaced by the sound of echoing footsteps as I walk past the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum in London.

Clearly I’m fickle when it comes to my love for travel destinations but I can’t help it. I have a lot of travel love in my heart.

And while the decision not to travel right now paints my heart a dull grey, the knowledge that all of the destinations in all of the world are still out there waiting keeps it beating.

 

The Joy of Travel

Because travel – or even thinking about travel – boosts our blood, lights up dulled senses and challenges our wits. In fact, it probably stimulates both our creativity and our analytical skills. As I said, maybe it’s the romance of travel that is the mother of invention.

So grab your partner … or a map, talk to your heart and figure out where it next wants to go.