Books as Inspiring Blueprints for Solo Travel Adventures

Have you ever wondered how a single book could change your life trajectory? As someone who has been profoundly influenced by literature, I invite you to join me on an exploration of how books serve as a bridge between our dreams and reality. From the soulful journeys in "Eat Pray Love" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" to the rugged paths of "Wild," these stories are more than mere narratives; they're blueprints for embarking on real-life adventures. Through this episode, I share my personal experiences with these influential books and discuss how they offer both inspiration and practical travel insights. Together, we'll uncover the magic that happens when literature stirs our wanderlust and reshapes our travel plans.

• Exploring the connection between reading and inspiration for travel 
• Highlighting personal favorite travel books that have made an impact 
• Importance of memoirs in understanding solo travel experiences 
• The role of fiction in shaping perceptions of destinations 
• Discovering how to research and utilize libraries for travel resources 
• Engaging with the audience for their own travel book recommendations 
Join us on my Solo Travel Women Over 50 Facebook page to share your thoughts!

TRAVEL BOOKS :
 
Eat, Pray, Love | Elizabeth Gilbert
Under The Tuscan Sun | Frances Mayes
Every Day in Tuscany | Frances Mayes
Wild | Cheryl Strayed
Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities, and the Pleasure of Solitude | Stephanie Rosenbloom
World Travel | Anthony Bourdain
10 Years a Nomad | Matthew Kepnes
Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman | Alice Steinbach
Hidden Travel: The Secret to Extraordinary Trips | Stephen Brock
Vagabonding | Rolf Potts
Nomadland | Jessica Bruder
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the AT | Bill Bryson
The Art of Travel | Alain de Botten
Wanderland | Kate Evans
The Geography of Bliss | Eric Weiner
The Motorcycle Dairies | Ernesto Che Guevara
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback | Robyn Davidson
The Year of Living Danishly | Helen Russell
The Camino | Shirley McLaine
The Way-Movie | Emilio Estevez
Invincible | Joy Alway
Beating the Odds | Joy Alway
Paddle the Nile | Sarah Davis
Travel Mania | Karen Gershowitz
Wander Woman | Beth Santos
The Catch Me if You Can | Jessica Nabongo

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Chapters

• 0:00 Travel Inspiration Through Books
• 8:15 Unlocking Travel Inspiration Through Books
• 12:31 Sharing Travel Book Recommendations

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do you love snuggling up under the covers with a good book to read, especially if it's cold outside, like it is right now in the US? Do you love being transported to that place in time that is being described in that book? Do books offer you inspiration for your travels, travels? Well, I'm here to share many ways that books I'm a book lover can help you kind of get inspired for your next trip. Hello, welcome to Solo Travel Adventures. I'm Cheryl Esch, your podcaster and book lover here.

Speaker 1: 0:41

I have read so many books I average about 50 books a year and I do make sure that I include in my reads during the year that I read some travel books, of course. Right, I love reading travel books for a number of reasons, and so you may ask well, what does reading have to do with travel? Quite a bit. There are so many travel books out there. There are travel resource books, but what I love to read are travel writings, whether they are memoirs of someone who has gone a certain place, maybe it's someone who has, you know, traveled nomadically, and so they're kind of sharing that life that they've lived. And there's some that are more resourceful, meaning they help describe a place just in more detail and those especially can be inspirational. And there's even fiction books. Although they may not be 100% true, they can be very descriptive in setting up, you know, sort of this environment or this place that might actually inspire you to look into maybe traveling to that place. For example, there are quite a few books fiction books and travel writing books in regards to Paris, and I know that because before I went to Paris a few years ago, I started just kind of reading. You know, of course, when you start looking at Paris, your, your feed starts showing you different books about Paris, and so I started reading even fiction books about Paris and then even some books that someone who actually had been to Paris so you know, reminiscent I. You know I've been there twice, so it kind of reminded me and made me more aware of sort of these surroundings that I would soon find myself in or did find myself in. So I'm here to share how we can use books and make some recommendations.

Speaker 1: 2:41

There are so many out there. You're probably very familiar with several of these that I'm going to mention. These are kind of those top travel books that some of them have turned into movies. Of course, eat Pray, love, of course, by Elizabeth Gilbert Under the Tuscan Sun. Oh, how many have watched that movie or read that book multiple times. Me I have, maybe because I have wished that movie or read that book multiple times Me I have, maybe because I have wished that were me right In Italy, and it has inspired me, in addition to kind of. Another book by Frances May is called Every Day in Tuscany. That one I read recently, probably about a year or two ago read recently, probably about a year or two ago, and her descriptive details of Italy just made my mouth water, because she also talks about food and really makes me want to go back to Italy. But then there's also Wild by Cheryl Strayed. That became a movie there's.

Speaker 1: 3:43

I also have read a few of Anthony Bourdain's books and of course you know he's had some shows out there. Um world travel was the most recent one that I read of his Um. The one that I got really inspired and would highly recommend is called Alone Time. It's four seasons, four cities and the pleasures of solo travels by Stephanie Rosenblum, and I love it because she does a lot details. She's a journalist and so she does give a lot of descriptions and actually her recommendations for Paris. I actually took her recommendation for the place that she stayed.

Speaker 1: 4:27

So reading books, specifically books where people have actually traveled, maybe they're sharing a memoir, can offer you actual resources. Making notes of where they went, looking it up, kind of being that inspiration. Knowing someone's been there and they have you know good, positive reviews about it, is a win-win, honestly. Plus, you get to share in their journey as you're reading maybe their memoir. So I'm going to read off a bunch of other ones that I have read, maybe their memoir. So I'm going to read off a bunch of other ones that I have read, and so some of these are older.

Speaker 1: 5:10

There is 10 Years, a Nomad. I've also read another one of Matt's books. Something was $50 a day, but I think he's got a new version of that. It's called $75 a day, traveling the world kind of thing. So that's either coming out soon or it's going to. It is out there's, without reservations, the travels of an independent woman. That one is really good. I'm actually in the middle of that one right now by Alice Steinbach, hidden travel the secret of extraordinary trips. By Stephen Brock, vagabonding.

Speaker 1: 5:42

There's Nomadland, which also turned into a movie. Interesting story there. And really any book by Bill Bryson if you're a reader and you also like travel, writing books. He's written several books. The one that I kind of liked the most, of course, was A Walk in the Woods and Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, and that actually did turn into a movie as well. So it's kind of a funny movie. The Art of Travel, the Geography of Bliss, oh, the Motorcycle Diaries Very good, and then also turned into a movie. And then Trax also turned into a movie.

Speaker 1: 6:26

That was a woman's solo trek across 1700 miles of Australian outback, robin Davidson. There's the Year of Living, danishly by Helen Russell. There's, of course, a bunch of books on the Camino, the Way, of course. The Camino by Shirley MacLaine. Invincible by Joy Alway is also about the Camino. I had her on my podcast. I've had several people on my podcast that also have books and I'll quickly mention those. There is, um I mentioned, jill Joy Alway with her Invincible. She also has another book that she just wrote um called Beating the Odds. Then I had, uh, sarah Davis she did Paddle the Nile that's the name of her book as well. Um, travel Mania by Karen Gersherwitz. And I've also had Kate Evans who wrote Wonderland.

Speaker 1: 7:26

You know, I seem to gravitate towards authors, maybe, maybe because I just love to read. Uh, there are two newer books out there, also written specifically for women, by women who have done some solo travel. Beth Santos has written Wonder Woman, and then the Catch Me If you Can by Jessica Nebon Bongo, and there are tons, tons more out there women, and there are some that are specific to women and there are some that are specific to women and there are some that are just about travel in general. So if you are looking for a specific place, there could be plenty of resources out there and that's what I'm getting to. I, I love reading and being transported to these places.

Speaker 1: 8:15

There have been, as I mentioned earlier, some fiction books that have also kind of inspired me, and I know right now, like one of the hot books is called the Women and it's set in Vietnam during the war. But I've always kind of had Vietnam on my bucket list top 10 bucket list that is on the top there and after reading that it just kind of my heart just got drawn to possibly moving it up the list a little bit and seeing if I can make that happen. I'm looking at maybe 2026 for that one. But all these stories can inspire you, and so how can we use books? One thing you can use books to inspire a new place that maybe you had not considered.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Always, always, do your own research as well. So once you have been inspired by a book that you've read about a specific place, look into it, look into the possibility of going and what that would look like for you. Number two I think books also offer us a image of ourselves, what it could look like, what solo travel specifically could look like, what women traveling could look like and getting that inspiration, that encouragement from other women, seeing how they have you know they have persevered, they have been resilient, they have been courageous, they've had to problem solve and all those things that go into a potential solo trip. And seeing that or hearing that through the book, how they overcame that, can be encouragement to us, especially if you have never gone on a solo trip. This could be another inspirational point. And then, thirdly, I just I love to read. And then, thirdly, I just I love to read. So not only will I be inspired by a place, inspired by the women that have done it, but thirdly, it makes me, of course, want to get out there and travel, be courageous, like they were and for me, also potentially do more writing about my solo trips, so other people can glean from my experiences as well, besides the podcast. Yes, bringing that all here full circle on the podcast for you to hear about those experiences is why I'm here.

Speaker 1: 10:44

But writing is also another love of mine and so it's. You know, reading all these books about travel and everything you know the women that have done it, but not just the women, but people in general. Seeing what they have gone through and those experiences, I learned lessons from them. Learning what to do and what not to do could also be something you can parse from reading these books about travel. Now, there's also just strictly travel resource books and I do recommend you could either purchase them, but I would check out your library first.

Speaker 1: 11:23

There are lots of travel resource books at your library and if you have what we call in the US, maybe some online ability to access your library, there might even be more ability to access. Maybe it's something through Kindle, also through Amazon or through what we call. There's an app called Libby or something like that that you might have in your country where you can either do an audible book, you can do a Kindle, or you can just go to your physical library and get the book. Sometimes it's nice just to have that book as a resource. I did that when I was considering going to Iceland and I just kind of pulled out. I went to the library and everything was in one place, and that was really nice instead of having to continue doing some internet research and different tabs open, and so it was nice to have it all in one place. So this is how books can inspire your next travel adventure.

Speaker 1: 12:31

So what books do you love?

Speaker 1: 12:32

What books have you read that have inspired you to travel?

Speaker 1: 12:35

I would love to hear any other titles that maybe I missed.

Speaker 1: 12:39

As I mentioned, there are lots out there, and I would love to you know, add them to my list if there's something I haven't read that also is travel related, because I get inspired, still to this day, by many of those stories and get great ideas from these authors as well.

Speaker 1: 12:59

So what have you read or what could you recommend as a good, inspirational travel book? If you have a book to recommend, join us on my Solo Travel Women Over 50 Facebook page and this is where I'll ask the question, or you can make a comment and just offer any kind of book title that you have read that related to travel. I would love to hear it, love to put it in the comments and so that the other women in the group can also be inspired by that book. So join the Facebook group. If you have not, and again you can just search Solo Travel for Women Over 50. It's the title of the Facebook group, but there's also a link in the show notes and you can join the group and we'll have some discussions this week about what travel books have inspired you or what would you recommend. All right, join the Facebook group.