If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough!

Welcome! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sam, I am 24 years old and I love to travel. This is my new blog where I plan to help and inspire my fellow globetrotters. I have pages of ideas for posts ranging from playlists for the anxious flyer, to cities' best kept secrets, to choosing a good travel partner, and everything in between! I am going to include my own photos in each post and incorporate my Pinterest page as often as I can to give you more visuals for each topic. Also, another one of my passions is trivia, so at the bottom of every post I will give you a fun fact I learned during my travels, feel free to share!

I started this blog because I have decided to follow my dreams. I quit my job as the editor of a small community magazine and I am living off of my savings until I find a part-time job so I can keep up with this blog. My dream is to become a traveling photojournalist, and surprisingly no one wants to pay me to do that yet, so I have to start somewhere. I won't lie to you, quitting my job was one of the scariest things I've ever done. However, you have to take risks to live life to the fullest, and this is not the first risk I've taken. So to make myself feel better about this huge decision, I would like to share some other scary experiences I have had that I lived through!


1. I survived the London Eye.

Sure, it looks like a big ferris wheel, but for someone afraid of heights it looks more like a deathtrap. I went on the London Eye during my first trip abroad when I was in 10th grade. I knew I was afraid of heights, I knew I didn't like ferris wheels, but all of the other kids on the trip were doing it and I would have had to sit on a bench somewhere by myself, and that didn't sound too appealing either. So I told myself it wouldn't be so bad and climbed into a pod. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I was wrong. It was not fine. For anyone not afraid of heights, the London Eye is a great way to get a view of the entire city of London. For my fellow acrophobics, it is a good way to ruin your day. I sat on the bench in the middle of the pod with my eyes closed and hands crossed for the duration of the trip. However, because I never want to pass up a good photo opportunity (I was a photo major in college), I passed my camera along to my friend Julia so she could take some pictures of what I was absolutely not going to open my eyes up to see.

Said friend was kind enough to take this photo of me so I could see what I looked like while silently freaking out inside. The sunglasses were so no one knew I had my eyes closed the whole time.

Luckily, I do have some photos of our view from the top which don't induce dizziness or tears.







2. I didn't die crossing six lanes of traffic in Paris.

For those of you who don't know, the Arc de Triomphe, one of the most iconic structures in Paris, is surrounded by a large traffic circle containing six lanes of traffic and multiple entry points. There are few lights and from what I can tell, no rules. My first trip to Paris was in 2008 with my friend Krista. We took a study abroad class for two weeks in London during which we visited basically every museum in the city. We were given one weekend to do with what we wanted, however, so we decided to take the Chunnel to Paris. A friend of mine, Erika, was studying abroad in Paris and she met us at the train station to give us a tour of the beautiful city. After living there for a few months, Erika had become a true Parisian. Much as New Yorkers won't wait for a green light to cross the streets of Manhattan, Erika convinced us the quickest way to the Arc was to run across the lanes of traffic. Please take note: There IS a quicker way to get to the Arc and it is NOT running in front of all of those cars! There is a tunnel that leads from across the street to the Arc where you are safe from being hit by a car. If you go, I urge you to take that route.

Just look at all that traffic! Note: This is not a parking lot.

Fortunately, Krista and I did survive that adventure. Twice. Because we had to make it back to the other side again.

3. I made it to the top of Mt. Vesuvius and back down.

Mt. Vesuvius is an active volcano in the Gulf of Naples in Italy. It is best known for its eruption in 79 A.D. when it destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killed an estimated 16,000 people. And I climbed to the top of it.











Was I nervous to be so close to an active volcano? No really, this close.

This is the mouth of Mt. Vesuvius, and I have on a huge smile while leaning casually against the wooden fence that would do nothing to protect me from this giant beast should it decide to erupt again. The last eruption, may I add, was less than 70 years ago. I'd say she's due.










So how do I know I'll survive my recent bout of unemployment? Because I survived these things! And I have plenty more risky adventures I look forward to surviving too.
A few on my list:

• Dive the Great Barrier Reef
• Ride an elephant in India
• Go on a safari in Africa

Now I open the floor to you. What risks have you taken while traveling? Given the opportunity, what would you like to do? Share in the comments! And don't forget to visit the accompanying Pinterest page  here.

As promised, here is your fun fact for the day:

Pompeii was home to one of the first fast food style restaurants in the world. McDonald's is not an invention of the modern age, and check out this trendy countertop! 

Thanks for reading! Come back next time!

-Sam