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I am currently away on my honeymoon. I believe my subconscious picked July as my month to explore because it knew I would be away in Europe. I am currently leaving Rome, Italy, to fly to Athens, Greece! In other words, this is the perfect month to dedicate to the beauty and thrills of exploration. By explore, I do not always mean far. Some of my favorite places in the world are only a short car ride away from my home. For your July Year of Living Lovely Project, I hope that you get the chance to explore, whether it is near, far, or only in your imagination. Let’s talk about that.
July Goals:
- Explore a new place through the power of learning: learn the history, read a book about it, borrow a tour guide from the library, watch a movie or youtube video, practice the language, or cook a new recipe from the country of your choosing. To explore often means to learn. You do not have to travel at all to explore a new culture.
- Travel local: get out and explore a place close to home. You do not need to go far to find a new amazing place. Discover a new park, try a bike trail you have never been do, find a new beach, sip wine at a local vineyard, take a tour of a local farm, find a local museum, discover a new restaurant, or walk a historic downtown. Be a tourist in your own home town.
- Plan a far away trip or actually go on one! This is the toughest goal for many. Have you ever wanted to see a new country? You can, I promise! With some thought, planning, and saving, I promise that you can do it. Maybe not this week or even this year, but if you start planning for it now and set the date in your calendar, you too can make it happen.
Matthew and I have been dreaming of this trip (to France, Italy, and Greece) for about eight years and we finally started planning about two years ago. We knew that it would require at least three weeks of our time, that we would have to make arrangements with our jobs. (Unfortunately in the States most companies don’t allow more than a week a year! I know, tragic.) We had to save, research, and there was so much planning to do. Places to stay, flights, tickets, tours, rental cars, trains, luggage, where to store our luggage, and so much more. It was surprisingly affordable after doing a lot of research. Not all trips are this elaborate, but for our honeymoon we wanted to go the extra mile (or hundreds of miles I should say). We will be returning from our journey on July 7th. We’ll see you soon!
I hope that you make this your month to explore!
