How Solo Traveling gave me my power back✨
Read all about my experience traveling "Solo in Porto"
I’m currently going through a big transition, in so many ways.
During this time, I knew that I wanted to spend some time alone, with myself.
I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and reconnect to myself as well as check in. It turned out to be so empowering and so many of you have told me about your solo trip experiences since or expressed wanting to explore the possibility of creating one, so I thought I would share a little more about mine.
How did I choose the destination?
I didn’t have one destination in mind but what I knew I wanted was: a place I’ve never been to and that’s easy to get to. Near my parents house in France there’s a little airport that has some RyanAir flights in the summer, I looked at the destinations for the time I had planned to go and here were my options: London, Dublin, Marrakech and Porto. London and Dublin are places I’ve been to and also quite familiar with friends that live there. Part of me was really excited about that but I knew it wasn’t going to be ‘solo’ if I chose either of those. Marrakech sounded so exotic and exciting, yet not a place I felt like going to, on my own. So here’s how my “SOLO IN PORTO” trip began, I also don’t speak Portuguese so it was such a great way to feel even more out of my comfort zone. Added bonus the Ryanair flight there was 30 euros and I could not believe it!
Next, where to stay?
I am normally an airbnb kind of girl. I like to have the option to not always eat out, the feeling of a home, it’s just the way I prefer to travel, especially when sleeping 5 nights in one location. This time though, being on my own, having an extra feeling of safety and reassurance seemed important. So I looked for different hotels and found one that accommodated gluten free diets for breakfast and that had a beautiful outdoor patio, I chose Hotel Crystal. I got really lucky, the wifi in my room didn’t work and I had some important calls, so they upgraded me to a beautiful room with a balcony, the DREAM. Manifesting abundance, am I right??
It was 15~20 mins walk from the center and I ended up using the shared scooters a bunch. I also asked the concierge for advice which made my Porto experience extra special.
The purpose of my trip…
Usually when I travel, especially to a new place, I do a lot of research: top places to visit, local lunch and dinner spots, secret locations, etc…
The purpose of this trip though, was to: get out of my comfort zone, let go and connect back to myself. Tune in to the practice of listening to myself, to what I want to do when I want to do it.
I’m someone that naturally tends to tune in to other’s needs rather than my own. My go to is “what’s the best solution for the whole group?” I can do that so easily and then after the experience realize, oh wait, I didn’t actually consider my own needs into the equation?
So, I purposefully didn’t look up anything about the beautiful city of Porto. I got lost in the windy streets, I stopped and listen to local artists, I discovered delicious places to nourish my body. I went running, I walked over 20,000 steps a day and sooo many stairs. I stopped on a bench when I felt like the light would hit my face just right, I closed my eyes and listened to the liveliness of the culture. I treated myself to a spa day, I took myself out to eat, I allowed myself to simply walk, discover and not listen to podcasts or watch shows. I wrote in my journal, I felt uncomfortable, I observed what that feeling truly felt like and sometimes laughed out loud realizing it was really not that bad. I didn’t just survive, I thrived through my limiting beliefs.
The most important lesson:
More than anything, I felt EMPOWERED.
I’ve been in a relationship for five years and recently married and one of the things we 100% believe in is, being together yet apart. Here’s a portion of the poem by Kahlil Gibran we chose for our wedding ceremony that describes this better than I could put it in words:
Give your hearts, but not into each
other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain
your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near
together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow
not in each other’s shadow.
So yes, I can take myself to a city where I don’t speak the language, know anyone, and THRIVE. Maybe it sounds obvious and simple to you, for me, this was a life changing experience and I couldn’t recommend it more!
If you want more info about where I was, what I discovered, the restaurants I went to, I kept a story highlight on my instagram profile called “Solo in Porto”. It is a magical city and one I will definitely be returning to!
Should we make this an annual or quarterly thing? I think so…🙋🏽♀️