Like many of use who enjoy travel I am always amazed when I talk to people who have traveled very little. Several years ago, I mentioned to a young women of about 26 that I was planning a camping trip to the ocean beaches, about a 4 hour drive from Seattle. Though she had been born and raised in the Seattle area she had never been to the ocean and had only been out of state once, to attend a relative's funeral in Oregon. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

If one is very uncertain about travel overseas I think a good place to start is a quality tour. Other Ziners may remember that I am not a fan of tours having taken several many years ago that were nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to exhort money from naive tourists. However, I did find a one week tour of Rome that really opened my eyes and showed me that I could do this on my own. The next year, I planned and executed a wonderful three weeks in Italy on my own. But, I needed the tour to jump-start me and get me going. So that may be an option for that friend or relative who is a bit scared of traveling to a foreign country.

Ciao, Paul Near Seattle