Bonjour! Buenos dias! Ohayou gozaimasu!

Hello and welcome to my blog. I know you have a lot of options when reading travel blogs, and I appreciate you choosing mine.

If you’ve made it to this page, you probably want to know a bit about me and why I created this blog. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to travel the world. As young as five years old, I’d ask my mom to teach me French words, dreaming about visiting Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower. I learned about the Wonders of the World and longed to visit the Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and other famous cultural sites. Every time I watched or read something that taught me about a new place in the world, I put it on my list. The Lizzie McGuire Movie made me want to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. The Magic Treehouse books introduced me to the Terra Cotta Warriors. History lessons in school put Berlin on my must-see list.

Though I dreamt of travel so often, it seemed mostly out of reach for me for about the first quarter-century of my life. My family didn’t take many vacations growing up. When we did, we mainly stuck close to home, not really having the means to travel far from our home state of Florida. Travel was something that seemed reserved for people outside my circle. I thought I would always have to be content with traveling mainly through books and movies, though I longed to see these places with my own eyes.

Then, when I was 24, something changed. I started meeting more people like me who were making their own travel dreams come true. When you have the opportunity to meet and talk to people living your lifelong dreams, it empowers you to seek it for yourself.

At 25, I decided it was time to follow my dreams. I spent six weeks traveling Europe, checking a ton of experiences off my bucket list. Back then, I thought a couple months in Europe would mostly curb my travel desires, but it really just whetted my appetite. Since then, I’ve tried to take at least one international trip each year, along with some smaller domestic trips. In between trips, I still settle for traveling through various media, which contributes to my ever-growing bucket list and wanderlust.

It’s been five years since I decided to follow my dreams and make travel part of my reality. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit 20 countries and check off several experiences and destinations on my bucket list. My childhood self would be in awe.

There’s only one problem – my bucket list keeps growing! Hard to say if I’ll ever actually get it done, but I am having fun trying. I enjoy traveling to learn about history and cultures, explore nature and eat delicious and interesting local foods. You’ll find these interests reflected in my blog posts and bucket list aspirations.

I also prefer to travel as light as possible. Regardless of trip length, I’ve never felt the need for anything more than a 30-40L backpack and travel purse. Some people think that sounds crazy, but I have my reasons for this preference.

That is the reason for the word “Backpack” in the name “Well-Traveled Backpack.” The “Well-Traveled” part of it is more aspirational – something I’ll hopefully be working towards for the rest of my life.

I started this blog to share my travel stories, tips and dreams and possibly connect with others who dream of travel as much as I do. When I travel, I tend to seek out museums, cultural/historical sites and events, walking tours, cool hikes, local foods and drinks, and quirky/unusual experiences.

If you have any recommendations for these types of things around the world, or if you want recommendations from places I’ve been, please feel free to contact me!

XXX

WTB