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JUDY WOODRUFF: You may be planning a summer vacation, trying to coordinate schedules with friends and family, but maybe there's another way, even a better way, to take a vacation. People are traveling alone in record numbers. Tonight, New York Times travel writer Stephanie Rosenbloom shares her Humble Opinion on why heading off by yourself rewards you with more than just a new destination.
STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM, The New York Times: I'm a travel reporter. When people discover this, they often begin telling me about the places they have longed to go. Many say things like, I would love to see Portugal or Rome, but I don't have anyone to go with. My response? So what? You should travel alone. One year, my editor sent me to Paris to explore the city by myself. That was the assignment. On my own, thousands of miles from home, I could slow down. I began to really pay attention, to soak up all of the marvelous, everyday things I miss when talking with or tending to companions, the way sunlight fell through the trees onto the green chairs in the Luxembourg Gardens, the sound of rain on awnings outside a cafe. I was able to zero in on these details because there was no one to distract me, no one to tell me to hurry along, to stop lingering on the quiet street near Balzac's House. Travel alone, and you have the freedom to pursue your particular interests. You can develop your aesthetic sense at your own pace. You can explore art and design shops, places that may inspire a new hobby or a creative endeavor, even how you want to spend the rest of your life. Alone, I can step outside my comfort zone, like the day I took myself to a tea ceremony in Tokyo. I can be reflective. I can climb a hill in Florence on an autumn afternoon and consider how I'm living my life and how I want to live it in the future, a process that can get inhibited when other people are around. Now, maybe you're thinking, that's all well and good, but won't it get lonely? We can't outrun loneliness. If it's going to come, it will come, even if we're at party surrounded by familiar faces. Besides, if you enjoy meeting people, take a vacation alone. Seriously. Strangers tend to be more willing to strike up a conversation when you're on your own. And, these days, there are so many opportunities to connect with locals and fellow travelers, be it through a cooking class, an architectural walking tour, or a peer-to-peer dining Web site. And here's a little more food for thought: If, like me, you happen to be a woman traveling alone, you're exercising a hard-won right. For years, women in my hometown of New York City didn't have the right to walk into a restaurant and eat lunch alone, let alone travel by themselves. Every time I go it alone, I'm doing something that countless women before me fought to be able to do. So, don't wait for the right friend to coordinate his or her schedule with yours, or for the love of your life to come along. Buy the plane ticket. Book the hotel. Travel alone.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Good advice, Stephanie Rosenbloom, even for a stay-at-home vacation.
