Travel Journaling

My mother encouraged me to create my first EVER travel journal when she took me Europe after graduating from the University of Wyoming in the summer of 2009.  I probably rolled my eyes at first, as daughters tend to do with a mother's suggestion.  But I am so glad I followed her advice!

The idea was to have a place to write thoughts, glue train tickets and maps, and even sit down to sketch up a quick view of our surroundings.  We worked on our journals as we traveled by train to Zermatt, or as we sipped on Augustiner in Munich, or even as we watched the passersby in a square in Roma.  It's like a mini time capsule!  I recently ran across my travel journals as I was reorganizing a bookcase.  And as I flipped through the pages, I traveled back in time and space to remember one of the best trips of my life.

Here is a list of ideas to add in your travel journal:

-Plane and train tickets

-Local maps from hotels/travel agencies

-Entry tickets to museums, zoos, amusements etc.

-Budget/list of expenses

-Hotel reviews with business cards to remember details

-Restaurant reviews

-Thoughts of a new city

-Sketches of places and views you want to remember

-Contacts of people you meet

-Have a new friend add a note to you!

-Anything else that you want to remember!

I find Moleskines work fabulously. They even have a line of travel journals specific to major cities like Munich, Rome, Hong Kong and New York, see here. And I just saw there is a Moleskine Voyageur Journal that you could tailor to wherever you go here. They are just the right size for a small crossbody purse, too!  Be sure to carry some small scissors (I love the tiny bird embroidery scissors like these), a glue stick or glue tape like this one, and some pens and markers for journaling and sketches.

(I wish I remembered what "Hot Dogs & Onion Sandwiches" meant on my India Travel Journal :) )

Do you have any travel journaling tips for me?

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