Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // BFF Visit, Alone Time, & Tourist Tuesday

Last week, my BFF Hannah came to Wisconsin to visit! It was SO much fun but if I start going into details about what we did and how fun it was this post will literally turn into a dissertation because it was THE BEST! Before she came to visit, I was thinking of things to do with her. My initial response was 'there's nothing to do here' which is ridiculous but its still the thought I had. Milwaukee is a big city but it's not New York or Seattle or Denver, places that tourists flock to visit. But after thinking about it more, I realized there were so many things big and small that I could take her to do. I think that wherever you grow you, or maybe it's just me, you become a little desensitized to your surroundings and take for granted the uniqueness around you. I know I definitely did!


Shortly after she left I started a book called ALONE TIME by Stephanie Rosenbloom and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. If you've been here before you know I travel solo a lot. I enjoy it, I like doing my own thing, I like the deep introspection I feel when experiencing a new place for the first time. People--most people--think I'm weird. When I read the synopsis I knew this book would be right up my alley. This book is all about solo travel and the feelings it evokes in somebody when they experience a city solo. You may or may not think it's that different but it 100% is completely different than when you're with somebody. I loved how the author was able to accurately and eloquently describe the profoundness that is walking a city completely by yourself. The details and sounds of a city, the quiet and reflective part of your mind that is awakened, the centering at peace feeling that all is right with the world, and that intense feeling of excitement and anticipation are all things I feel when exploring a city by myself and Rosenbloom captures that with her book perfectly.

However, one of my favorite parts of ALONE TIME came in the final season when she explores her home city of New York as if she was a tourist. Starting a tradition she calls Tourist Tuesday, Rosenbloom decides to do one thing--big, small, or in-between--every Tuesday that she hasn't done before. It can be as simple as walking by a part of a neighborhood she's heard about but has never been to, a new restaurant, a museum, a city tour, ANYTHING that she hasn't done before. I. Loved. This. Idea.

The combination of Hannah visiting and feeling like I was seeing my city with new eyes plus reading this book was the perfect storm to prompt me to do my own Tourist Tuesday (even though I hate the word tourist but I digress). I started yesterday with a morning at a cafe I've driven by a hundred times and have never been to. It always looked super cool and after being inspired I decided to make that my first stop. It was amazing! The coffee was delicious, the staff was so friendly, and the ambiance was fantastic. I brought my current read, took my basic bitch picture, and settled in for a morning of reading and sipping my latte. I was SO happy I did this! I have a few more ideas of what to do on Tuesdays, a lot right now are other cafes or restaurants I haven't tried, but hoping to incorporate a few more attraction-type things.

I felt so inspired after Hannah's visit plus reading this book that I am so excited to continue to do this, even if it is something small. Another big part of the book and this idea talks about the high of anticipation and traveling and the comedown that occurs when you get back home. The author wanted to recreate this feeling of excitement and anticipation that you get from travel and turn it into a year-round feeling with your own city or hometown. I would love and try and make this my own tradition and I think I started off on the right foot!

What about you?! Do you ever act like a tourist in your own city? Do you try and continue to explore the 'ordinary' surroundings you've become accustomed to?

Reserved Seating
If you love solo travel, feeling inspired, and hometown love...this book is for you.

Genre: Adult Nonfiction, Travel Publisher: Viking

Pages: 272 Publication Date: June 5th, 2018

Source: Borrowed from Library

Find on: Goodreads