PalQ

Will your travel be a travail? Hope not but the derivation of the word travel is an apt reason to compare the two words...
The word "travel" stems from a Latin root word for torture or torment - in Old French it became (to) travaillier - to become tired or worn out as travel at that time could make folks. By the 1300s the English words travel and travail had appeared.
So travel and travail are linked by a common etymology and unfortunately at times today's traveller finds travel to be a travail - the folks who try to cram every single second of their trip into some visit or activity - those trying to hit every European mega tourist city in one trip - those who plan out every minute and 'must' stick to a schedule...etc. etc. etc.
So let's keep the travail out of travel and structure a loose itinerary and go with the flow - the memorable things about most trips are not the many museums or castles you see but the ordinary things you'll experience - a fine meal, scrumptous snack in some bakery, people you meet, incidents you witness - it's often what's in between the two major sights that is more memorable than the sights themselves - like the Louvre and then instead of quickly heading to the Orsay - leave time for wandering thru the Tuileries Gardens without a worry about gee we got to get to the Orsay because we have the Eiffel to do... Plan time for lingering - sipping coffee at cafes - leave time for nothing so your travel does not become a travail.
Now for me off the soap box!

SeaUrchin

I don't think many people can travel easily and take things as they come. On this site alone people plan their every minute.

People refer to places as must sees and have to's.

I was brought up with a mother who never planned a thing on a trip except where to spend the night. We would decide what we wanted to do as we went along. Sometimes leaving a city in the middle of the day to go in a different direction.

I don't think many people would appreciate a loose itinerary but I could be wrong (for the first time!)

gertie3751

from my experience of talking to people when travelling,

gertie3751

whoops, people seem to plan more the older they get. Speaking as an older person, I plan where I'm going and the first night then just see what happens. Something always does.

nytraveler

Yes some people do make their travel travail.

But IMHO these people often make lots of aspects of their life into travail. They just somehow never get the concept of don't sweat the small stuff.

My philosophy - plan the big stuff and then just go and don't worry. It's not Mars - how bad can problems/changes be?

Carrybean

My life is structured to the nth degree. I won't allow travel to be so after the flights are booked & where I'm staying is taken care of, it's all serendipity. I may have some ideas of what I plan to do but usually don't do them. Something more interesting pops up.

JAGIRL

my experience is that whenever I plan everything to a tee I'm so stressed out trying to stick to the plan and to accomplish my list that I don't really enjoy the place. And I usually don't remember much of whatever it was I was so determined to see!

I've learned to just go with the flow...have a list of what I want to do and try to do them...but generally just try and enjoy the places I am in.

PalQ

Yes - the conundrum of wanting to plan so much and relax as well - as Carrybean says i like serendipity to dictate my day, but i struggle with lists of things i just have to see and do that day! that said, i've never found travel to be a travail, but exhilarating.

JAGIRL

I've found travel to be exhausting and exhilarating!

My ex-boss just got back from a month's vacation to Europe, Canada and Florida. I asked him how it was. His response :
<i>In one month I've hauled luggage through seven airports and have been on three trains. I'm more exhausted now than before I went on vacation! I never want to hear the word travel again! </i>

Sometimes enough really is as good as a feast!

Lexma90

I agree that travel should not be travail.

On every trip, however, we do make a &quot;must-see&quot; list. It's usually not very long, but there are always things that I know I want to see or do in a location; things I would be sad to miss. We usually get to all of those. Then we have a longer &quot;want-to-see list.&quot; That helps us to stay focused, so we don't wake up in the morning and say, &quot;I don't know what to do.&quot; Depending on the weather (!!) and our moods, we use our list of ideas to give a basic structure to our day. But we definitely will veer from the course if we want to, or find something more interesting...

Ok, I'll admit my exhuastive lists of restaurants can be excessive. But on the other hand, it helps us find a place that we enjoy eating at whenever or wherever we stop for lunch. Also, it can help us get to and explore neighborhoods that we might not wander into otherwise!

And for us, sometimes it's travail to try to find a restaurant for dinner. If we've picked out a place ahead of time, and usually made reservations, then we don't have to worry about where to eat. But we're foodies, and want to use our calories and stomach capacity for special places (and a restaurant can be special for lots of different reasons).

And no matter where we go, &quot;must-dos&quot; always include lots of cafe time (and gelato time, in Italy)!

Margaretlb

For me, the research and planning are a big part of my enjoyment. Right now, I'm working on my Rome/Florence itinery for October. I've already booked some of my walking tours after exhaustive research on tour companies. I'm reading a prodigous amount of material about Rome as I've never been there before and there's just so very much available. Other than the organized tours, I'll have a loose itinery of other things I'd like to do and see what develops once I'm there. I'll never see everthing I'd like to, but I travel under the premise that I'll be back another time (or two, or three). I've been to Florence several times and have my trusty itinery so I'll just refer back to that and decide day-to-day (except, of course my Uffizi and Academia reservations). My Venice itinery from last November is huge so I'll just have to return many times to do it all Paris, well that's been an annual sojourn for the past few years, so I just check special exhibits, concerts, etc. I find it interesting that I love to plan itineries as my personality really is pretty laid back and I've never been a planner; basically I'm pretty much a live for today for tomorrow may never come type of gal. Go figure

RoadCrazy

I love to research and plan before I go -- it's half the fun of a trip! I usually reserve accommodation for most of my trip before I go, and I usually have a general plan for each day or destination and a list of must-see's for my trip. That said, however, I really believe in letting the weather, my mood, and serendipity dictate what I actually end up doing. The point of having a plan is making sure I'm aware of the trade-offs when I choose to ditch the plan for some period of time. These days, I'm rarely making a one-and-only trip, so if something doesn't work out this time, well, I'll just catch it next time.

Auntie_Mame

After our first (overplanned) trip we have done our traveling with no agenda. We book the flight and the first and last day's lodgings. Everything in between is flexible. Sometimes we pack a list of 'to see's' sorted by area, sometimes not. There have been times we have decided to drop in to a country on a whim and have had to buy a roadmap.

We've made tactical errors to be sure. We drove into Spain on a Sunday with no Spanish currency. That was a bad idea.

We have planned less as we've gotten older. This is because we have learned the value of serendipity.

People make plans because they are afraid they will regret not having seen something. If there is really something that you fancy then do plan to see that something. But leave time for leisure. Leave time for meeting a chap at a pub who wants to take you to the local market.

Relax. Trust yourself.

simpsonc510

It's so nice to see postings here from people who like to go with the flow. My DH and I always travel in that fashion! We've made so many wonderful little discoveries by being free to make a different turn along the road! I like this thread because I won't get pummeled by saying how much I enjoy &quot;seat of the pants&quot; travel!

Pausanias

Saw travel's derivation traced to travail in the brilliant travel book &quot;The Naked Tourist&quot; just recently.

Pausanias

Forgot to say, Osborne further traces travil to derive from &quot;the Latin word for a three-pronged stake used as an instrument of torture.&quot;

PalQ

Pausianas - interesting the three ponged stake thing the word &lt;trivia&gt; may have a close derivation as well - supposedly where three Roman roads came together women would gather and gossip - thus came the word trivia - literally three roads but came to mean little irrelevant stuff that folks gossiped about. Not sure about this but that's what i learnt in skool!