Traveling single and looking to mingle.
How to start your travels for the first time.
Europe

Sitting at lunch we made a new acquaintance who was just single and wanted to mingle. She told us that her travel experiences had always been managed by her previous partner and she felt that she was starting over in search of a new partner and also in learning how to travel internationally. She told us that she was excited but had lots of questions.
She had so much to learn and had no idea of where to begin? The best information sees so simple to those who have experience. So it was difficult to explain that to travel well takes a lot of preparation. I have been lucky because my wife is an expert at travel organisation, she loves nothing more than researching, comparing prices for accomodation and finding the most suitable accomodation no matter where we go. So for me its a no brainer, however without my partner I too would be lost. So I knew exactly where this person was coming from.
“Do you think I can see Greece in Five days?”

Strangely the biggest problem for this new comer to travel was her level of enthusiasm. She had been so hand tied for so long it was like the genie had been let out of the bottle. She had the idea that she could easily see a large chunk of Europe in a couple of weeks. This raised an eye brow. Our new friend started the conversation by asking “Do you think I will be able to see Greece in five days?”
My reply was, you will certainly get a good taste of what Greece has to offer and be able to experience Greece. However, I my mind its better to have experiences not just travel. For me its better to go to a new place and not try and see it all in a short time as you will just get tired and frustrated. Its better to sample small manageable portions rather than everything on the menu, and so the conversation started.
My first thoughts were she needs the help of a travel agent. A good travel agent for an inexperienced traveler certainly can help solve a lot of problems.They can help by informing and solving a lot of the logistical problems of knowing the best places to go and how much time will be spent traveling and will have the easiest and simplest ways of getting around on hand, so you can enjoy as much time experiencing where ever you are going and seeing what a place has to offer and spending less time getting there.

Treasured moments
The mind always plays tricks on us, because it never allows us to remember the challenges and only stores the good memories about traveling. We will always remember throwing in the gold Euro into the Trevi Fountain in Rome for the first time and wandering through the streets of Paris bleary eyed and experiencing the majesty of the Eiffel Tower for the after coming off an international red eye flight. These are the moments you will always treasure.
So our answer to our new friend was don’t stop being adventurous but just do it in the framework of what you know to be normal. Stay somewhere that you know is safe and near a central location just so you can easily find your way back to if you get lost. This sounds simple but its amazing how many people end up struggling trying to get to their small hotel that is way off the beaten track even with the help of an i-phone.

If you stay centrally in Europe you can take advantage of their amazing first class rail system that can whisk you from city to city in a matter of hours and it literally step on step off and you will never have any issues with paying extra for luggage. So if you are new to travel the best advice is to play it safe the first time around, get your bearings and understand the place, then when you have a bit of travel experience under your belt, then be more adventurous. Sometimes, small victories can yield big results.