"Not all who wander are lost"

For those who enjoy urban exploration of the international kind, or are just "travelers" such as myself, we often find ourselves caught up in what are known as tourist traps. They are everywhere and while not necessarily bad, they can be sometimes disheartening; especially if you desire the authentic or simple.

Unfortunately unless you are a well seasoned traveler, or know people who are; looking past the places that have been infected, or finding those that have not been tainted by the glitz of tourism can be difficult. This is where one must be open to the idea of no longer being a traveler, but becoming a "Wanderer" and step off the map into the unknown and local. There one can find treasures and stories that are more meaningful than any picture slouching with the Thinker, holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or any sort of corny pose in front of the Eiffel tower will ever be.

My most influential traveler once told me. "It is not necessarily what you see when you go some where but how you see it. A place can steal your heart and sweep you off your feet in the matter of a second that lasts a life time, and it might be nothing more than a concrete wall."

My mother told this to me, speaking of her visit to Berlin in 1989.

I am here to account these such places. This is not a blog about a simple place and where it is. But a blog about places around the world that touched people and why they are so memorable and magical, that you too may be able to experience such a feeling. After all what gives traveling its allure are the moments we got our breaths taken away and our souls captured. 

So come wander with me around the world, meet the countries and their well kept secrets that will forever remain in your imaginations and hearts, and perhaps you too will have an experience of your on someday. 

"Not all who wander are lost" JRR Tolkien