Wanderlust

The Malla Strict Nature Reserve in Kilpisjärvi - Finnish Lapland

Wanderlust

I asked ChatGPT to define "Wanderlust" and this is what I got:

“Wanderlust, is a strong, persistent urge to travel or explore the world. It’s more than just liking vacations — it’s a deep pull toward new places, cultures, and experiences. People describe it as a kind of restlessness or longing to be on the move."

Well said, I think. Those of us who have this, know what it feels like. This urge you get to plan the next trip, imagining what it would be like to be somewhere or dreaming of exotic meals you haven't had in a long time (or ever).

The good news is, this is an itch you can actually scratch! We do, frequently. I'm not sure where it comes from. Whether this is something in your genes or something you got from your parents? Maybe a bit of both in my case. Both my parents, and we as a family, traveled extensively when I was a child so maybe that left a mark. In any case, it has defined my life.

So far, I have lived, worked and traveled around the world in 44 countries. Not a staggering number, but some trips took years and some just months, weeks or days. Now, I mostly enjoy exploring new places together with Miia and our pup, Naava, mostly in our RV, sometimes in our rooftop tent and sometimes in our hiking tent or a rented cabin somewhere. Sometimes the objective of a trip is to see, taste or otherwise experience something specific and sometimes the only objective is to point your nose in some direction and head there, with no other deeper purpose. Most of the time, any trip longer than a weekend has a bit of both.

"Getting away" doesn't always mean you have to travel far. Sometimes it's just about getting out of the house. Going on a day hike, fishing for an afternoon or even just a picnic somewhere (preferable with access to an open fire!) to relax, eat and air out your head a bit.

As for a lot of people with this urge to move around, for us tasting new and different food is an important part of the experience. What better way to

learn about other cultures and their people, be it just another region in your home country or a new, different part of the World you have never been to before. Another passion of mine is cooking, so learning how to replicate some of the meals we have on our trips add to the satisfaction when we get home.

As I'm writing this, we are on a two-month long road trip in Tuscany, Italy. We are putting over 4500km on the RV but are staying in rentals for almost our entire stay in Tuscany. The trip so far has been amazing. The food, the people and the places we have tasted, met and seen have more than met any expectations we had when we first started planning this trip. The ability to work remotely using a fast mobile router in today's flexible work life, makes this (and upcoming trips like this) possible.

There will be more specific posts from our trip to Tuscany, so check in with us again for more on our life in the Tuscan autumn. You can also watch the movie clips from this trip <Here>.

Drone shot of Monteriggioni, near Siena - Italy

Fried Vendace, a delicacy of the North