5 Amazing Years of Podcasting: My 5 Favorite Travel Experiences

5 Amazing Years of Podcasting: My 5 Favorite Travel Experiences

Happy fifth anniversary to the Wander Your Way podcast 🎉

I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for five years.

I started this podcast in early 2021, right in the middle of the COVID pandemic.

You know, because I had the time!

I’d been thinking about podcasting for a while but hesitated.

After all, I’m a photographer at heart, so audio felt… strange.

But after guesting on a few podcasts (and getting a big nudge of encouragement — thank you Jason Moore), I decided to give it a try.

Worst case?

I’d hate it and stop.

Turns out, I loved it.

Over the years, I’ve grown more comfortable behind the mic, leaned into storytelling, and discovered how much I enjoy connecting with you through this format.

To mark five years of podcasting, I decided to reflect on five travel experiences in Europe that truly shaped me — moments that changed how I travel, how I see the world, and in some cases, how I see myself.

These aren’t just great travel days.

They’re experiences that stayed with me.

A Bonus Before the List: My First Trip to Europe

📍 Andalusia • Spain

Before we get to the five, I have to start with a bonus.

My first-ever trip to Europe — traveling solo to southern Spain — opened the door to everything that followed.

It showed me what independent travel could look like, introduced me to lifelong friends, and made me realize just how deeply I connected with Europe’s history, landscapes, food, and culture.

When I got home, I was different.

I couldn’t wait to go back.

#5 Seeing Notre Dame Cathedral for the First Time

📍 Paris, France

Seeing Notre Dame in 2008 was a lifelong dream realized. I first learned about Gothic architecture — flying buttresses and all — in high school.

And that image never left me.

Standing inside the cathedral during mass, camera in hand, I was overwhelmed.

It was history, faith, architecture, and a teenage dream all colliding in one moment.

I cried.

Yup.

Real tears.

Paris stole my heart that trip — and never really gave it back.

#4 Attending The Open Championship

📍 Royal Troon, Scotland

I don’t play golf — but I love it.

I know.

Strange.

Attending The Open at Royal Troon in 2024 was pure joy — the atmosphere, the people, the weather (layers were essential), and the sense of being part of something iconic.

From chatting with marshals to riding packed trains with fans from all over the world, it was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had.

Scotland continues to feel like home in a way I can’t fully explain.

#3  Seeing the Dolomites for the First Time

📍 Northern Italy

Some experiences are brief — but powerful.

The first time I saw the Dolomite peaks in 2011, driving up from the Bolzano area, I had to catch my breath.

It was that moment when imagination meets reality… and reality wins.

That single moment sparked a deep, lasting love for the Dolomites — a place I return to again and again.

The light, the colors, the villages, the mountains — it’s magic.

#2 Walking the West Highland Way

📍 Scotland

Walking 96 miles across Scotland in 2017 was transformative.

It was my first time in Scotland, my first long-distance trail, and a deeply emotional journey.

Walking day after day through changing landscapes — lochs, moors, forests — gave me space to think, grieve, heal and connect.

Long-distance walking slows you down in the best way.

You meet people.

You have real conversations.

And sometimes, you walk alone and let the landscape do the talking.

#1 Traveling Through Ireland With My Parents

📍 Ireland

My number one experience is three weeks spent traveling around Ireland with my parents in 2010.

They were 79 and 77 — their first and only international trip.

Planning it together planted the seed for what would later become my travel planning business.

But more than that, it was a gift: seeing Ireland through their eyes, sharing places I loved, and making memories I’ll always carry in my heart.

One moment from that trip stays with me forever.

As we were packing to head home, I was helping my mom with her suitcase.

I asked her, “So… did you have a good time? Are you ready to go home?”

She paused for a second and said, “I’m ready to go home.”

Then she looked at me, really looked at me, and added, “But you’re not.”

She didn’t say it as a question.

She just knew — the way a mother knows her daughter.

I remember smiling and saying, “No… I’m not. I could keep traveling.”

And she nodded — that quiet, knowing nod — because she understood.

She knew that travel wasn’t just something I enjoyed, but something that lit me up, something that made me feel like myself.

That moment meant more to me than she probably realized.

Your Turn 

This episode made me reflect — and I hope it does the same for you.

What are your favorite and most memorable travel experiences?

Maybe it was a place, a moment, a person, or a feeling.

If you’d like to share, email me at lynne@wanderyourway.com.

And if you’re open to it, let me know.

I may read one or two on a future episode of the podcast.

A Few Quick Reminders

🎧 Listener Questions
Have a Europe travel question? Send it my way — Listener Q&A episodes are the 4th Tuesday of each month.

✈️ Travel Planning Services
If Europe is calling in 2026 and you’d like help planning a trip that fits you, I’d love to work together.

🌍 Wander Your Way Adventures
My small-group tours are still very much part of the Wander Your Way story — thoughtfully paced, deeply local, and designed for travelers who want more than a checklist.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means I will earn a commission – at no extra cost to you — if you click on the link and purchase anything from these trusted companies. It helps Wander Your Way, a small business, stay in business. Thanks for your support!

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