"To travel is to find oneself". We often think of travel as a way of discovering new countries and new experiences, and yet we also often find that the problem is not so much the person we are travelling with but ourselves. Suzanne found recently when on a short break in Istanbul with a man, she had recently learned that keeping our expectations of relationships in check is essential. A friend of Peter’s drove out into the Peak District on a beautiful weekend, only to find nowhere to park. She spent a couple of hours driving around and then came home. Dating can be very much like that!
The thing that both of them took away from their experiences was that one has to be happy in one's own company, and to be able to cope with disappointments that inevitably come along and to make the most of them. Maybe that is what has happened with older people today; we are perhaps less likely to do what is expected of us and to put ourselves second. Making a priority of our lives and everything we do in them is a hard lesson to learn, but as our generation grows older, it becomes increasingly important.
Episode 44: Solo travelling, solo life