Hello World! Welcome to Travel the World History!

Hello! I’m Vanessa. Welcome to Travel the World History – my first blog (and blog post)! Thanks for checking it out! I have to pause here for a sec and give a shout out to my friend Malerie Jane for my awesome logo! If you are a travel addict, a history nerd, a teacher, or any combination of the three I am writing this for you! I have always been fascinated by history. I am fairly adventurous. And I absolutely. LOVE. to. travel. Seriously. I have a “Rolling Top 10 Bucket List” so that when one location gets checked off another gets added. Notriphobia – the fear of not having any trips booked – is real! Haha! A girl who loves to travel has to have options, so I have traveled with my family, my husband, my daughter, my father, “the girls” (which includes my mom, my sister, my daughter, & I), friends, church, teacher groups, and solo. My favorite thing is to combine history and travel whenever possible! If you love to travel and you love history, you’re following the right blog! 

I also hope that you get a good laugh in as you read Travel the World History! Life can be so serious, and laughter is healing to the soul. I happen to have a great (though somewhat sarcastic) sense of humor. My husband would disagree, so don’t ask him, but he doesn’t like to travel to so his opinion really doesn’t count. Right? Anyway, you will read about a few of the humorous things that have happened on trips, like when I accidentally packed my well-wrapped souvenir pocket knife in my carry on bag in Catania! Yep. I did that. It was not so funny in the moment when I thought I would spend the rest of my vacation in a Sicilian jail, but it worked out. I got to leave. The souvenir got to stay. And now looking back on it, it is funny!

I always say, there is just something about standing in the footsteps of the past. Like the haunting heavy feeling when standing on the hallowed ground at Gettysburg. I will share these experiences with you as well! The history nerd in me just can’t help learning the history of a place. I seek it out. Every trip, I want to visit at least one historical site and learn something new! I hope you learn something new as well. 

I have been teaching middle school social studies for the past 15 years. Ancient history, American history, and geography. I love to share my travel experiences with my students.  About five years ago, I learned that there are a whole lot of great professional development opportunities for teachers that include travel scholarships and stipends. I know, I am not sure how it took me 10 years to discover this, but I am glad I did! So, I will also be blogging about a few of these professional developments I have attended for my fellow teachers. Because there is nothing better than learning and traveling for free!

What can you expect from Travel the World History? You can expect most posts to share about trips I have taken. You will find my itinerary, with things like lodging and transportation, recommendations for sights and activities, history tidbits, tips, and tricks. You know, things that are good to know if you are planning a trip! And some humor! Some posts will focus only on sites or landmarks and their history. You can feel free to use the search icon, or browse a category. Trips will be categorized by general location (United States or International). A few posts will be specifically for teachers and will be located in the Professional Development category.

So what are my goals for Travel the World History? Great question! My primary focus is to help YOU experience the joy of travel and appreciate history. Either vicariously through the trips I post or directly by inspiring you to seek out your own adventures! I am also an Independent Travel Agent, and I would LOVE to help you plan and book your next adventure!

Once I get some initial content uploaded, I will continue to post when I can. I stay busy! Some locations you can look forward to reading about in the future are Greece, Turkey, Italy, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Little Rock Arkansas, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Washington DC to name a few. Thank you for joining me!

You are encouraged to get involved with Travel the World History! I welcome comments and interaction – I do not claim to know everything. Plan your own adventures and let me know if Travel the World History helped or inspired you! And please share this site!! I would love to have readers in every state! And maybe even get paid to travel some day – who wouldn’t?! After all, I have that Rolling Top Ten Bucket list to complete (or not)!