Jean is a travel blogger from Sydney. She is always on the lookout for the next big adventure. She loves the ocean, rollercoasters, and good food. Follow her adventures on Holy Smithereens
And by this, I don't mean the kind of traveller that picks a "gluten-lacto-ovo-paleo-low-fat-low-cal" meal for every thing. That, my friends, is what I would simply call the annoying traveller (unless of course you are truly and unfortunately afflicted with something that makes you unable to digest those). And you have my utmost sympathies if you do.
What I simply mean is to find your healthy self when you travel. A good friend of mine refuses to travel because she believes that traveling off-sets her routine and diet, which will cause her to either gain or lose weight unhealthily, and she will have to start all over again when she returns from her holiday. She fears that all her hard work will be undone when she travels.
I have to say that it does happen. It happened to me a couple of years ago. But I knew and accepted what was coming. I know it to be part of the pros and cons of travelling. However, it got me thinking. Why should one need to sacrifice health to travel? Is it really justified?
I love traveling SO much. And I know that the one thing, the very one and only thing that can ruin travel plans is health issues. It's not even money. Money you can possibly borrow. But if you have a health affliction, there really is no way you can enjoy your travels, even if you have all the time and money required. I was in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Second to New York, it's the city that never sleeps, right? No sleep indeed. I was awake from pain. I had too much sessions at those eat-all-you-can buffet. I was knocked down for 2 full days. As a travel addict, you can imagine how heartbroken and frustrated I was when I couldn't do anything for 2 days. And that was my wake up call to reality. I need to be healthy in order to enjoy my travels.
Since then I'd become conscious of what I ate. You need good fuel to run smoothly. And the healthy living need not stop temporarily just because you are traveling.
I'm sure you are all familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. Since then, scores of women (and men) have followed her footsteps in the quest to become mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy. But let's face it. Who among us can afford to take a 1-2 year hiatus from Real living to fulfill this quest? Well, certainly not me.
Lucky for mere mortals like us who have jobs to show up to, bills to pay and relationships to upkeep, we can create our own "Eat, Pray, Love" version without having to cost us our lives, jobs, and bank accounts.
Flavours Holidays offers an ideal lifestyle tour. What caught my attention was their Cooking courses in Italy. Their Short Stay cooking course in Tuscany, in particular. It's very ideal for people on a short itinerary. I love that you stay in a VILLA, not a hotel. And that's where you get your 3X3 Cooking Course in Tuscany, from an Italian chef residing in the villa. And they only take small groups so it doesn't feel like an actual class, but an intimate gathering. It sounds like a worry free 4 days in Tuscany. They will pick you up from the airport and take you to the villa (and vice versa), accommodate you in an ensuite room at a stunning Tuscan villa with pool, offer a private wine-tasting and of course, give you a life-long skill of mastering Tuscan cuisine. And on top of all that, ALL meals and wine are included!
And if cooking isn't your thing (even then, I urge you to reconsider), or perhaps you're in for something more, they also offer Pilates Tours. The villa, with its olive groves and green meadows, is the perfect setting for relaxing both the body and mind. They have a resident Advanced Pilates instructor who will contact you before hand, and know about your medical/Pilates history in order to tailor the lessons and Pilates degree for you.
Talk about sustainable lifestyle!
And you can even combine the cooking and pilates programs. I don't know about you but to me that sounds like an extremely good time under the Tuscan sun.
In the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun", Diane Lane's character goes to Tuscany to find herself after a devastating marriage failure. Thankfully for us, we don't need to wait for a crisis to happen before we experience an enriching Tuscan experience.
I would definitely love to enrich my life experience with these Tuscan experience combo. Like I said, you take away something valuable: a skill. Be it cooking healthier, or just an overall healthier lifestyle. And after this, I may even have overshot my answer to the quest to be a healthy traveller. Flavours Holidays will make a healthier person, not just a traveller, out of you.
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