Interview with Sofie from Wonderful Wanderings

1. Can you start by giving us a little bit of background about yourself and your blog. How did you start traveling? When did you start blogging, and what did you expect readers to get out of it?

Ever since I can remember my parents took me (and later also my younger brother) on vacations abroad. First to the typical European vacation destinations like Spain and France, later further away to places like Egypt and New York City. I’m sure that I owe part of my wanderlust to them.

I started blogging in August 2012, almost a year ago now, because I felt like I had to share my experiences. Every time I had gone on a trip I wanted to tell people why they should go there, which places they definitely had to visit, what they had to watch out for and so on. So after a while I thought: “Why only share these things with friends and family? Why not share them with the world?”.

And that’s when I started blogging. I created Wonderful Wanderings to help people plan their own… wonderful wanderings. I know I’m much quicker tempted to visit a please when someone is enthusiastically sharing his or her experiences about that place than when I read a guide book, so I want to be that ‘someone’ for my readers. I don’t want to give them a simple listing of what to do where; I also want to share why I think certain places are worthwhile and others aren’t.

2. Let’s talk experiences – what has been the best experience you’ve had on the road? The worst?

I’ve had so many great experiences already, but I think one I’ll never forget was last year in LA with a friend, when we met a man that took us to diner and paid our hotel room… without expecting anything in return.

One of the worst moments was getting really really sick in Bilbao. I think one of the pinxtos I had earlier that day was guilty of keeping me in our hotel room the entire evening. An evening isn’t that long, but boy did I feel awful!

3. What’s the first thing you like to do when you arrive in a new place?

Drop off my stuff at the hotel/hostel/B&B/apartment… This isn’t that important on a short trip where I start exploring immediately, but if I have more than just a small bag with me I want to drop it off. Once that’s done I feel more relaxed, like I don’t need to be somewhere anymore.

4. Where’s a destination you would only want to go to with a group of friends?

Hmm… That’s a tough one. I think somewhere in a big city where there would be some going out involved.

5. You’re not as much a “full time” traveler as someone who makes use of having a lot of vacation days (30!) – how do you balance needing to relax and wanting to explore during your vacation?

Well to me exploring is relaxing. I’m terrible at just crashing on a beach or next to a pool the entire day, except when it’s just too hot to do anything else.

What also helps is that I’m really well organized. When I leave on a trip I have the addresses and opening hours of everywhere I might want to go. I also calculate beforehand how far something is from where I’m staying and how I can most efficiently visit everything I want to visit. I know this sounds very rigid and not relaxing at all, but I don’t have any problem changing my plans along the way. It’s just that by making a program I merely have to choose what I want to do next and nothing more. I don’t have to stress about bus times or stuff like that.

And last but not least: I try to never rush things. That isn’t always possible (like when you have a reservation for something somewhere or when you really want to make it to something before it closes), but I do my best.

 

6. What’s one place in Belgium that few know about but is not to be missed?

I really like Le Domaine Solvay at La Hulpe (‘Terhulpen’ in Dutch). My dad, who is into photography and does a guest post series on Wonderful Wanderings, recommended it to me. It’s a park where you can easily spend a few hours strolling around, having a pick nick on the grass or feeding the water birds. Inside the park you can also find the small castle of La Hulpe, which can be rented for events.

7. What were your impressions of traveling through the US?

Up until now I’ve only visited the West Coast and New York City and those were already two completely different worlds. I remember visiting California for the first time and thinking that everyone was so overly friendly. Sometimes even so much that you would wonder if they meant it. Weirdly enough I didn’t notice that anymore when I went to LA last year.

I could write pages about my impressions of the US, as it’s in many aspects so different from Belgium and other parts of Europe, but let me conclude by saying that if there would be one reason for me to move to the States, it would be the climate in middle California.

8. What are some of your interests outside of traveling?

I’ve been taking dance classes for about ten years now and still absolutely love it. Mostly hip hop, but I’ve started taking jazz this year as well (at which I still tremendously suck) and I hope to learn some latin in the future.

9. What are your upcoming plans, both travel and non travel?

I’m going back to Los Angeles the end of August, both to explore the county even more as to take dance classes again. After that I’ve still got trips planned to Cambridge, Barcelona and possibly Rotterdam. Besides that I’ll mostly be working, blogging and dancing. Plus, you never know what all of those weekends might bring!

Sofie is a Belgian chocolate lover and dance aficionada who combines a full-time marketing job with a never-ending wanderlust. She uses her weekends, vacation days and public holidays to travel the world and share her experiences with you on wonderfulwanderings.com.