A travel story becomes engaging when it reveals your experience. Twenty-five thousand visitors to the Eiffel Tower daily, and each will have his or her own story. So, tell your story. Say more than you saw the Eiffel or sailed the Seine.
Tell a Story of What Caught Your Attention
There’s a lot to see in the living quarters of the Chateau De Versailles. My story is all about textiles. Rewoven from original patterns. Window drapery, upholstery, tapestry, bed linen, tassels, and wall covering. Roses, acanthus leaves, lilacs, pomegranates. Damask, silk, brocade with gold and silver thread. Stunning, intricate detailed work. My husband leaned out the windows asking, “How do we get out of here and get to the garden?” But there came a downpour that made downspouts look like Niagara. And, we were unable to tour the garden. We have different stories.
Tell Something You Didn’t Expect
I was in Canada for a teachers’ convention when a friend and I took a bus excursion to Niagara Falls. It was an evening tour behind the falls. We took an elevator down 125 feet through bedrock and came out onto porticos. The falls were rapid, crashing and roaring loud. Too loud for conversation. They say the water travels over the fall at forty miles per hour. We walked through a cave-like tunnel onto observation decks at the foot of the falls. The waterfall, it’s massive. We soaked in the view. When we turned back to the tunnel where we saw rats, the size of small dogs, scampering across the tunnel floor. Some dropped from the ceiling. Indiana Jones. We were screaming, but you know the falls were so loud. Who could hear us?
Consider the Story Types You’ll Tell
Conflict, slice-of-life, vignette. Before a trip, you likely know the places and scenes that will inspire a vignette, a description. There’ll be some scenes you won’t expect. A vignette draws out the details to make it more of your own story. You could also draw a sketch, watercolor, or take a photograph. Slice-of-life travel stories are about doing ordinary things in a different place. Conflict will always be a large portion of travel: navigation, transportation, time restrictions, and language. If you find your trip is leaning more toward conflict stories, take some time for a creme brûlée, a museum, a vista.
Photo by Alexandre Brondino on Unsplash