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Get Your Shot — Spread the News — and Let’s Keep on Travelin’!

Rick Steves getting vaccinated

Wearing my “Keep on Travelin’” t-shirt like a blankie and gripping my passport to manage the pain (just kidding), the nurse stuck me and pumped a dose of that magic juice that will, once enough of us have taken it, free us to once again embrace life physically — to travel, to hug, to sing and laugh without worrying about “social distance” and some evil virus.

As soon as I was eligible for a shot, I was on the list and booked. And in a couple of weeks, I’ll grab my passport again and get my second dose.

As I received my vaccination, I was filled with a special joy. I inhaled a thankfulness that we have modern medicine and science to beat this virus — and exhaled a prayer that people will recognize that herd immunity (our societal ticket to freedom) requires an all-for-one and one-for-all sensibility. Sure, we all have our quirky fears and hang-ups, but these vaccinations are serious: To beat COVID, we all need to be on board with this society-wide offensive. Please, get your shot and help your neighbors and loved ones to do the same.

And as a community of thoughtful travelers who care about equity and equal rights for all, let’s commit ourselves to the notion that people of all nations, rich and poor, are equally deserving of this vaccine. For one nation to be truly safe, all nations must be immune. Rich and mighty America will roll this vaccine out to all of us soon — and then we’ll help the rest of the world also climb out of the pandemic.

And sooner than we might imagine, we’ll be free once more to “keep on travelin’.”

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A Peek at the Script for my New European Art Series

A Happy Birth Announcement: I’m birthing a beautiful baby script! And I wanted to share a sneak peek of what will be episode two of our upcoming six-hour series on Europe’s art and architecture.  

It’s a blessing to have big projects and a lovely place to work while homebound because of a nasty pandemic. I just enjoyed an intense weekend of editing our ancient Rome script and, in a little 60-second burst of enthusiasm, I shot this quick clip to share with you here.  

I love my work and am thankful for talented partners in the process. I’m collaborating with my amazing co-author for the series (Gene Openshaw) and leading editors (Cameron Hewitt and Simon Griffith) to get this script tight and to time. Less is more (unless you happen to be Ken Burns), and these scripts come in at around 12,000 words and need to get down to about 7,000. (If you hit pause, you can read and envision snatches of what we’ll include.)  

Drawing from our rich archive of Europe’s greatest art — compiled in the field over the last two decades — it’s going to be absolutely gorgeous. Just this week, our editor, Steve Cammarano, got the rough script and began cutting the video footage together. This is a long process, but we’re committed to debuting our six-hour art series in October of 2022.  

All glory to Caesar!

 

P.S. – Want more European art and history? Pick up the full-color coffee-table book I wrote with Gene Openshaw, “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces” — and satisfy those art cravings with a chronological tour through Europe’s greatest paintings, sculptures, and historic buildings.  

Please support local bookstores in your community, or you can find it in my online Travel Store: https://www.ricksteves.com/masterpieces 

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Learning the Joy of Giving in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains

I just received a Christmas greeting from my friend George Gorayeb, who always surprises me with the thoughtful way he teaches through his travels. George shared a delightful and inspiring story, which I wanted to pass along to you. 

These are the experiences we gather from our travels that make our lives glitter for the rest of our days. And when we share them, there is more light in our world. George’s story, so gracefully told, added a delightful dimension to the idea of gift-giving, so timely during this holiday season: 

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Hello Rick, 

In this season of gift giving, I would like to share a personal story about the humblest yet most-appreciated gift that I have ever given to anyone. 

Back in the spring of 1972, I was blessed to be serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, high school English teacher in Marrakesh, Morocco, in North Africa. One day, a half dozen of us volunteers went hiking in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. This scenic mountain range separates the city of Marrakesh from the northern edge of the Sahara Desert. For half of the year, these mountain peaks are covered in snow because of their very high elevation. 

After hiking for several hours one morning, we came upon a young Moroccan boy named Mohammed, about ten years old, tending to his flock of sheep on a mountainside. He was shocked that this group of young Americans could speak to him in Moroccan Arabic. 

After we talked for a while, this little kid insisted that we follow him and his sheep home so we could all meet his family in the nearby village. We followed him. His house was a very modest structure made of mud walls. His family was delighted to welcome us into their home. They served us Moroccan mint tea and biscuits. Then they insisted that we stay for a traditional and delicious Moroccan lunch. 

This was a very humble family who lived from the food they raised themselves in this remote mountain village. They told us that they had never met any Americans before, and they were honored to host us. We realized that they had only a few chickens, and the mother was preparing a chicken tajine for us. A tajine is a delicious stew served in a big brown ceramic platter with a big cone top. 

We all felt guilty because we knew this family lived a very spartan life. They only ate chicken on special religious holidays. But we also knew how extremely important it is to show generous hospitality towards your guests in Arab and Muslim culture. So, they insisted that they serve us the most elaborate meal that they could. And we knew that we could not refuse their extraordinary graciousness, no matter how poor they were. 

During the lunch, one of the girls in our group asked little Mohammed if his bare feet didn’t get very cold in the winter months as he walked the mountainside in just flip flops. He said yes, but he had no socks. I spontaneously realized that I had to give this kid my socks. I was embarrassed because we had crossed a stream that morning, and my shoes got wet. My socks were still damp, and the one on my right foot had a big hole where my big toe was. 

But as Mohammed watched me take my socks off and hand them to him, his contagious smile just exploded with joy. You would have thought I was handing him the keys to a brand-new convertible. 

I learned a valuable lesson that day. This — a pair of tattered old socks — was the most humble and basic gift that I have ever given anyone. But this little kid appreciated this simple gift so much, it shocked me. He could not thank me enough when he hugged me to say goodbye that day. My bare feet in my wet shoes were really cold for the rest of that day, but it still gave me a great feeling. 

Have a joyous Christmas season! 

George Gorayeb

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The Edmonds Theater — An Extra-Large Bag of Small-Town Memories

Since I was a kid, The Edmonds Theater has been part of what made Main Street the main street in my hometown. In Edmonds, it’s the ferry dock, the theater, and the fountain. If I was writing the town up in a guidebook, the chapter would be short…and the town would be a “must-see.”

The theater is filled with memories, from when first Mr. Kniest and then Jacques Mayo — community leaders who ran the theater, it seemed, more to give our town character and charm rather than to make money — would lovingly introduce the featured film in person. I remember the anxious thrill in the old days of knowing that my school buddy had to have the second reel all cued up and then scout for the little “doughnut” to show in the lower corner of the image, indicating one reel is finished and the other needs to roll.

I remember thinking (as if in Animal House), “This is really great,” while helping hoist up the new, state-of-the-art, curved screen — back before the age of giant multiplex movie palaces at the mall. Those were days when, if you knew who was working, you could sneak into the “closed” balcony, which was strewn with beat-up old sofas and delightfully dark. It was big news when the cushier seats replaced what felt like WWII-vintage ones. But thankfully the new comfort didn’t blot out the Mayberry charm.

When I was just starting my business, I’d rent the theater for my all-day Saturday travel lectures. I’d set up a stepladder in the middle of the seats, balance the old projector high, and run my hard-wired “clicker” under the seats to the stage, feeling quite high-tech to be able to advance the slides from that distance. Later, as my company grew, we continued to rent out the theater for an all-day series of “travel festival” classes — filling the place each hour, and then instructing everyone to exit out the alley door so those waiting in the lobby could refill the place quickly for the next presentation. For decades, I’d joke, “The bathrooms are upstairs…they offer a sneak preview of Italy.” As promised, we’d always clear out before the evening’s first movie.

And today, the Edmonds Theater remains the place I favor for enjoying a new movie. Sure, there are fancier places out at the mall. But to buy your ticket from someone who knows your name and to see a movie in a classic old theater on a classic old Main Street with a soft drink and a big bag of popcorn — a moviegoing ritual for 40 years and counting — that’s something to treasure…and to be thankful for.

Like so many beloved businesses, COVID-19 has landed our theater on hard times. These are the small businesses — the labors of love, the moms-and-pops, the plucky entrepreneurial ventures — that give our communities character. This pandemic will take a lot of lives before it’s history. And it threatens to take a lot of the personality out of our towns, too. In that case, the life-saving ventilator is our patronage. If we value these businesses, let’s do what we can to be sure they survive.

And when our theater reopens, I’ll see you there.

This post originally appeared in the Everett Herald.

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Honoring One Woman’s Love of Travel

I recently received an envelope filled with 255 euros and an inspirational letter from a Rick Steves traveler who lost his wife to breast cancer — and wanted me to have their piggy bank for future trips. This is a vivid example of the many heartwarming notes we receive from the wonderful people we get to travel with through our work, and I thought you might enjoy reading it. (To keep it anonymous, I’m using pseudonyms.)

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Hello Rick!

So, you might be thinking, “Why in the world am I holding this letter and an envelope filled with euros?”

Well…as a family, my wife Nancy, our daughter Aggie, and I enjoyed wondrous ventures on 6 Rick Steves tours between 2005 – 2010! We had a fun tradition of tucking a few euros aside with the promise that they would lead to our next tour! Over those years, we had some relatives who always laughed at our budgeting wisdom of splurging on so many trips while our daughter was still in school. They thought us crazy! They always said, “Save it for retirement, and for your daughter’s college fund.”

It all worked out just fine. You make priorities, and you see them through. We loved our Europe adventures together, and we got our daughter through 8 years of college and grad school, as well.

In late 2018, Nancy died after a battle with breast cancer. If we had waited for retirement…these priceless experiences shared and family time together would NEVER have happened! While I still have the travel lust and watch your shows religiously, without my travel partner, Nancy, and with the years going by, we don’t have plans to return to Europe. But we really like the idea of somehow seeing these leftover euros in our future trip kitty return and be enjoyed. So, we are happy to send them to you.

I am confident you will be returning to Europe in 2021, and the thought that we bought you a drink in a Paris cafe, or a Greek taverna, or a floodlit square in Rome really gives me a smile! This is just a small gift for the great memories and images with Nancy that I’ll enjoy for the rest of my days. Yes, I know I could have simply exchanged the euros through my bank… and why send the cash through the mail…but what fun is that? Thanks for the memories Rick, enjoy this little gift, and happy travels to you.

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I’m so inspired by this touching gift from Nancy’s family. And here’s how I’ll put that envelope of 255 euros to good use: When in Switzerland, one of my favorite things to do is to visit the youth hostel in Gimmelwald, my favorite alpine village, and buy all the backpackers a beer. When I return to Gimmelwald in 2021 (God willing!), I will buy beer for every one of those young travelers until those 255 euros is gone. And with each round, we’ll drink to Nancy and her family, knowing she is smiling down on us from an even more wonderful high-altitude perch.