Be a Tourist in Places You Know
Many people don’t know things about the places they live in. They will not visit the same museums, look for the same culture, try the same attractions, sit at the same cafes, that a tourist would. The same goes for the city where you work, places where you used to live and work at, and places you frequently visit for family and friends.
You miss a lot.
I sometimes try to be a tourist in places I know. At 2019 I chose a local city instead of going abroad, rented an AirBnB, prepared to the trip as I would to a trip abroad and explored that city for 5 days.
I’ve been to that city before several times, but seeing it through the lens of a tourist “coming abroad” was a completely different experience. I knew some of the places I visited, but enjoyed them more with the leisure and time I’ve got as a tourist. Others were new to me, and I found them out thanks to the research I did before. Honestly, it was one of the better “trips abroad” I did.
I think the most extreme tourism I did in this vein was a two-day walk through a main street and its surrounding areas. That street passes through three cities, one of which was my home for more than a decade, until a year before that walk. That street is not an attractive site. Unpleasant at times, even. Most people just go through it to other places. I knew that street well, lived near it and used it a lot in my life.
I did a lot of research for that trip. I learned that this street has a lot of history, made a map of interesting spot, and came prepared. Going through this street with the knowledge I learned and the curiosity of an exploring tourist made this mundane street that I know into an adventure. I reported to my Facebook friends with posts while I was going, and there was enough going on for me to write 57 of them, full of history, facts, impressions and interesting finds. It was one of the best, most special trips I ever did, and one of the strongest memories I’ve got.
I really recommend that you try bring a tourist at your home city, or at cities that you know well. The combination of existing knowledge and exploring as a tourist gives you might open up new places and experiences, make the mundane special, and might even make you more connected to where you live.
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