I’m Aura, without the L; this is what I always say when I’m introducing myself to someone the first time. Otherwise the question I get is always the same: “Laura… or actually Aura, without the L?” It’s the kind of minor hiccup you get to deal with when you have an unusual name… 🙂

I inherited a love of travelling from my father. It’s engraved in my DNA, and has a bearing on every decision I’ve ever made. First I went to a Linguistic high school, then I did a degree followed by a Master’s in foreign languages. After which I took off on an Erasmus placement to Spain to experience life outside Italy.

It was in 2008, during that highly formative experience, that the ever-curious, tireless traveller I am today began to take shape. I’ve been travelling the length and breadth of Europe ever since (with a few extra-continental escapades, too), driven by an insatiable curiosity and the burning urge to get away from it all; but I always come home, to my safe harbour near Parma, Italy.

Suitcases aside… I’m an eternal dreamer and an incurable romantic who is in love with love itself. I’m profoundly sensitive and, at times, I can also be downright touchy. A nit-picker with a chaotic lifestyle, and a hopeless case when it comes to over-organising things beforehand. I love writing lists and ticking things off, it makes me feel fulfilled and active. Planning underpins every single day, but I often end up taking important decisions off the bat, when I let my instinct get the better of me. When my heart wants to rule my head, I let it lead the way, wherever it takes me.

I love the sea, but I can’t live without the mountains (another love I inherited from my father). I could never choose between them; it’s like asking a child who their favourite parent is. For me, travelling means always being on the move, and enjoying every single moment. I could never go without that feeling. Each journey is about getting around on foot; the trekking freak is always lurking within me, even when I’m surrounded by concrete and skyscrapers.

I write about travel because I hope it will give others new ideas. But I also write about travel because it makes me happy. The same goes for talking about trips, organising trips, reading travel books and guides, buying plane tickets and packing my bags (I hate unpacking them though). I don’t just want to share stuff about the places I’ve been to; above all else, I want to share thoughts I have when I’m on the move. My aim is to overcome cultural differences without fear or prejudice, to become an informed, free traveller. I want to see lives that are different to mine, and I want to leave virtuous footprints in my travels around the globe.

 

“A ship is safe when it’s in the harbour,

but that’s not why ships are built.”