While I’ve planned hundreds of trips for clients—and dozens of my own—at this point, it wasn’t always like this. Growing up, travel was out of reach for my family logistically and financially.

Jetting off to Paris or Rome or the Mexican Riviera or the big lights of NYC? I dreamt about it—but I thought it wasn’t for me. It was for other people.

Until, one day, the wanderlust got the best of me and I confessed (or really, complained!) to my husband: “I want to go to New York City so badly.”

I’ll never forget how he looked back at me and said, even-keeled,

As if it was the simplest thing in the world. And for him, it was! He’d already criss-crossed the globe as a certified seasoned traveler. 

But for me, it was exactly the push—the permission—I needed. So I planned the trip, boarded the plane with my mom, and had the time of my life. After that first trip, my wanderlust kicked into high gear. I made a “30 before 30” bucket list, then a “40 before 40,” checking off the destinations I had only ever dared to dream of visiting.