Sep

A College Course in Wanderlust?

by Joyce McGreevy on September 5, 2017

A dorm room at Carr-Saunders Hall, London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Basic but comfy, a dorm room at Carr-Saunders Hall, London makes travel affordable for all.
© Joyce McGreevy

Travelers on Budgets
Go Back to School

As students return to college each September, another group is preparing for college visits— travelers on budgets. To pursue their wanderlust, they’re majoring in Travel Economics.

How? By booking “university vacation-accommodations.”

Translation: They’re staying in dorms.

More and more colleges today offer clean, comfortable dorm rooms to non-student visitors. While some do so only when classes aren’t in session, a growing number of colleges offer dorms year-round.

For travelers on budgets, this means more “oh I see moments” in the history, geography, arts, and culture of world destinations—and fewer “IOU” moments. After all, when the cost of visiting a place is minimized, your ability to explore it is maximized.

Theatre-goers waiting to see a hit show at London's Palace Theatre include travelers on a budget who saved money by staying in university vacation accommodation. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

When you save on a room, you can splurge on a must-see show.
© Joyce McGreevy

Do the Travel Math

Now I know what you’re thinking: I may be traveling on a budget, but I don’t do hostels.

In fact, most university vacation-accommodation is private. Your only roommates—should you so choose—will be your Significant Other. (Or “Otherettes.” Kids are welcome at most colleges.)

Need another reason for staying in dorms? How about hundreds? Daily rates for dorm rooms start at $35-$45 per guest. Suddenly, the world’s most expensive cities become affordable.

Consider Yourself at Home

Booking a college dorm room nets you a surprising number of extras. Typically, these include:

Central locations in cities around the world
Free wifi
Breakfast included, or nominally priced
On-site laundry facilities, so you can pack light
Fully-stocked kitchens—one or more per floor
Common rooms with TV, books, and games
Depending on location, access to a swimming pool or gym

All at a fraction of what most home-shares and budget hotels charge. That’s especially helpful in fiendishly expensive cities, where “budget” can mean a whole lot of Dismal at very little Discount.

Colleges give solo travelers opportunities to socialize with locals and international visitors. Some give you access to libraries, special events, and lectures. Aptly, you’ll learn a lot, and save a scholarship’s worth to satisfy future wanderlust.

A dorm room overlooking Coram's Fields, London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

(Dorm) room with a view, overlooking Coram’s Fields in central London.
© Joyce McGreevy

Basics, Baths, and Beyond

While college exteriors reflect the style of local architecture, interiors emphasize function. These are student residences, so don’t expect lush carpeting or fine furniture. What you get is a room to yourself, a bed, towels, toiletries, and ample storage space.

Few rooms have TV. But who travels to stare at the tube? With some exceptions, bathrooms are “down the hall.” Yes, you’ll have privacy. No, I’ve never had to wait for a shower or been left with cold water.

A bargain for solo travelers, dorm rooms get even cheaper per person if you’re rooming with friends or family. Choose from singles to quadruples, depending on your group. All beds are twins.

A dorm room snack in London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Dorm room decor for digital nomads.
© Joyce McGreevy

All I Want Is a Room Somewhere

For some, the setup may be too Spartan. If you require lavish suites and chocolates atop pillows, look elsewhere—and bring your inheritance, darling.

Me, I like having a desk to write at and a bookshelf to fill with works by local authors. (I donate them to the students’ common room afterward.) As for chocolates, I’ll happily supply my own.

The student dining hall at Goodenough College, London helps travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

This stately dining hall serves excellent fare at student-friendly prices.
© Joyce McGreevy

Global School Field Trips

You’ll find college dorm rooms in cities all over Europe and Canada, plus parts of Australia, New Zealand, and South America.

To give you an idea of options, I’ve focused on London, where I’m a proud non-alumnus of London School of Economics (LSE) and University College London (UCL). Both learning institutions offer multiple sites in superb locations.

William Goodenough House welcomes dorm-room travelers on a budget and makes wanderlust affordable. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Sunny daffodils welcome dorm room travelers to Goodenough College, London.
© Joyce McGreevy

Best College Name Ever?

And then there’s Goodenough College.

Yes, that’s really its name. If I owned a car, the fictitious bumper sticker would say, “My average child did just fine at Goodenough College.”

Goodenough College is actually rather splendid. Situated in Bloomsbury, Goodenough’s moderately pricier dorms take things up a notch. Most dorm rooms, for example, have bathrooms en suite, and some dorms are spacious, with parlors, bay windows, and other stylish features.

For scholars who love to travel (and skeptics of “staying in dorms”), Goodenough College offers “Nerdvana.”

Many dorms overlook beautiful gardens. On-site pubs, a café, and dining hall offer excellent fare at modest cost. Concerts and lectures are often open to visitors.

With the best of London in walking distance, Goodenough earns “extra credit”—and won’t dent your credit card. Visit the School of Life on Marchmont Street, just 5 minutes away, or explore history and art with locals and others at London CultureSeekers.

The quad at Goodenough College, London greets A dorm room at Carr-Saunders Hall, London satisfies the wanderlust of world travelers on budgets. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A corner of the quad at Goodenough College, London.
© Joyce McGreevy

Homework Has Its Rewards

Staying in dorms isn’t for everyone. But for travelers on a budget, university vacation-accommodation offers a rich cultural experience without the sticker shock. Support your wanderlust, not your creditors. Do the travel math, study your options, and let the world “class” travel begin!

To search university rooms by country, start here.

To focus on London, search Goodenough, UCL, and LSE.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Art of Travel/Clever Ideas/England/Worldwide Sites

Aug

Travel Tales (Tails?): Making Dog Travel Great Again

by Meredith Mullins on August 28, 2017

Dog looking sad, a part of the travel tales of making dog travel easier in Paris, France. (Image © Dor-riss/iStock.)

We don’t have to mope around at home. Let’s go out!
© Dor-riss/iStock

An Open Letter to the City of Paris

Paris, France

Dear Officials of the City of Paris and Regional Transport (RATP) Directors,

We, the dogs of this beautiful City of Light (having formed a more perfect union known as Les Chiens de Paris), know we are lucky to live in France, and especially in its romantic capital.

Dog in restaurant seat in Paris, part of the travel tales that indicate dog travel is easy in Paris, France. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

We are able to dine elegantly with our humans.
© Meredith Mullins

Meredith Mullins 3 Comments

Art of Travel/France (Paris)

Jun

More Than a Travel Mascot

by Joyce McGreevy on June 26, 2017

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, dressed for Maui, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“Have pawsport, will travel,” that’s Bedford’s motto.
© Joyce McGreevy

To See the World Differently,
Take Your Travel Buddy

I have a confession. Although my posts for OIC Moments suggest I’m a solo traveler, that’s not the whole story. Truth is, I never travel without a guide. To some, he’s just a “travel mascot.” To me he’s much more, a travel buddy who helps me see the world differently.

Bedford, take a bow. And a bow-wow.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, dressed in Scottish tartan, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Testing the tartan in Scotland . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, sipping tea in Istanbul, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

. . . and the tea in Turkey.
© Joyce McGreevy

Gnome on the Range

Seeing the world with a travel mascot is nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, an Australian man decided that his neighbors’ garden gnome needed to get out more. Photos he sent back anonymously featured the gnome at famous landmarks.

Cue the surge in gnome-nabbings, elfin escapades, and photographic tomfoolery. Petite plaster pilgrims began popping up around the planet. Gnomes roamed to every continent, even Antarctica.

The World Is Flat Stanley’s

Then there’s the “Flat Stanley” phenomenon. What began in the 1960s as a dad’s whimsical bedtime story for his sons grew into a worldwide literacy project.

Kids send forth a paper cutout of Flat Stanley to discover fascinating places and people around the world. Today’s tech-savvy students can even launch a digital Stanley via smartphone. Students then collect photos and write about Stanley’s adventures.

Travel buddy Flat Stanley, shown at Doonagore Castle, Doolin, Ireland, inspires students to see the world differently. (Image © Jules Larkin)

He’s flat, but his world is wide: Flat Stanley at Doonagore Castle, Doolin, Ireland.
© Jules Larkin

Best in Travel Show

But the most famous travel mascot of all is Charley.

You know him from John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America, the 1961 memoir that inspired millions of readers to see the world differently. Here’s how Steinbeck introduced his travel buddy:

“He was born in Bercy on the outskirts of Paris and trained in France, and while he knows a little Poodle-English, he responds quickly only to commands in French. Otherwise he has to translate, and that slows him down.”

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown with books about traveling dogs, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

From Portland to Every Land

Which brings us to my own travel buddy.

I first met Bedford while I was, uh, conducting a thorough study of American cultural artifacts at a Goodwill in Portland, Oregon. There among relics that, in technical terms, included bric-a-brac, knickknacks, and whatchamacallits, I found a diminutive cloth canine lying face down.

Concerned that this downward facing dog might remain lost amid the archaeological middens, I resolved to secure him a residency.

So I set him upright at eye level, directed his gaze toward the main door, and tilted his head fetchingly. Thus, I reasoned, the very next person to see him would be captivated.

My good deed done, I walked away. But then I glanced back to check the effect.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown at the Bosporus, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

That was 15 years ago. Since then, my Oregonian pal has adopted the name Bedford. Inspired by Bedford Falls in It’s a Wonderful Life, it also honors Bedford’s penchant for tumbling out of bed every morning in his eagerness to begin the day. Funny, I know just how he feels.

Business Travels with Bedford

Initially, Bedford’s travels were limited to business trips. Many a late night editorial slog benefited from his dogged assistance.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown with laptop, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

He traveled undercover in those days, hidden in the checked luggage. Neither of us breathed a word about his existence to my colleagues lest they raise questions of seriousness.

As in “Seriously? You travel with a little toy dog?”

Which simply wasn’t the case. One, I’m rarely serious. And two, who are you calling a toy?

Bedford, Come Home!

It was on a business trip to Denver that my luggage went missing. But it wasn’t the replaceable business wardrobe that concerned me.

Looking back on it now—as one who’s since embraced her inner Pippi Longstocking—I’m not ashamed to tell you that I was thunderstruck with sadness. Yes, over a little cloth dog.

Several anxious hours later, my luggage resurfaced. Another passenger had mistaken it for his own. It was then that I made a Big Decision: It was time for Bedford to come out of the suitcase.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown with tiny travel gear, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“A Dog Is a Bond Between Strangers”

So wrote Steinbeck, and it’s proved true of Bedford. This global Citizen Canine has:

facilitated delightful conversations with families from Amsterdam to Zagreb
coaxed smiles out of blasé sophisticates, weary waiters, and grouchy bureaucrats
and inspired many a business traveler to change the subject from marketing platforms to childhood memories.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown with Irish children, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I guess there’s just something about spotting a cheery canine character beside you in trains, planes, cafés, and long lines that helps break down social barriers.

Not to be dogmatic, but I believe Bedford has contributed to a pup-surge in pawsitive international relations. He loves all cultures, and understands every language except cynicism.

As Steinbeck noted of Charley, “This is a dog of peace and tranquility.”

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, shown at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Oh, I see: If this mini alumnus of Goodwill “University” can graduate into a global goodwill ambassador, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us rovers.

With or without a canine traveling companion, we can see the world differently. It starts when we unleash our natural instincts for warmth and good humor.

Have you ever had a travel mascot or travel buddy? How did this help you see the world differently?

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 1 Comment

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A College Course in Wanderlust?