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Call To Travel | Why We Decided To Taste The World

The call to travel the world could not be ignored. Find out how and why we are now living out our travel dream one meal at a time.

2foodtrippers on the Road at Big Sur
Image: ©2foodtrippers

One day last year, Mindi was driving home and thinking about her job – the torturous commute, the endless paper pushing and the trivial office politics all added up to a hopeless existence that was consuming her soul. Just then, she noticed a signpost for a law firm. No big deal, right.

There are signposts littered all over the nation’s highways. But this sign was different since the law firm formerly employed Mindi’s friend, the late Mary Creekmore.

Anyone who knew Mary knew that she loved to travel. In fact, as her days grew shorter and shorter due to the cancer which prematurely ended her life, she traveled to Italy, Africa and New Orleans in a six-month period. Mary had an exuberant zest for life, but sadly there were many chapters of her life that went unwritten.

With this in mind, a jolt of electricity shot through the core of Mindi’s body. The wake-up call from beyond was too loud to ignore, and she decided that it was finally time to live out the travel dream.

After conferring with Daryl and giving him time to think through the ramifications of leaving his band and taking a work sabbatical, the travel dream soon became a reality with slow traveling adventures replacing quick trips.

Yes, it’s true. We decided it was finally time to answer the call to travel on a full-time basis as digital nomads for the next year (at least).

Big Changes For The 2foodtrippers

Big Sur Sunset
We still can’t believe that we made it to Oregon and back to Philly in our compact car. One of our rewards was views like this one that we experienced while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

An ancient Chinese proverb asserts that a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step. Well, we have recently made the first step of our own journey. Or perhaps we should say that we have dived into the biggest adventure of our lives!

Just two months ago, we left our comfortable Philadelphia home and became nomadic wanderers in search of the next great meal. More than just a pipedream or series of travel quotes, this was our new reality.

Our first mission was to complete a whirlwind tour of the continental United States (plus Toronto) that brought us to over 20 destinations, traversing the country in our trusty 2010 Nissan Sentra. Our little auto performed remarkably well despite bent wheel rims and worn out tires that had to be replaced in Nevada.

In our dreams, we can still hear the cacophonous buzzing sound from the wheels.

We accomplished the daunting road trip mission thanks to the kindness of friends and family (you know who you are!) plus a lot of caffeine. We are now in Lyon living like locals in a cute apartment smack dab in the center of town.

Instead of early morning alarms and the grind of the daily rat race, our days are now filled with raw milk cheese, charcuterie and freshly baked baguettes. And wine. Lots of wine.

How Did We Get Here?

Our love for travel and food dates back to before we met each other ten years ago. In fact, we connected over these two passions on our very first date.

When we decided to start a website, it was a no-brainer for us to write about culinary travel. However, we found blogging challenging when we were busy focusing on our careers. In retrospect, it was inevitable that we would eventually answer the call to travel.

The logistics of travel can be daunting. Prior to leaving, we spent countless hours packing our house and preparing it for rental. We spent additional hours getting our finances in order and making preliminary travel arrangements.

By the time we left on the North American road trip, we were physically exhausted and sick from the crazy January weather in Philly that included a 22-inch blizzard. Even so, we immediately felt a thrill when we hit the road, leaving our comfortable, safe lives behind.

We haven’t looked back with regret since that very moment.

What Now?

Since we are rested, relaxed and in one place for a month, we are ready to start writing about our travels (both culinary and otherwise). Look out for upcoming articles about our epic road trip as well as our life in France and beyond.

There will surely be endless stories, pictures and even videos as we complete our ‘Around the World’ adventure. Plus, we’ll be documenting and sharing our travel on social media, though we’ll probably share more food photos than romantic Instagram photos.

What’s Next?

We’ve purposely left our plans open and decided to go with a one-way ticket approach as opposed to a round the world ticket. After a month in Lyon, we’ll travel to Provence which will be followed by a 12-day Viking River Cruise beginning in Belgium and ending in Switzerland.

Beyond that, we have loads of ideas but no definite itinerary. We must leave Europe in June or July due to the necessary but annoying Schengen Visa rules, at which time we’ll probably head to Asia and travel slowly during the summer.

While in that part of the world, we hope to visit our dream destinations of Osaka (Daryl) and Melbourne (Mindi) along with stints in Hanoi and Chiang Mai before returning to Europe so that we can munch on genuine Neapolitan pizza again this fall.

Living The Travel Dream

Lyon Selfie
Standing at the top of the hill leading to Croix Rousse in Lyon, France, we are happy to be living out our travel dream. At this moment in time, the world is truly our oyster. Wait, did somebody say oyster?… | Image: ©2foodtrippers

In many contemporary workplaces “living the dream” is an oft-repeated response to a mundane daily question. We can now say that we are truly living ours.

About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosure

We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Original Publication Date: April 4, 2016

Chefcherryl

Monday 16th of October 2017

I am so happy for the both of you"Living that dream"!!! Looking forward on your blog posts!!!

Chefcherryl

Monday 9th of May 2016

Don't forget to visit Philippines!! I am not sure if u have tried filipino food? Congrats on ur food journey!

Lauri-Ann

Friday 8th of April 2016

Beautiful photos! Congratulations on your adventures! I am so so jealous!

Life, Other Than : Shannon

Thursday 7th of April 2016

Ha! I can totally relate. I own what I refer to as "The Adventure Prius." It boldly goes where no Prius has gone before. So far it is still in one piece. Fantastic photo of the Oregon coast!

Paula Morgan

Wednesday 6th of April 2016

My husband and I hope to follow in your footsteps in a couple of years. Goodluck on your jouneys. If you ever get to Australia we would love to buy you a drink!

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Thursday 7th of April 2016

Thanks Paula. We hope to see you in Australia and take you up on your offer!

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