Nearly four decades of returning to Europe
I was 17 the first time I went to Europe on my own.
I spent a school semester in Germany and stayed through the summer with my German grandmother. What began as a teenage adventure became the start of a relationship with Europe that has lasted nearly four decades.
I kept returning.
To Germany, more times than I can easily count. To France for more than 15 years. To Italy, Spain and Portugal for longer stays that gave me time to settle into daily routines rather than simply move through a list of sights.
And in 2023, I returned to Germany differently, this time to live in Berlin for several months.
Those years of returning have shaped the way I travel, the way I write and, eventually, the business I built around helping other people experience Europe.
From a corporate career to Dream Plan Experience
Travel wasn’t something I discovered when I decided to start a travel business.
For most of my adult life, it existed alongside a 25-year corporate career. I worked as an HR executive across both the public and private sectors. My career taught me how to listen, ask good questions, manage complex projects, build relationships and make decisions with both the big picture and the details in mind.
In November 2018, I started Dream Plan Experience by combining my three passions: writing, photography and travelling. At first, it was a place to write about the destinations I knew and loved. Over time, it grew into something much larger.
In January 2023, I left my corporate career and made Dream Plan Experience my full-time work.
Today, I write about Europe, create travel resources and design bespoke European itineraries for travellers who want a trip planned by someone who has first-hand experience.
Why I keep returning
I am rarely interested in visiting somewhere simply to say I have been there. I prefer returning. The second, third or tenth visit changes your relationship with a place.
You begin to notice which neighbourhood you want to wake up in. Which streets you return to without thinking. Where people stop for coffee on the way to work. Which famous attraction you would happily skip next time, and which seemingly ordinary corner somehow keeps drawing you back.
It also shapes what you find on Dream Plan Experience.
My writing begins with experience.
From the neighbourhoods I’ve explored, hotels and apartments I’ve stayed in, trains I’ve taken, markets I’ve wandered, to the restaurants I’ve loved. Itineraries are easy to build, but they felt very different once I was actually there.
I combine that first-hand knowledge with current research so that the practical information supporting it is as useful as possible to my readers.
My approach to travel
Slow travel is the philosophy behind my website.
That doesn’t necessarily mean travelling for weeks or months. It means being more deliberate about the choices you make with whatever time you have.
Fewer bases. Less rushing. One meaningful anchor rather than five competing priorities. Time to walk somewhere simply because a street looks interesting or sit over lunch without worrying about the next reservation.
The purpose behind Dream Plan Experience is helping travellers make more thoughtful choices about where they go, where they stay, how they spend their time and what they choose to experience. That’s the thinking behind “Europe, considered.”
Sometimes that means recommending a certain neighbourhood. Sometimes it means telling you the famous day trip isn’t worth sacrificing an entire day for. And sometimes it means encouraging you to leave part of the itinerary empty.
I believe a good European trip should have enough structure to make the most of your time and enough space to actually experience where you are.
What connects all of this work is the same idea that began forming long before Dream Plan Experience existed: you don’t need to see everything for a trip to matter. You need to choose well.
Like to listen to podcasts? Here is my playlist of the various podcasts I’ve appeared on as a guest.
Start here
If you are new to Dream Plan Experience, these are good places to begin:
Planning a trip to Europe?
Explore my travel guides and destination resources.
Want help designing your trip?
Learn about my bespoke travel planning service.
Interested in working together?
Visit my partnership page.
And if you’re simply here because you love returning to Europe as much as I do, you are in the right place.