Bill and I were once accused of not being spontaneous. We were walking in a small French town with some folks who preferred to wander the streets, choosing a restaurant that we might stumble upon rather than going with the one we had already chosen. I’ll reveal the result at the end of this post but just to give you a hint: this was France, in a small town, in the winter, and on a Monday. Blog-reading visitors to Carcassonne, Gayle and Paul, gave us the opportunity (thank you!) to show that we can actually make last-minute decisions when they emailed us asking for dinner recommendations and to invite us for an apéro beforehand. Bill sent them a list and asked when they might be in town. “We’ve just arrived and we’re staying only tonight”, came back the reply. Oh, OK! Happily, only a couple of hours later we were sharing a bottle of rosé with them in a wine garden not far from where they would be eating that evening.

I saw this list below that had been compiled from several sources dealing with the advantages of being spontaneous:

• You stay fresh. Being spontaneous means you are always trying something new and different. You don’t get bored or stuck in a rut, but rather embrace the variety and excitement that life has to offer.
• You are more flexible. Being spontaneous means you are ready to adapt to any situation and change your plans accordingly. You don’t get stressed out or disappointed when things don’t go as expected.
• You are more creative. Being spontaneous means you follow your intuition and impulses, rather than overthinking or censoring yourself.
• You are less stressed out. Being spontaneous means you don’t worry too much about the future or the past, but rather live in the present moment. You enjoy the here and now, and appreciate the beauty and wonder of life.
• You have better relationships. Being spontaneous means you are open and vulnerable with others, rather than guarded or reserved. You also have more fun and excitement with your friends and loved ones, as you share new experiences and memories together.

While we would agree that all of those are admirable traits, it’s possible for us to achieve those same results by being prepared in advance, especially when it comes to travel. Once we have a destination in mind, Bill starts looking at where to stay and what train will get us there while I explore the places of interest we’ll be going to visit. Then it’s on to restaurants, bakeries, markets, and supermarkets. With the research complete we have a list of top choices plus lots of alternatives in case our “number ones” don’t work out.

On a recent trip to Paris, our first choice train was going to be over an hour late meaning that we would miss our connection in Bordeaux. Thanks to having looked ahead we knew that a train going in the opposite direction would allow us to change in Lyon and still get us to the capital in time to catch another train from there. We had 30 minutes to cancel the original tickets, buy new ones, and get to the station, all of which we were able to do.

In the movie Mamma Mia, hotel owner Donna is shocked to see ex-boyfriend Harry “Headbanger” Bright camping in her goat house and asks him why he’s there. Despite all the plans required to get from London to a remote Greek island specifically for the wedding of (possibly) his daughter, Harry replies, “I’m here on a spontaneous holiday”. Now that’s our kind of vacation!

Oh yes, to finish the story from the first paragraph. If you live in France or have traveled here often you’ll know that many businesses are closed on Mondays, that small towns offer a limited number of restaurants, and off-season, many of those are likely to be closed. Let’s just say that we ended up having lunch at the one restaurant that we knew would be open. Long live planned spontaneity!

Photo notes: The featured photo across the top is a sundial in Saint-Jean-de-Côle and in the first paragraph is the village of Limeuil.