Why travel, part 2

Here are several more responses to my question of "Why do you travel?"

For me, what delivers a satisfying travel experience is walking. I see gardens and barking dogs, chat with women in their barnyard, walk by old junk piles, return waves of greeting. Walking takes me through ancient ruins of abbeys in England, into the kitchen of the Italian train station master for fresh home-made wine, and Bedouin tents for tea in Morocco. Arab tots clamber to kiss my hand in the pre-medieval neighborhood of Marrakech, a French woman in a pink polyester suit makes total side-body contact to give directions I don't really need and a New Yorker sets up my entire four-day visit, learns my personal history and all about my children in the 30 minutes after we cross a busy street together. Not one of these experiences would I have had, except by walking. I thought travel would be about history, art and sights, but it is with living, breathing people where I experience life. -- Tyler, Oregon

I wonder about Turkey ( old Constantinople) and Rome and the Libraries of Egypt, destroyed long ago. Although I know I can never see those old libraries, the destruction of the ancient books and papyrus drives me crazy as I wonder what was written, what knowledge did we lose? I was taught in school about the invasion of England by the Romans. Their arrival changed the history of Britain more so than the arrival (previously) of the Danes or the Saxons. The Roman influence is still seen in lots of cities, especially Bath. Names like Chester, Cirencester, Worcester indicates that these towns were named by the Romans. Some roads built by the Romans remain today, the Fosse Way and Watling St., very straight roads (the Romans realized early on that the quickest connection between two points was a straight line).
So i often wonder about the people who brought civilization to England. About those who taught us about government, health, central heating, architecture and taught women about beautification (make-up, jewelry and how to dye hair). Yes, that all fascinates me and makes me wonder. So I like to travel because I'm curious and because I can. -- Gillian, Vermont (by way of England)

I travel to learn about things I never knew existed. I travel to experience life in ways I couldn't imagine. I travel to discover parts of myself I didn't know were missing. -- Paul, USA

I like to travel because I enjoy seeing the wonders of other countries; seeing how the people live and how they adapt to being around ancient and modern times. I like the idea of seeing areas on TV or hearing about other parts of the world and saying to myself "Oh, I have been there: it was so beautiful and exciting." -- Irma, Houston