You're Vacationing Wrong

The one solution to remember more of the little moments of happiness and small encounters during your vacation.

Music.

Scientifically, music evokes emotions. The best way to kick off the beginning of an adventure is a killer playlist. While this may not seem important, picking the right songs can help you remember specific moments and feelings from traveling.

This doesn't mean making a playlist for your photomontage to show your family once you come home. This is creating the backdrop for how you want to feel while you're walking along the streets of Paris, or riding the train through the hills of Northern Ireland.

Here's an example: You may not fancy classic French music, but hear me out. Imagine a warm breeze with the faint smell of 5-star food from the nearby riverboat restaurants. You're standing on a boat floating down the Seine looking at an amazing sunset and admiring the historic buildings, passing under bridges, and cruising past Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre. People are cheering when the lights of the Eiffel Tower sparkle against the remains of the sunset in the sky. You can't help the smile that has creeped onto your face.

Think about which emotions you would be feeling. Now, which song would you listen to?

The music won't be blasting through your headphones, because drowning out the sounds of children's laughter and conversations in the foreign language means that you're missing a major part of your surroundings. Just one earbud with low volume will be enough to intensify your memory so moments like this, that may seem insignificant, will forever remind you of how happy you were.

Make a playlist while researching what activities you want to do during your time abroad. Don't choose intense rap songs, or the chart topping pop songs. Find eclectic music, as if you're adding the background music for the next best movie that you're staring in. If you're in Paris, try some Edith Piaf or a personal favorite - Elephant Gun by Beirut that has a hint of accordion and trumpet to add to the French flavor. For each country there is regional music that you can expose yourself to that will enhance your experience and set the mood for you to really explore your place in the foreign country that you're visiting.