Getting to know new people is one of the fun parts of travelling, and sometimes these encounters turn into long-term and even lifelong friendships. In this episode, my guests have wonderful stories to tell about the friends they have made on a trip - I found it very uplifting!

First up, Heidi Brown describes how taking solo trips to indulge her love of U2 has led to a delightful network of similarly U2-obsessed friends, who continue to meet up around the world. I then chat with Shari Leid, who carried out a fantastic project having a meal with a stranger or near stranger in all fifty US states, making some good friends along the way. Finally, Steve Hoffman ponders the difficulties inherent in making lasting friendships when we travel and gives a great example of a friend he made while spending an extended period in rural France.

Links:

• Substack post I mentioned: Conversations that changed my perspective on life - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/p/conversations-that-changed-my-perspective 
• Heidi Brown - https://www.heidikristinbrown.com/
• Heidi’s memoir The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self - https://amzn.to/44Mky6T 
• Sharri Leid - An Imperfectly Perfect Life - https://animperfectlyperfectlife.com/
• Shari’s book Table for 51: Lessons Learned from Sharing Meals across America - https://amzn.to/4ls5WOQ 
• Steve Hoffman - https://www.sjrhoffman.com/ 
• Steve’s book, A Season for That: Lost and Found in the Other Southern France - https://amzn.to/3DSqosP 
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com 
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/361

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

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