If you enjoy traveling, you know how wonderful it feels to get away, to gain perspective, to feel invigorated and/or relaxed, depending upon the type of trip you take.

Sonia Israel, one of our fabulous #AlembikaWomen, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego. She’s also a frequent flyer in the Alembika Zoom Café and has a terrific travel blog, JOURNEYS WITH SONIA. I visited her blog and it’s replete with gorgeous images of Sonia’s many adventures and journeys, all over the world, plus in-depth stories and history—all engaging and wonderful! Below is a snapshot from a recent post on Sonia’s blog.

**A snapshot of a recent blog post on JourneysWithSonia.com**

I have also been reading my mom’s travel journals lately; she passed away in May after a very long battle with dementia. I feel lucky to have these journals, as each little book has snippets of time that infuse my brain with memories of my mom before her decline—her smart, funny, insightful writing makes me smile.

My mother spent a few Springs after retirement traveling to France with her watercolor teacher, so her journals are filled with whimsical watercolor sketches of places she visited and people she met. It is such fun and a privilege to imagine her travels through the lense of her paintings and stories. And it reminds me of something she always said, which was that travel is not only the best education there is, but an important part of our holistic wellness.

So, my singular travel tip: Book that flight! But first, for inspiration, check out SONIA’S BLOG. There’s no better time than the present! The season of travel is certainly in full swing, and gets even more intense in August, which is just around the corner—so we asked Sonia for her top travel tips—and here’s what our jet-set pro had to say:

PACK LIGHT. This is the most important one!
DON’T RUSH & DON’T BE CHEAP. Go for the highest level of comfort that you can afford.
GET A GUIDE. Hire either a private guide or go with a small group… I love knowing what I’m looking at. Otherwise, as my husband was fond of saying, “A stone is just a stone, unless you know the story behind it.”
TRAVELING SOLO? GET A DRIVER. This way you can spend your time looking out the window at the scenery, not navigating unfamiliar roads.

Check out Sonia’s travel blog here and read more about her here in Alembika Magazine’s #AlembikaWomen column.