Travel vs Vacation

In American English vernacular the words travel and vacation are often used interchangeably. After some experience with both traveling and vacationing I can indeed tell you that they are not synonyms.

No sir.

No way.

No how.

Traveling is usually a journey that involves going from one place to another. Traveling is a time to absorb culture (your own or another), learn history, and see sights. Although traveling is often fun, it is rarely relaxing.

A vacation more or less involves having a break from general duties and responsibilities; like work or school. Vacations are generally used for rest, relaxation, and recreation. For example, a week at the beach with your family, or a weekend at your in-laws' lake house are vacations. In general vacations perfect for reconnecting and strengthening bonds within families or friendships due to the fact that vacations are relatively stress-free.

Okay, okay... so a vacation from work might be used to travel somewhere, but in general they aren't synonymous verbs. Both traveling and vacationing are good for the soul and spirit, and will probably result in a more well-rounded person.

Last weekend we vacationed in Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo (Abruzzo National Park), Italy's largest National Park. We filled our time wisely with a perfect balance of relaxation and recreation. Our trip brought us to the clean, quite, serene, town of Pescasseroli;  a tiny little town resting in the Apennine Mountains.

Despite the warm weather we were fortunate enough to find a ski slope with snow (albeit artificial). AC out skied all of us! We did some snowless snow tubing (only in Italy!), and got a taste of AC's thrill seeking, adventurous side. We rounded out the weekend with horseback and pony rides. Of course, there was good food and wine all weekend, and we AC even made some new friends along the way!

First with help!

Then with no help!

As always, check out more of our pictures under the Travel With Me tab at the top of the page.