A response to modern life-fast food, fast living and ubiquitous pollution. Pollution in the broadest sense: contamination of not only the environment-but also of our cultures and values.
Backtrack to 1986: a McDonald’s hamburger bar was planned for construction in Rome’s fabulous Piazza di Spagna, sparking protests that were led by the now-famous Carlo Petrini. These protests in turn sparked an international cultural shift towards slowing down the pace of life
Slow travel is about exactly that – slowing ourselves down for long enough to taste the coffee, literally-to spend less time travelling and more time being there. To never again return home feeling like you need a holiday.
First of all, relax and let go of the imaginary ‘must do’ list. Instead, think about all the things you would like to experience.
Try staying in a holiday rental instead of a hotel, to experience local life in a real village or town. Holiday rentals are called by different names in different countries. In the UK, Australia and New Zealand they are called‘self-catering’; in France, ‘gites,’ in Italy, ‘agriturismos,’ in Switzerlandand Germany, ‘ferienwohnungen,’ and in the US, ‘vacation rentals.