Travel can be challenging, unpredictable, treacherous... and wonderful! Why do we do this to ourselves?!?

Sophia Theodossiou embodies all of the best traits of a world traveler. She discusses growing up in Greece with a dad who is a pilot, how her mom got kids to behave on flights before screens were commonplace, a saga of getting stranded at Christmas with three heavy duffel bags full of cheese, her experience nearly getting kidnapped in Cairo, an anthropological perspective about ancient Greeks hauling marble from the island of Naxos to the top of the Acropolis, and reflections on why we put ourselves through this to experience the world beyond our comfort zones.

-----

Travel book recommendations: http://nearandfar.travel/books/ https://bookshop.org/shop/near_far_travel

-----

Follow Near and Far

Monthly Near and Far newsletter: https://nearandfar.travel/newsletter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/near_far_travel/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nearandfar.bsky.social

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@near_far_travel

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/near-far-travel

-----

About the Podcast: https://nearandfar.travel/podcast

Be a podcast guest: https://nearandfar.travel/podcast/be-a-podcast-guest/

-----

Chapters

0:00 Introduction: Sophia Theodossiou

1:21 Growing up in Greece with a pilot parent

4:38 How Mom got us to behave on flights before screens

9:04 Visiting Greek family in Chicago

10:40 Travel books!

10:56 Stranded with Cheese

22:51 Kidnapped in Cairo?

26:04 Salvaging rough situations

28:21 Leave a review!

28:38 Why we travel