Our Q&A With Kathy 

Q. How do you define slow travel? What are the characteristics of it, from your perspective?

My simple definition is that “slow travel” means staying longer in fewer places. But slow travel really isn’t a simple concept and has lots of dimensions depending on what’s important to each person.

Slow travel enables you to focus on “experiencing” a place—not just “sightseeing.” I think it also means you become a “traveler”— not so much a “tourist.” You make connections. You’re not just hopping off a bus or passing by in your rental car, seeing a few highlights, taking a few photos. You have the luxury of time…to explore the side streets, find a favourite café, take an afternoon walk, chat with the person who lives next door. The longer you can stay the better, because you can get an authentic experience of living somewhere.

The most important aspect for me personally of traveling more slowly is getting to know people who live in that place, people from a different culture, whose lives have been different than my own. As you stay longer, you make acquaintances…people recognize you. And then you may learn each other’s names.  Then the longer you stay, or the more often you return, acquaintances become friends. You might share a drink or a meal together, perhaps are invited into a home. These kinds of cross-cultural friendships can be strong even when you don’t speak the same language. My life has become so enriched through my friendships with people in the villages and towns where we host our trips. And even though our lives are different, we also find points of commonality and shared interests.

Other slow travellers may find different passions…perhaps to create, to enjoy some physical pastime, to have a more intense food experience. But staying longer in one place gifts you TIME for those connections.

Q. How has slow travel shaped or changed your perspective on life? What have you learned by ‘slowing down’? What surprised you the most?

I was in the corporate world for 27 years. I have an MBA from a top school and was very career-focused. After business school, I moved quickly into senior management and had lots of wonderful experiences. My focus was Human Resources, so relationships were always important to me and I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, but it was a tricky balance. I was the VP of HR for two companies, 17 years total at that level. I worked on a lot of difficult projects in challenging industries—managing layoffs, healthcare, union issues. I usually worked 60+ hours a week. I hardly took a vacation—and even the nature of vacation started to change when technology made it impossible to really disconnect from work in a fast-paced, bottom-line-oriented world.

Charley and I met when I was 36 and married within a year. We had Kelly a year later. Having a husband and child slowed me down. I had someone to get home to, people I loved to enjoy weekends and vacations with.

A fast-paced sightseeing vacation is many things, but it’s not relaxing. It can be stressful. Packing up and moving on every day or two is stressful. Getting rental cars, navigating unfamiliar roads, dealing with train schedules…more stress (and wasted time too). Two years ago, I did a “FAM” trip in northern France with a small group of other travel professionals. We were on the go for four days, changing hotels every night, hardly any free time. I never unpacked, could never find anything in my suitcase. Thank goodness for relaxing time on the bus—and I didn’t have to drive! It made me realize the tradeoffs with a fast-paced tour.

A slow travel vacation allows time to relax, to be spontaneous, to enjoy the small moments, to enjoy simplicity…to have a later start in the morning, to putter in a kitchen assembling a meal, to open the shutters to the sight of the beautiful countryside…now that’s relaxing, that to me is a different kind of living.  And you’re more likely to have those moments of serendipity, a totally unexpected encounter or experience, often what you remember most.

Q. How did traveling at a young age impact your daughter’s life?

I was born in Germany. My father was in the military and my young parents lived off-base in a small town in Bavaria. I don’t remember it, but I know it influenced me to grow up with parents who had lived in Europe. Then, as a civilian with the Defense Department, my father was transferred for 3-1/2 years to Melbourne, Australia, and our family had the opportunity to live abroad. We were in Melbourne from when I was eight to almost 13. This experience had such an impact on me.

We gave our daughter the gift of travel through our annual European vacations. But I also wanted her to have the experience of living abroad. Our long trip was a great experience for her, as she learned so much about geography, history, art, architecture, culture, nature, languages and more…learning through experiences—not from books. But the experience of living in a small village in Provence—and going to school there—was truly life-changing, maybe more for her than for us. She spent every day with French children, learning in French, playing on the playground, eating a three-course meal in the lunchroom. She didn’t come away with life-long friends her own age, but she made a life-long connection with that village and that culture. And I think she developed valuable respect for people of other cultures, nationalities, economic status, racial backgrounds, and sexual preferences because our travels brought her in contact with so many different people.

Kelly continued her French studies through middle school and high school, and her travels definitely impacted her interests and career choices. She received her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Chicago and joint Masters’ degrees in International/World History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics. Now she’s a fourth-year PhD student at New York University, studying Modern European and French History. This year she’s living in Paris for her dissertation research. Her master’s thesis focused on issues relating to the re-integration of Alsace into France after World War II— a topic that was influenced by a visit our family made in 2004 to a village destroyed by the Nazis.

Kelly grew up with our company and has been actively involved with European Experiences since its start in 2006. After joining several early European Experiences groups, Kelly co-led two Luberon trips with Charley in 2014 and was a key part of our research team for the Cotswolds, Périgord and Alsace trips. Now that Charley has mostly retired, she’s my co-leader for two of our trips in France.  We’re so proud of her!  (But just to clarify—she has her own career goals and won’t be joining me in our family business).

About Kathy

Kathy Wood is the co-founder and owner of European Experiences, offering week-long “slow tours” in some of the most beautiful areas of Europe, including The Luberon Experience in Provence, France. National Geographic Traveler magazine named The Luberon Experience one of their top 50 tours in the world in 2012.

European Experiences was founded in 2006 and has hosted 120 small groups trips in Europe. They offer week-long “slow” trips in Provence, Tuscany, Puglia, Alsace, the Dordogne, and the Cotswolds. They also offer two longer tours: The European Christmas Experience (12 days) and The Cornwall Experience in southwest England (10 days).  And in 2022 they’re offering trips in several new destinations, including some trips just for women. They’ll announce their 2022 schedule and open for reservations on April 14.   

If you’d like to learn more about European Experiences and their small group tours in beautiful places, visit their website, sign up for their mailing list, or join them for one of their upcoming Virtual European Experiences. 

Visit our Women’s Travel Directory to learn more about European Experiences and other slow travel tours.

More About Midlife Reinvention