Hello all,

I am hoping that many of you will share your techniques for writing such wonderful detailed trip reports.

Do you bring a small notepad and scribble in it throughout the day? Do you write it down one day at a time, such as every night before bed? Those of you who write extensive restaurant reviews, do you record everything in your notebook while dining?

I had every intention of writing a report after our 12 day honeymoon in Italy this past June, but by the time we got back and wrote out all our thank you notes I had forgotten so many details about restaurants, sights, etc. I want to do a better job on our upcoming trips!

Many Thanks!

Hi, I take a 3X5 little binder notepad with me in my purse. At lunch or at any lull time during the day I write what I did since I got up that morning. If I don't get a chance during the day I do it before I go to sleep at night. It is a good way to relax for the night and everything is still fresh in your mind.

I write down what I did after I woke up and then what time lunch was and what I ate. Then what I did in the afternoon and what I had for dinner and where. I also write down little incidents that were funny or notable. I write a little about people that I noticed or talked to or had some kind of contact with and our interaction.

I write down the names of stores I want to remember, too, and what I bought.

I try to write at least one amusing situation, one great revelation I had, about at least one local person I encountered. It helps sometimes to write the irritating or annoying things that happen too, to keep me from dwelling on a negative. I might make up an appropriate name for a negative person, so at least I will be able to smile about it when I read it later.

Hi Aggie,

I take my journal with me everywhere and write in it whenever we have some down time, whether it's between courses at a meal, waiting in line at a museum, waiting at the train station, on the train (that's a biggie), before bed, down time in the hotel room before dinner, or, my favorite, sitting on a bench in a lovely piazza, just soaking up the atmosphere. I refer back to my journal often, as it's a great way to relive the trip.

I do journal throughout my vacations, but I wait until an hour or so before I go to bed to write in it. To help me along in the remembering department, if I'm at a restaurant that I really like, I try to take a "freebie" with me. Something that is small with the name of the restaurant name on it, such as a card. Or, I scribble the name on a piece of paper and tuck it away. I do the same with museums and other places I visit. By the end of the day I usually have quite a few scraps of paper to go through! It helps to keep things fresh, though, in the evenings. Also, some of these little scraps end up in my photo album of the trip.

In Italy you get a receipt for everything (meals, museums, parking, coffee,etc.)save them. Most receipts (but not all)will have the name and address of the establishment and what you bought. Pick up matches at restaurants, hotels, and cafes (they come in handy for lighting stoves and candles) they sometimes have the name and address of the establishment.

I should also add:

The parts of my journal that I enjoy the most after the fact are the impressions of a place and how I feel when I'm there, rather than the logistics. For example, I had a very strong emotional reaction to Vienna. I poured my heart out in my journal, detailing my emotions, so now every time I read it, I get that same euphoria.

I used to take a journal with me and I would write up the day's events every night before going to bed.

Now I take my laptop and do the same thing. Only now, I don't have to re-type it once I get home if I want to share it. (also use the laptop for uploading pics from our digital cameras.)

I take a journal & write in it when I take a break, sit at a café, people-watch. I find, too, as a single woman that a journal is a great way to keep me company, a great icebreaker with people around me, and just a great memory collector (I paste receipts, tickets, cards, passes, etc. in it).

I also augment that with photos I've taken to help me write my trip reports!

One of the first things I do when I get to Europe is purchase a small notebook, usually nothing fancy, but something that in and of itself is a souvenir. I carry it with me in my purse at all times and generally pull it out at café stops, dinners, and anytime something strikes me as important enough to stop and jot down notes about it. I don't often record mealos in detail the way some here do, but I do make general notes about restaurants and hotels. I also work in my journal before bed most nights.

Like Beatchick I find that when traveling alone, my journal gives me something to do at cafés and restaurants if I am feeling at all awkward. And I sometimes keep wine labels, museum entrance tickets, and such as little augmentations to the journal. I just paste them in.

I wouldn't feel bad about not keeping a journal, TexasAggie - it was your honeymoon after all!

I prepare a project itinerary before I go. Quite detailed, including things like how to get from one location to another by tube... Not that I always end up following it.

Then when I have a brake, say waiting for a meal to be served or on a train, I start writing my report on the back of the itinerary pages. Between the planed schedule and the notes on the back, I have most of the info I need to write up the trip.

I just wish I had been doing this 10, 20, 30 years ago, so I could go back and read about those adventures.

I usually travel alone, and find that when I am driving/walking along by myself, sometimes I am composing my report of what is happening, in my head.

Keith

<i>&quot;Do you bring a small notepad and scribble in it throughout the day? Do you write it down one day at a time, such as every night before bed?&quot;</i>

Yes. We jot down a few bullet-point notes on the day's activities every evening (or every other evening), usually at supper time as we are enjoying drinks and waiting for the food to arrive. We then &quot;flesh out&quot; the verbiage once we're back home. This system has worked out well for us, and provides plenty of dinnertime conversation.

StCirq is right, TexasAggie; you were on your honeymoon after all. I think you had a few more distractions than the rest of us. ;-)

Wow, thank you all for the tips and advice!
I love the idea of buying a nice small journal my first day there. Something new and unique to hopefully motivate me to write in it.

Knowing myself and our travel habits, I'm more likely to write in the evenings before bed than throughout the day so the idea about saving receipts and items from restaurants with the name and address is perfect for one like me!

Our next trip is a week in Germany in mid-February so feel free to keep me accountable to writing a report this time ;-)

Thanks again
Jill

I also write notes before I go to bed. And I take business cards or matchbooks from restaurants and save entrance tickets and such.
Also, I find myself writing a lot in the mornings if jetlag forces me awake too early.
I write everything in my laptop, mostly notes and then go back and flesh it out later. If I wait too long, I can't recapture the spirit of what I wanted to say about the experience.

This past September was my first time to keep a journal for the purposes of writing and posting a trip report here. I've been back two months and haven't finished it, though I'm close. You will find on your return, that the busyness of work and everyday life compete for your time. But I do have a little note book bought on my first day in Dubrovnik stuffed with 3 weeks worth of incidents and accidents that give me a chuckle now as I read them while transferring them to the report. Perhaps that in itself is the problem. It becomes too much to write. My advice on this : write it all down in point form as it happens, but then judiciously prune when writing the report. Give yourself some time after you return before starting to write. You'll know how much. Sometimes remembering too much of everything can slow you down writing as it has done me.

Also if you're like me, I found that it required some discipline to take the time to record the events during the day, and especially at night recapping the day's happenings. But you soon get used to it. Transiting between destinations is also a good time to make notes. And yes, as others have mentioned, save all your restaurant and shopping receipts, brochures, museum and travel tickets and stubs, maps and magazines. It could end up being a lot to lug around, not to mention sorting through it all when you get back but it's worth it for useful information and detail when you get to the report.

Have your photos beside you in sequence when you start writing. It helps you remember things better.

Good luck.

I bring a small, poket-sized journal with me and carry it with me everywhere I go. I wish I could say that I was so diligent to write in it every day. However, I do write things down. I put down impressions, feelings, prices, and all sorts of stuff. I also save receipts so that when I get home I can tally up our trip expenses. I do the math as a bit of interest to have a breakdown of trip expenses.

As menioned earlier, receipts will often have the name of the place and details of what you ordered, etc.

I will also take photos of plates of food as served in the various restaurants. And, I take plenty of photos in general to trigger my memory. My only problem is how to sift through all this stuff when I get home. I wish I could be a bit more organized in my journaling.

When I get back home and settled, I start to pour over my photos and notes and write up a trip report. It's a lot of fun to read these reports years later when the freshness of the trip and experiences have dulled in my memory and I am able to relive the trip.

- Sharon

I was hoping we'd hear the secrets of Sharon's success in writing such great trip reports. Beside the great content and writing style, I really liked the way she headed each post with the highlights she'd detail below.

Personally I never write in a journal or post trip reports, but I *always* collect business cards from restaurants and hotels I like, keep free city maps, save all receipts, etc.

I use (one for each city) the clear zippered pencil cases (they are meant to go in a 3-ring notebook &amp; are just the right size) and stuff everything into them for reference later so I can answer questions on this BB.

Another method is to cc yourself on emails you send to friends at home while traveling, but since it's your honeymoon I'm hoping you won't be spending a lot of time in internet cafes -LOL.

Hi TA,

In addition to saving all receipts and collecting business cards, I bring along a small spiral-bound notepad, a la Columbo, to make notes of the moment.

At dinner, I usually keep it on my knee rather than on the table.

(I don't want to offend all of the other tourists by appearing to be a tourist.)

PS,

Since it was your honeymoon, you are forgiven, just this once, for not writing a trip report.

Do not let it happen again.