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How UNESCO sites changed the way one woman views travel
31 Plays8 days ago
What makes a place feel timeless? In this episode, Chantelle sits down with Audra, better known as The Nerd Traveler, to explore the magic of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. From standing in awe at Notre Dame to tracing history’s footsteps at the Acropolis, Audra shares how these extraordinary places connect us to the past—and ourselves. If you’ve ever wanted your travels to mean more, this is the episode for you.
Follow Audra! www.thenerdtraveler.com, https://www.instagram.com/the_nerd_traveler/
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Transcript
Introduction to Audra, the Nerd Traveler
00:00:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hey there, welcome to Go Far Girl. Today I'm here with Audra. You might know her as the Nerd Traveler. She's deeply passionate about the intersection of history and travel and believes that every trip has the potential to become a journey of discovery.
00:00:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Whether she's standing outside the Roman Colosseum or wandering on the halls of the Louvre, Audra seeks out UNESCO World Heritage Sites that make the past feel tangible and alive. So today she's going to help us understand why these places matter, how they can change the way we experience the world.
00:00:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
So welcome, Audra. I'm so happy to have you.
00:00:34
Audra Morris
I'm so excited to be with you. Thank you so much.
00:00:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes, I'm so excited about this topic because i love discovering UNESCO sites and I love the way it brings, like you you said, history to life. And it makes the places you visit so much more meaningful.
00:00:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
I've had so many experiences life. these places where I'm like, oh, it's really cool. And then once I learned the history, I'm like, oh oh, my gosh. And you just feel something for it. And I've cried and I've had like these just crazy experiences with that. So I'm super excited that you also love to nerd out on history.
Understanding UNESCO World Heritage Sites
00:01:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
So for for those that don't know, can you kind of tell us like what a UNESCO site is and what makes it qualify to be a UNESCO site?
00:01:11
Audra Morris
Completely.
00:01:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's not just any old place, right?
00:01:23
Audra Morris
It's not just any old place, correct? So, and I'm one of those people, I like to know what acronyms stand for. And I actually looked it up. So UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
00:01:37
Audra Morris
And it actually has an interesting origin story. There was some work that Egypt wanted to do that would have they wanted to put up a dam in the 50s and it would have flooded an area that had a lot of historic relics, all of these different things um from like a cultural perspective that were important not only to and to Egypt and Egyptian history, but biblical history, you know cultural history, you know the whole that whole, you know that what do they call it, the the Delta, the Nile Delta.
00:02:13
Audra Morris
um And so there was this effort to preserve these sites, and that kind of kicked off this um kind of global desire to really classify those sites that should be preserved. So the they went through different iterations of researching and discussing and treaties and international diplomatic relations and actually established the list in 1972.
00:02:42
Audra Morris
So it's not very old. And I say that because I was born in 1972 and I'm not very old either. um
00:02:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
That is not old at all.
00:02:49
Audra Morris
but What is that old at all? But it really focuses on things that have kind of a universal cultural relevance to the world. And it actually increases having something designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site actually kind of, it not only shines a spotlight on the location, but it also increases protection of it, preservation of the site.
00:03:15
Audra Morris
So it actually has some kind of financial implications as well. So there is a little bit of funding that comes from the UNESCO organization to the site, to the country to help preserve that location.
Types and Significance of UNESCO Sites
00:03:31
Audra Morris
um So, and there's actually, There's three different types of UNESCO World Heritage sites. There's cultural, there's natural, and then there's a hybrid. So it's it can it can be both. So if you think even just even the United States, we've got um cultural UNESCO World Heritage sites like the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, the missions down here in San Antonio, Texas.
00:03:58
Audra Morris
I'm in Austin, so San Antonio is an hour or so south of me. But you also have Natural, you also have those that are designated natural sites like the Grand Canyon, yo Yosemite National Park, the Redwood Forest in Northern California. So that's just the United States. The United States actually has, I think, 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but Italy has the most at 60. So...
00:04:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
And there's over 200, right?
00:04:28
Audra Morris
so
00:04:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
Is there over?
00:04:30
Audra Morris
There's over 200.
00:04:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
Is it?
00:04:31
Audra Morris
Yes.
00:04:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:04:32
Audra Morris
Yes. So anyway, so I just, you know, i I obviously because I'm a nerd, I did my research on UNESCO for this podcast.
00:04:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
No, I love that because I actually didn't know what it stood for. Like I knew like generally what it was just based off the things I've seen.
00:04:45
Audra Morris
lu
00:04:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
be like, oh, clearly the Colosseum is historical. Clearly this cave in Slovenia is like,
00:04:52
Audra Morris
Right.
00:04:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
Educational. Like, i so I kind of had the gist, but I didn't know.
00:04:59
Audra Morris
Right.
00:04:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
And I didn't know the history of that, which is another fun fact. So cool.
Personal Journey and Passion for History
00:05:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
So have you always been into history or did travel get you into history?
00:05:03
Audra Morris
Exactly.
00:05:09
Audra Morris
I think travel got me into history. History was always one of my favorite classes, like in high school. Like I actually, my favorite classes were social studies with our our our little map pencils where you would color in the map and kind look at all.
00:05:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Me too. Yeah.
00:05:22
Audra Morris
the Yeah, I loved my map pencil. So I think it started with social studies. But history's always kind of been You know, it was always one of my favorite classes. Unfortunately, in high school, it was almost always the class right after lunch. So it was always the class that I was kind of dozing off in.
00:05:38
Audra Morris
Apologies to my teachers. But ah anyway, after those delicious high school lunches, how can one stay awake? but yeah it really what what you know And you and I kind of talked about this a little bit. When it really struck me was i did a study abroad program my senior year of college. I was so lucky to go to a school that really promoted study abroad. So our so they had a program called Jan Terms. So for the month of January, you took one class.
00:06:06
Audra Morris
And sometimes it was off campus, sometimes it was international. So i my senior year of college, I did a Jan Term in Switzerland. And a group of us went to Paris for a weekend.
00:06:16
Audra Morris
And I remember standing outside of Notre Dame and seeing that plaque that says construction started in 1163. And it was really the first time it hit me, not only, you know, just how young America is, like we don't have anything here from the 12th century, nothing, you know, or if we...
00:06:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Which they'll remind you of all the time when you go to Europe. ah
00:06:37
Audra Morris
Exactly, exactly.
00:06:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
They're like, this is old.
00:06:40
Audra Morris
Exactly. You are not. so but and even you know and so that that was really the thing that just really kind of struck me and like as i just stood there i just had a moment where i thought um all the people that have stood where i'm standing hundred years you know cause that was ninety ninety four so mean it was over eight hundred years and i was just like holy crap and just thinking like when they and so that was when kind of the history all came flooding back that i was like When this was, when construction started on this, like there wasn't a printing press.
00:07:14
Audra Morris
People didn't know how to read. People didn't have books, you know, and so all of that history just kind of started clicking into place and it just felt really kind of, I don't know, it just, it it shifted my my my thought process in a way that I, that was what started my journey.
Emotional Impact of Visiting Historical Sites
00:07:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's so cool.
00:07:32
Audra Morris
That's what started my journey. Yeah.
00:07:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. I love those moments. I had so many of those when we were in Turkey, especially because it's so old and it's been through so many different, I mean, it's Turkey itself has been so many different things, right.
00:07:39
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:07:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
And, and, and such a major part of so many different stories.
00:07:48
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:07:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
And we were walking along this road And it's like one of the original roads from like when like the Romans had it. And then you're like walking to where like they brought the – um
00:08:12
CHANTELLE KINCY
You're walking along to where they brought in the people that were going to be used as gladiators and where they like sold them basically and auctioned them off. And you just think about the feelings of the people there and they walked from here to here.
00:08:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
And it's not a replica. Like it's this brick, like that they actually walked on and these things. And it's just, it's mind blowing. And I always think about the people. i'm like, oh, the people that walked here or like, oh, the people that lost their lives, like right here or like.
00:08:41
Audra Morris
Right.
00:08:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Anne Boleyn was like beheaded right here. Like that stuff is just crazy to me that.
00:08:45
Audra Morris
Exactly.
00:08:48
Audra Morris
ah Exactly.
00:08:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. So I love that. So you, that was kind of your first intro. Do you make a point now of traveling like specifically to certain UNESCO sites or is it more just like a bonus if you're traveling and there is one?
00:09:03
Audra Morris
Well, for a long time, it was a bonus if I was traveling and there is one, but now I kind of seek them out.
Challenges and Tips for Visiting UNESCO Sites
00:09:10
Audra Morris
And it's really interesting. um You know, when we were, I went to Lyon Marseille last year ah in France for some Olympic games. We got tickets to some Olympic games that were not in Paris.
00:09:25
Audra Morris
um And I didn't really, you know, Marseille is one of the oldest cities. and it's one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. And they have a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is from an architect, but this architect also has, it's more like his work that's ah that's an architectural site. So, you know, it was really exciting for us to try to go see that.
00:09:50
Audra Morris
We actually ended up having a travel fail with that experience because we were on a bus and we didn't realize that we were on an express bus. to the coast. So like we were ready to get off on the next stop and the next stop wasn't for another 30 minutes.
00:10:05
Audra Morris
So we totally passed it by. It was our last day of Marseille we were like, well, whatever.
00:10:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, it's a tour.
00:10:11
Audra Morris
But you know, it's just, it's so, so I, I've gotten to the point now where I seek them out and actually the UNESCO website has an interactive map.
00:10:23
Audra Morris
that you can look at to kind of see. But it's for me, it's kind of challenging because it doesn't have, and I and i understand why they do this, it doesn't have the borders. So it's hard to know if you're looking at a map, you're like, is that Spain or is that France?
00:10:37
Audra Morris
Because I'm used to seeing the lines on the map to help me differentiate. Is that Portugal or is that Spain? Is that you know trying to figure out you know, where exactly something is. So thankfully they have one that you can download into a spreadsheet that I have downloaded into a spreadsheet and I have it filtered and I have it sorted and I have it highlighted.
00:10:56
Audra Morris
you can, you,
00:10:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
I love this so much.
00:11:01
Audra Morris
oh it can you can
00:11:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'm such a highlighter list kind of girl. I'm like, check it off. Check it off.
00:11:07
Audra Morris
like Exactly, exactly, exactly. So yeah, so I've got a list and I've highlighted the ones I've been to and then like the next ones I want to go to. um But it's hard because for me at least, I'm realizing that I have been places that are UNESCO World Heritage sites and now I really wanna go back to them. So it's kind of that, it's always kind of that dilemma, you know it can be that dilemma that travelers have, which is, do you want do you go someplace new or do you revisit a place that you've already been before?
00:11:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:11:36
Audra Morris
So it's like, well, but what if i what if I was in Paris only for a few days and then I went to a new place? Could I do both?
00:11:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Are you in my head?
00:11:46
Audra Morris
So, exactly, exactly. So, yes, I think we all share one of those big dorky traveler brains.
00:11:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know we're fundamentally all the same, which is why I love it so much.
00:11:59
Audra Morris
Exactly, exactly.
00:12:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
Um, So do you think that people would get the most out of their trip to a UNESCO site by learning the history, researching ahead? Or do you think there's enough information like at the sites themselves to sort of get that feel? Like what would you recommend as someone who like really loves it?
00:12:18
Audra Morris
Well, as someone who really loves it, it's kind of interesting because well, and let me answer the question. I think, I personally think it would be better to do a little bit of research beforehand because there are UNESCO World Heritage sites like and in Paris, it's the banks of the Seine.
00:12:35
Audra Morris
So there isn't like a place that is, that is the designated site with a plaque with information on it.
00:12:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
Gotcha.
00:12:43
Audra Morris
So, you know, or like the historic center of, uh, of like Vienna or Florence. So, I mean, it's more like the area is deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site versus the building.
00:12:59
Audra Morris
So I think that it does help to do a little bit of research beforehand. ah They do have a lot of really interesting information on the UNESCO World Heritage Site page. It talks about, there's 10 different criteria that a,
00:13:14
Audra Morris
A site has to only meet one of the criterion, but there's a list of 10. And so if you go and look, you can see which of the criteria a site met in order to be designated.
00:13:26
Audra Morris
And then you can also see too on there, the tentative list, which is these are things because they vote annually to add, they add to UNESCO World Heritage Sites every year.
00:13:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's what i was just going to ask if they were still adding.
00:13:38
Audra Morris
They do, yeah.
00:13:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:13:41
Audra Morris
They add to it every year. And obviously, you know, of course, you know, it does tend to get a little political, like there's lobbying going on and there, you know, because of all of the protection and funding that come with having something designated to UNESCO heritage site.
00:13:54
Audra Morris
And I kind of feel like there's a little bit of like, a race because like we were talking about like italy has the most at 60. china's right behind it at 59. so i'm sure china's like if we can just get two more then we'll be number one you know and germany's coming in at 54 so they're like if we could get seven more you know so i think that there's probably a little bit of um competition involved but they do add to it um if something is starting to
00:14:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:14:22
Audra Morris
There are a couple of sites that that they're worried that could be delisted because they're not being preserved well enough. um The efforts are not being made by the country to preserve the site. So they could be delisted. So they do delist, but they do add to it every year.
00:14:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's sad, though, because you think they were put on there for a reason. So there must be something really special about them.
00:14:43
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:14:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
So just to see them like go away is is sad as well.
00:14:45
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:14:48
Audra Morris
Right. Yeah, exactly.
00:14:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hmm.
The Connection Between Travel and Time Travel
00:14:51
Audra Morris
Exactly. But the thing that I love about UNESCO World Heritage Sites is that, you know, and you, you know, we kind of touched on this a little bit. It's like you get to be a time traveler. You know, and it's just like you do, you imagine what were, what was it like? i You know, I had a I had a moment like you were talking about in Ephesus where, you know, we were walking and it was like,
00:15:13
Audra Morris
this was the letter to the Ephesians in the Bible. Like this is Ephesus.
00:15:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes, yes.
00:15:18
Audra Morris
This is where Antony and Cleopatra walked. This is where Paul walked. Like these, you know, same thing, like these stairs, this pathway, you know, same thing in Corinth, you know, we on that, we did a, we did a ah trip to, uh,
00:15:32
Audra Morris
We did a trip through Greece and then we did a cruise and ended up in Ephesus, but kind of the same thing in Corinth. Like people are like, do you want to go to Corinth? There's not that much to see in Corinth, but you're like, it's still the letter to the Corinthians.
00:15:44
Audra Morris
Holy crap.
00:15:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes.
00:15:47
Audra Morris
Holy crap.
00:15:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know. Yeah.
00:15:49
Audra Morris
You know, it just.
00:15:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
Ephesus is crazy. Like,
00:15:51
Audra Morris
Ephesus is crazy.
00:15:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah. Like, I still think about it.
00:15:55
Audra Morris
Yeah. And then you have to deal with all the tea merchants and bracelet people at the end of it.
00:15:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like,
00:16:00
Audra Morris
You're like, thanks for ruining my, thanks for ruining my.
00:16:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
and then you're like, yes, and we're back. And we're back.
00:16:04
Audra Morris
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And we're back. We're back. And and we're back in the 21st century. Yay.
00:16:13
Audra Morris
You know, but no, I mean, Ephesus just, I mean, blew my mind.
00:16:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:16:17
Audra Morris
Just totally blew my mind.
00:16:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. No, I'm i'm like so glad you said that because that's what I was just, I just kept saying, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
00:16:26
Audra Morris
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:16:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my gosh. And it's not, like I said, it's not a replica.
00:16:28
Audra Morris
Well,
00:16:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's like the real thing. Like, and it's still like there.
00:16:31
Audra Morris
yeah, these are the actual bricks that Anthony and Cleopatra walked on right here somewhere.
00:16:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:16:38
Audra Morris
know And even too, like we had a really cool tour guide that was actually explaining to us like how far that Ephesus usually actually had been more of the entryway to the harbor and that over the years the water had retreated back.
00:16:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:16:53
Audra Morris
And I was like, oh, wow, like, And just kind one things you're like, the climate's always been changing, like the ice age to the retreating waters to, you know, all of it.
00:17:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, yeah.
00:17:03
Audra Morris
You're like, yeah, I mean.
00:17:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
And they were saying that that, that group of people had moved quite a few times because the water moved and you know, that's how they were trading and getting things in.
00:17:10
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:17:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
And so that site, you know, had literally taken up more space
00:17:14
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:17:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
because they had to keep moving with the water and you don't think about things like that just in your day-to-day life.
00:17:20
Audra Morris
um
00:17:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
But then you wonder like where we'll be in 800 years, right?
00:17:25
Audra Morris
Yeah, exactly.
00:17:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
What, what this area will look like. And yeah.
00:17:30
Audra Morris
Exactly. Because I mean, at one point, the desert had trees.
00:17:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:35
Audra Morris
You know
00:17:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
We were just up in Canada Banff and Jasper
00:17:39
Audra Morris
know.
00:17:40
CHANTELLE KINCY
And we were at one of the glaciers and you could see where, you know, it used to be and now how much smaller it is now.
00:17:46
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:17:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
But then we went just a couple miles up the road and we were looking at like fossils that had been underwater. Like they were like sea snails. Like in the middle of Canada, like in Alberta, not on the coast, not in Vancouver.
00:18:00
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:18:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
i was like, oh, and you could I mean, you could just see them like they didn't make it up.
00:18:04
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:18:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
They're right there. And you're thinking, oh my gosh, this is just wild.
00:18:09
Audra Morris
Right. Exactly.
00:18:14
Audra Morris
i know. i know. I mean, the earth is so, I mean, and that's the thing to me, it's just the, it it just reminds me how fascinating and dynamic and ever-changing, you know, our earth is, and it just, yeah, that's, the that's the stuff that what, you know, and I think too, you know, it kind of things like that, seeing things like that also kind of really that for me, at least they find a way to really humble me. Like, oh, I think my problems are all big and important, but this used to be underwater.
00:18:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Like nothing's permanent.
00:18:46
Audra Morris
ah
00:18:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Nothing really matters.
00:18:48
Audra Morris
permanent
00:18:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Exactly.
00:18:50
Audra Morris
Yeah, I'm really infinitesimal, so, but you know.
00:18:53
CHANTELLE KINCY
Exactly. But I was also thinking when you were talking about us coloring our maps, like in high school, like the maps we learned aren't even real, right?
00:18:55
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:19:02
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:19:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like the countries are different.
00:19:03
Audra Morris
Exactly.
00:19:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
And when we went to Slovenia, I was like, well, this was never on my map.
00:19:05
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:19:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like, you know, because
Endless Travel Goals and Favorite Sites
00:19:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
all of those countries have have changed and and borders have changed and countries have split and done all these things.
00:19:10
Audra Morris
exactly
00:19:14
Audra Morris
yeah
00:19:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
So even that's not like real. Like you just are like you have to continually
00:19:22
Audra Morris
Exactly.
00:19:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
And then they keep adding to your list. So you're never going to be finished. That's just like the ultimate like goal, but you're never going to check them all off because it's like laundry, right?
00:19:30
Audra Morris
i know.
00:19:34
Audra Morris
I know. Yeah,
00:19:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
There's just going to be more the next day.
00:19:38
Audra Morris
exactly yeah it's like dust. It's like dust particles. It's like, well, good luck dusting. You're never going get it all.
00:19:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my gosh. So we talked about Notre Dame. We talked about Ephesus. What are some other of your like favorite, like, oh my gosh, this is the best site. What have been your favorites?
00:19:55
Audra Morris
Well, I will say this. So being, i'm I'm a native Texan, so born and raised here. And I remember going to the San Antonio missions and there's actually five of them. um the most The most famous one is the Alamo, but there's actually four other ones that are far more gorgeous.
00:20:12
Audra Morris
But realizing, cause I was in San Antonio not that long ago and the city had just celebrated its 300th birthday and kind of just being like, San Antonio is older than America.
00:20:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:20:24
Audra Morris
Like, that's bananas. So just like, you know, and I know that Texas used to be part of Mexico and all of that, but just realizing, you know, so I, you know, I found i found that to be incredibly fascinating. It was on a manhole cover that was like, you know, the tricentennial. And I was like, oh, wow, that's.
00:20:45
Audra Morris
That's really cool. But even there are certain places and my top two are probably Florence and the Grand Canyon where I can just go and look for hours.
00:20:58
Audra Morris
I could stay in and look at the Grand Canyon from sunup to sundown. I just, I find it to be, again, talk about like the, the, what water does over time. I mean, like,
00:21:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:21:10
Audra Morris
That place just the majesty and the, just the beauty of the green Canyon. I mean, every time I go, I cry just cause it just takes my breath away.
00:21:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, and it's never going to be the same because the light is going to hit it different.
00:21:22
Audra Morris
It's never going to be the same.
00:21:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
The shadows, like it's never going to look the exact same again.
00:21:26
Audra Morris
It's never going to look the exact same.
00:21:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
So you can, yeah.
00:21:28
Audra Morris
Exactly. Exactly.
00:21:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, I love that you chose...
00:21:30
Audra Morris
Exactly. and
00:21:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
was say, I love that you chose the Grand Canyon and Florence because could they be more different? Like, it's not like, oh yeah, I'm a nature girly.
00:21:37
Audra Morris
Right.
00:21:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
Of course I'm gonna choose this. Like Florence has nothing in common with the Grand Canyon. So I love that those two are your favorite because they're so, but they're both, like you said, just so incredible.
00:21:46
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:21:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
The beauty, I mean, Florence is just magic.
00:21:51
Audra Morris
Right. Right. And the mystery, like the dome on Il Duomo It took them forever to figure out how that was built.
00:22:02
Audra Morris
Like, I still don't think they totally understand how it was built. It's kind of like, I read something the other day about the Pantheon in Rome and how the construction materials, every time it rains, the Pantheon ends up healing itself because of the construction materials that the Romans used.
00:22:20
Audra Morris
and but you know And it's just stuff like that that just blows my mind. But yeah, the dome at Ilduomo, but I could stand there and look, i i the Ilduomo captivates me. It just captivates me, that red and green marble, all those statues, the bell tower, the church, the dome, all of it. I mean, the baptistry, the doors on the baptistry.
00:22:45
Audra Morris
i mean, I could just stand, I mean, like I said, it's one of those places I could just stand all day.
00:22:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's also one of those places that you can take photos of all day long, but then when you get home, you're like, this doesn't cut it.
00:22:49
Audra Morris
And just,
00:22:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like, even if it's a great photo, it's not the same.
00:22:57
Audra Morris
no, yes, it's not the same.
00:23:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
You don't get that feeling from a photo. And that's why I think people have got to travel.
00:23:04
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:23:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like you can read about it.
00:23:07
Audra Morris
yeah
00:23:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
You could see it on YouTube. You can see like 10,000 of Audra's photos, but until you stand right there, it's just not the same.
00:23:09
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:23:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
You,
00:23:18
Audra Morris
It's not the same.
00:23:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
There's nothing you can do about it.
00:23:19
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:23:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:23:21
Audra Morris
Yeah, exactly. I mean, you just, there's the detail that never gets captured in the photos that just, yeah, it's just, it's it's really mind blowing, but yeah, but yeah, I guess it is. It's kind of funny.
00:23:32
Audra Morris
didn't even think about that, but yeah, when you asked me when we were, yeah, I was like, those are my two favorite places.
00:23:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, no, I love that because you could have said like, you know, I don't know two things that are so very similar, but those were just great.
00:23:43
Audra Morris
Right.
00:23:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
And I love that. So we've talked about this.
00:23:46
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:23:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
So Italy has the most, which isn't really surprising since very historical area.
00:23:49
Audra Morris
China with 59. Just one away.
00:23:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
And then what did you say was next?
00:23:53
Audra Morris
Just away. 26. Right. Mm-hmm.
00:23:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
China? Okay.
00:23:56
Audra Morris
was fifty nine just went away
00:23:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
Do you know how many the U.S.
00:23:59
Audra Morris
just went away
00:24:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
has?
00:24:01
Audra Morris
twenty six
00:24:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
00:24:04
Audra Morris
yeah
00:24:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
Which makes sense. It's not as old. So there's less probably history and more like geographical kind of stuff.
00:24:06
Audra Morris
right
00:24:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
Is that?
00:24:13
Audra Morris
Yeah, I think so. There is, I think there's a cave. um There's a cave, I think, in Kentucky that's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And then there's something like kind of in New Mexico, kind of those old indigenous dwellings.
00:24:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
Ooh, okay.
00:24:28
Audra Morris
um kind of by Pueblo and Taos that are UNESCO World Heritage sites too. But like I said, there's a lot of lobbying that goes on behind the scenes.
00:24:40
Audra Morris
But it's interesting. i what What I found to be so interesting is UNESCO headquarters are actually in Paris. So I find it funny that Francis is the one that has the most.
00:24:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:24:50
Audra Morris
He would feel like there's like a home field advantage of some sort.
00:24:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
They should be just grabbing everything they can.
00:24:55
Audra Morris
I know, exactly. The Eiffel Tower's one, and then the Louvre, and Orsay.
00:25:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
like get a plaque. You get a plaque. You get a plaque.
00:25:06
Audra Morris
like look You're designated, you're designated, all of it.
00:25:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
And they're like, oh, none for America. Go away. Yeah.
00:25:14
Audra Morris
ah Exactly, exactly. Yeah. But yeah, no, it's, it's, I mean, but if you also think too about the size of the United States as it compares to a place like Italy, I mean, we're also like probably seven or eight times the size of Italy.
00:25:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
a
00:25:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:25:29
Audra Morris
So we've got a lot more land to cover as well.
00:25:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, that's true too.
00:25:34
Audra Morris
So I think there's even a couple in Alaska, just FYI.
00:25:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
So let's, is there, see, I know I should look before I go.
00:25:38
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm. Okay.
00:25:40
CHANTELLE KINCY
Not that I'll have any service once I'm there, but.
00:25:44
Audra Morris
its but Or time.
00:25:49
Audra Morris
There's something else for you to do before you leave for Alaska.
00:25:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
So for those who are just listening, um i just was telling Audra, I'm going to Alaska tomorrow. And um I've just found out I'll have, I'll be on a secluded island with um no humans and no cell phone and no TV and no radio and no anything.
00:26:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
So if you never see me again. It's been great. And if I come back, I'll get to a podcast about it.
00:26:12
Audra Morris
this You and you you a bunch of bears.
00:26:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
Wait, I was thinking about that, though. Can bears get on an island? Like, but but how long was it an island? Maybe it wasn't always an island. So maybe, I don't know.
00:26:28
Audra Morris
Yeah. I mean, if the water was frozen four months ago, they might have just walked right over.
00:26:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
I don't know. Oh, my gosh.
00:26:37
Audra Morris
Now, is the girl that's helping you go to Alaska, is she going be there with you because you need...
00:26:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
How...
00:26:43
Audra Morris
unique You need a little collateral.
00:26:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
in her own cabin.
00:26:48
Audra Morris
Okay, well, as long as she's there.
00:26:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
So I just have to, as long as I can run faster than her, I should be okay.
00:26:49
Audra Morris
Or
00:26:54
Audra Morris
or climb, or climb.
00:26:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'm going to hop in a kayak and just, I don't know, go to Russia or something. Who knows?
00:27:03
Audra Morris
ah Exactly. oh bless. That's too funny.
00:27:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, so um back to UNESCO. That's funny. I will look them up though and see if there's any by where we're going. Maybe, maybe my Island is a UNESCO site. Who knows?
00:27:17
Audra Morris
Maybe, maybe.
00:27:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
So are there some lesser known sites? Like I think some of the common ones we all know, right? What's kind of been the most surprising or like, like the banks of the Sien. I didn't know that was UNESCO. That's interesting to me.
00:27:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Do you know why that's a site?
00:27:34
Audra Morris
yeah Because the the island, the two islands that like where Notre Dame um is, there's the Ile de la Cité and there's another island. I can't think of what it's called.
00:27:46
Audra Morris
But that's actually where the Celtic Parisi tribe set up. Paris was actually founded on those islands because they were defensive.
00:27:57
Audra Morris
I mean, it provided ah the the river provided a natural barrier. and actually, the left and the right bank were very uninhabitable. think one of them was like super marshy they they couldn't grow anything.
Cultural Significance and Respect for UNESCO Sites
00:28:13
Audra Morris
You know, it wasn't easy to get around. So, yeah, just, ah yeah, the I think it's, I think what's interesting for me, and like, you know, as I started to learn more about UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is that it isn't always a building.
00:28:29
Audra Morris
It's more of an area. And to me, that's what I think is so fascinating.
00:28:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:28:34
Audra Morris
But honestly, I was surprised at how many America have, you know, that Independence Hall and the Statue of Liberty were there, you know, as well as, you Yeah, like I said, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Green Canyon, the Redwoods.
00:28:50
Audra Morris
um
00:28:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
So you can have more than one designation because those are u S national parks, but then there are also UNESCO sites.
00:28:55
Audra Morris
ah and
00:28:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
So they're being protected from a couple of different angles, which is good.
00:28:58
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:29:01
Audra Morris
Right.
00:29:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
And I think that kind of speaks to their importance too.
00:29:02
Audra Morris
Right. Right.
00:29:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Um, that there's a lot of people looking out for them basically.
00:29:05
Audra Morris
Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.
00:29:10
Audra Morris
exactly
00:29:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. So that's how, when we were in Slovenia, I think it was also, um, one of the caves that we went into was UNESCO.
00:29:12
Audra Morris
exactly
00:29:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
um and it bordered the national park but i'm trying to remember if it was actually in it but that was kind of one of the first things too where i i guess in my head i was thinking buildings until we were there and i was like oh cave that's interesting so then i was like it must be like more multifaceted more than just like something happened right here but um
00:29:20
Audra Morris
Right. Mm-hmm.
00:29:26
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:29:33
Audra Morris
right
00:29:42
Audra Morris
ah Exactly, exactly.
00:29:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:29:44
Audra Morris
Yeah, it's it's and I, for the other thing too, is that I always kind of in my mind put together that UNESCO World Heritage Sites were also like wonders of the world, and they don't always line up.
00:29:57
Audra Morris
That was, I mean, that was just something in my head that was connected, but that actually are not connected.
00:30:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting. Are some of the ones, I was going say are, yeah, so there is some overlap.
00:30:04
Audra Morris
There's a little bit of overlap. Yeah,
00:30:09
Audra Morris
know that the medieval city of Rhodes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the ancient wonders of the world was the harbor Rhodes. That's the one that had, and according to history at least, that big statue that people would like sail under, had like a big statue guarding the harbor, and boats would sail in between the legs of the man on the statue.
00:30:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting. And then the Great Barrier Reef is UNESCO, right?
00:30:39
Audra Morris
yeah and
00:30:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
In Australia? Okay.
00:30:44
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:30:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:30:45
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:30:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
So many places I need to go.
00:30:45
Audra Morris
I think, you know, for me, yeah, I thought it was surprising, like you said, that there were natural like parks and habitations yeah that were UNESCO, I always thought that that it would be something of just historic and cultural value, but it's not. It's one of those things where it's just like, it has an outstanding universal value to humanity and that the story of us are told through these sites.
00:31:15
Audra Morris
And that's how they're designated. But it's that it's also, you know, like the Redwoods, like Grand Canyon, it's indicative of the land, not just what man created.
00:31:28
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:31:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, which is awesome.
00:31:31
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:31:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
So interesting. So how can we travel like meaningfully to these places and not take away from them? Right. Like we don't want to over tourism places.
00:31:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right. We don't want to like run them over.
00:31:43
Audra Morris
Right.
00:31:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know like so people ask me about national parks.
00:31:45
Audra Morris
Right.
00:31:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'm like, well, you stay on the trail. You bring in what you, you know, bring out what you take in. um
00:31:51
Audra Morris
Right.
00:31:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
What would you say is like the etiquette for these types of places to I mean, obviously, we're not just going to go climbing on things and spray painting our names on boulders or anything.
00:32:00
Audra Morris
right right
00:32:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
But have you noticed people like being more respectful in those areas? Or do you think that over tourism is contributing to their like demise? Yeah.
00:32:12
Audra Morris
Well, I mean, part of me wants to say yes, but I feel like that there's such a connection to certain places. Like I remember, you know, watching like when Notre Dame caught on fire, you know, like people all over the world were impacted by that.
00:32:28
Audra Morris
And, you know, we're, but you know, I know I was following it on the news. I know a lot of people were devastated. The fire made it look like it wasn't going to be able to be rebuilt, you know, and for anybody who's been like, you know, thinking about all that stained glass, I'm like, God, did that stained glass survive it?
00:32:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:32:43
Audra Morris
did that get blown out? What are they going to do? And so I just feel like that there is. Not necessarily a reverence, but I do think that there's something universal about UNESCO World Heritage Sites that people recognize.
00:32:58
Audra Morris
are that not i mean, I think a lot of people recognize their relevance and their impact. I think that for any time, especially if you're going to like a church um that is a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site to realize that.
00:33:13
Audra Morris
You know, it is a place of worship um to make sure that you're dressed appropriately. You don't have bare shoulders. You don't have bare legs. Some places are going to want you to, you know, wear a headscarf if you're a woman.
00:33:25
Audra Morris
um to be quiet, to be respectful, because nine times out of ten, if you go into a church as a tourist, there's going to be at least a few worshipers in there. And to just make sure that you're not interrupting, you know, they their their worship and their, you know, their moment that they're trying to have.
00:33:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I think that's important. um
00:33:47
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:33:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
We carried, we had to carry scarves when we went to Istanbul to go into the mosques and things like that. um but I saw some people in Greece going into some of the churches and I thought, Oh, that's an interesting choice to like, you know, so I think that that's good that you brought that up.
00:34:03
Audra Morris
Yeah. That's yeah.
00:34:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
But, um,
00:34:07
Audra Morris
Yeah. Yeah. And I think too, just being respectful that, you know, especially, you know, as, as travelers, just being respectful of just, ah you know, other people's cultures, like you said, you know, wearing a headscarf. And if you don't want to wear a headscarf, don't try to go to mosque.
00:34:23
Audra Morris
Like don't try to impose your will upon a foreign nation's traditions.
00:34:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
exactly.
00:34:29
Audra Morris
Yeah. and and customs. You know, and kind of the same, you know, I kind of felt like the same thing. It wasn't, it it's not, it wasn't a mosque, but we we went to Alhambra in Grenada.
00:34:42
Audra Morris
And, you know, it it felt very holy and reverent. And it was the first time that I realized it. And um I'm sure you got to see this too, when you were at the mosque, is that in Islam, they don't have any depictions of the Prophet Muhammad or Allah.
00:34:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:34:58
Audra Morris
It's all and And that in in the Muslim faith, they see na they see the divine in nature and in geometry, which is why there's so many designs, um so many geometric designs. To them, that is...
00:35:14
Audra Morris
that is holy to them, that is divine. And I didn't, i I remember kind of hearing that, but it wasn't until I went to Alhambra that I was like, there's nothing in here that is indicative of the prophet Muhammad or Allah.
00:35:29
Audra Morris
And just kind of, you know, just having, just remembering that people, right, right.
00:35:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
Because they're not supposed to worship the image. Yeah, they're not supposed to worship the image of anything. Yeah.
00:35:41
Audra Morris
Yeah. And to just remember that.
00:35:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
I thought it was interesting.
00:35:44
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:35:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. I thought it was interesting in Istanbul, in a couple of the mosques, they used to be Christian churches, and now they're Muslim mosques, but they don't um take anything down or destroy the original history that was there.
00:35:51
Audra Morris
hmm.
00:35:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
There was, in one of the mosques, I think Safiyyah, maybe?
00:36:00
Audra Morris
Mm
00:36:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
That may be wrong.
00:36:05
Audra Morris
hmm.
00:36:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
But there was a ah picture of ah Christ and Mary up on the thing, and they just put a curtain over the top of it because it was facing Mecca.
00:36:11
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:36:15
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:36:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
And so they couldn't pray with it there, but they didn't want to, like, destroy it or cover it up or ruin it.
00:36:17
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:36:20
Audra Morris
Right.
00:36:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
So they just, you know, hung a curtain over it. um And I thought that was really cool, too, to see, like, the progression, like – that this church had held so many different roles for so many different people.
00:36:33
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:36:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
And rather than just like gutting it and tearing it down and starting over, they were kind of still honoring that without like taking over what, what they believe. And I thought that was really beautiful. Um, and,
00:36:46
Audra Morris
Right, well, and it's interesting too, because Jesus and Mary are actually mentioned in the Quran. And so, you know, I think that from what I understand, Muhammad actually was a very big, anne he thought, you know, he was a very big fan of Jesus. He thought, you know, the things that Jesus preached was, you know, were was in alignment with his thoughts to or his beliefs as well. So there's actually, I've never read the Quran, but apparently there's quite a bit about Mary and Jesus in the Quran. So I think it's really interesting that they still do have those
00:37:20
Audra Morris
uh the iconography of the christian faith in a in a mosque
00:37:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. And I think it just goes to show that like, once you learn about other people, how they feel or think you realize you're a little more connected than you're led on to believe.
00:37:28
Audra Morris
why um
00:37:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right. Like, and I think that's another thing about traveling.
00:37:34
Audra Morris
why
00:37:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like I had never really given a lot of thought to the Muslim faith. Like, I mean, I knew it existed. Right. Um, I knew basically, you know, some, Oh, you know, the conservatism from women and things like that.
00:37:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
But
00:37:50
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:37:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
When you're in these places surrounded by it and you're like touching it and feeling it and just really taking it in, it just takes on a totally different, different feel and you want to learn more about it and you, and then you understand kind of where some things come from and, and, and how you're not that different, which I love
00:38:12
Audra Morris
Exactly.
Global Interconnectedness and Historical Reflection
00:38:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
because,
00:38:14
Audra Morris
And that's the thing too that I love about history is that we share it. I mean, we share it and I feel like that nobody needs a better reminder of how connected the world is than COVID.
00:38:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:38:25
Audra Morris
That showed us how connected we all are with how fast that, you know, with how how quickly COVID spread.
00:38:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:38:32
Audra Morris
You know, like we're not, we're not an island.
00:38:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
And how well we were all in it together, right? Yeah. Like everyone was kind of miserable at the same time.
00:38:35
Audra Morris
Mm-hmm.
00:38:40
Audra Morris
thanks The collective misery and then the collective relief once the vaccine started rolling out and everything started opening back up. I mean, it was this huge global collective experience that I think we're still probably processing.
00:38:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:38:55
Audra Morris
I mean, I see old pictures and I, ah you know, when we were traveling and having to wear masks, even like, you know, three, three years ago in 2022 and just being like, Oh God, or the end of 2021. And,
00:39:08
Audra Morris
you know, just still having to wear masks on airplanes and, you know, but just, I was cleaning out a drawer the other day and I found a bunch of old masks and I was like, Oh God, I had forgotten how these were everywhere.
00:39:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just part of your life. And then thankfully...
00:39:22
Audra Morris
Just part of your life.
00:39:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
I did miss like having space between me and other humans, like in the grocery store line, people would stay away from you. That was delightful. Um, when they weren't booking the middle seats on planes, we should bring that back all the good things, but
00:39:34
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:39:37
Audra Morris
yeah like
00:39:42
Audra Morris
Six feet of separation, stay away from me.
00:39:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah, please, please.
00:39:44
Audra Morris
This is my hula hoop. Stay out of my hula hoop.
00:39:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
You want 10 feet? Great. Take 10. I don't care. Just go away.
00:39:51
Audra Morris
Exactly, exactly.
00:39:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
So do you have a UNESCO um bucket list?
00:39:54
Audra Morris
That's hysterical.
00:39:58
CHANTELLE KINCY
What's on your, like...
00:39:59
Audra Morris
You know, Yes, of course, always.
00:40:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
easy
00:40:04
Audra Morris
ah aye really want to want to go you know ah a little bit further east. like we i I did a Christmas Market River cruise in December of 2023. So kind of doing like Germany, Budapest, Austria, kind of those eastern countries really kind of piqued my interest. So Albania, Croatia.
00:40:27
Audra Morris
Croatia's got... a ton of UNESCO World Heritage sites. So I think that kind of the Balkans, that whole, you know, what was it, the former Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, you know, visiting those places, you know like we we're talking about the places that don't exist anymore.
00:40:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah
00:40:43
Audra Morris
But honestly, one place that I really, really, really, really want to go is Mongolia.
00:40:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:40:48
Audra Morris
I have a bizarre fascination with Genghis Khan.
00:40:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Really?
00:40:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting.
00:40:53
Audra Morris
Yeah, yeah, I have a very bizarre fascination.
00:40:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, there's some history.
00:40:57
Audra Morris
Yeah, I mean, that was the largest. They've never replicated the amount of land. Not even the Romans conquered more land than Genghis Khan in that.
00:41:10
Audra Morris
And that whole, and and even the way that he organized his his military, like I remember I read, ah i read there was there's an author, and honestly, it's kind of funny, I guess I should also say I love historical, I love historical fiction.
00:41:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Thank you.
00:41:26
Audra Morris
So it just kind of feeds into it, but there's a great author. ah who wrote a series about Genghis Khan, and he was talking about the way that he lined up his troops to where if somebody fell, there was a person that could just come in and that they were just, I mean, nearly impossible to beat.
00:41:44
Audra Morris
When they were at their height, they were, you you couldn't beat them, kind of like the Romans. know but you know And I feel too, that the the other thing that I really love about history is that it follows the same cycles.
00:41:57
Audra Morris
Like it it got too big until it wasn't sustainable and then it all fell apart. Same with the Roman empire. It got so big that it was unsustainable and then it was open for attack by the goths, by the Visigoths and then it all fell apart.
00:42:14
Audra Morris
And you know when the Roman Empire fell, that's what you know those of us in the Western culture or civilization called the Dark Ages was the fall of the Roman Empire. I'm sure and you know in Asia, they were like, whatever.
00:42:29
Audra Morris
but we're just we're We're still here on the Silk Road. Don't mind us. Yeah.
00:42:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
But you can see those traits repeating a little bit um sometimes too. And it's interesting that once you've seen it in history and you see it again, you're like, oh, well, I know how this one's going to end.
00:42:41
Audra Morris
yeah
00:42:49
Audra Morris
Well, and just kind of what ends up happening as a result, like think about this, think about everything that like France and England did to each other for centuries, and now they're allies.
00:43:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:43:02
Audra Morris
You know, think about, you know, even more recent history, you know, I mean, that way, you know, like World War I, World War two you know, they were on opposite ends. But, you know, I think about, you know, where America and Japan are now versus where we were 70 years ago.
00:43:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:43:17
Audra Morris
You know, it just, it's not that long ago.
00:43:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
Which isn't that long ago. Yeah.
00:43:20
Audra Morris
ago i mean, there's, yeah, i mean there there I mean, there are fewer people alive now, but there are people who I don't remember when Pearl Harbor was bombed and that it was, i mean, just full on,
00:43:31
Audra Morris
you know, just that full on hatred and rage and collective trauma.
00:43:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:43:38
Audra Morris
But I feel like that the thing that I love about history, especially as as an American and you know, watching shows like, you know, I really love the show Yellowstone. And then I've watched the prequels, 1883 1923. And thinking about an American too just like,
00:43:54
Audra Morris
the dreams and ambitions of our ancestors and what they endured to cross an ocean, come to a place that was completely unfamiliar to them because they had a dream for a better life and everything that they said goodbye to and sacrificed so that you know, I, we could be here, you know, I mean, even like, you know, Washington state, like think about what, but you know, I don't, I don't know the history of Washington very well, but I mean, that was like probably the end of the earth to a lot of people.
00:44:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:44:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
We were even talking about that just when I was in Canada, we were in the Canadian Rockies and I was like mildly inconvenienced because the wind was kind of chilly off this glacier. And i was like, should have brought a beanie that's on me.
00:44:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
And then I was like, Oh man, the indigenous people lived here with like, out this battery charged jacket that, you know, I'm complaining about and had to like find their way like over these mountains and in these mountains, like regardless of the weather. And they didn't have all these conveniences. And how did they know like where to stop and where to go and which way to go and all of these things. And it just, you just think about, like you said, those inconveniences that for us are just like, oh, it's a little chilly. I don't think I'll do that today.
00:45:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
You know, but they're out there.
00:45:15
Audra Morris
right
00:45:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
just like forging through and like building these civilizations that lasted and and and would have lasted forever. It's, it's incredible to think.
00:45:24
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:45:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
I think I was definitely born in the right time for me. i
00:45:29
Audra Morris
Ditto.
00:45:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
don't know how tough I am.
00:45:30
Audra Morris
yeah
00:45:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
i am adventurous, but I don't know if I'm like tough. It's so mad respect to all of the pioneers. Yeah.
00:45:43
Audra Morris
I know, i know. And I still want to know, like, you know, like with like with igloos, like who thought to stack up bricks of ice to build a dwelling?
00:45:53
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Yeah. Well, who ate a crab for the first time?
00:45:56
Audra Morris
Like, how a lot of that.
00:45:58
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like who broke open that thing knowing there would be like this delicious meat on the inside?
00:45:59
Audra Morris
Right.
00:46:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like that is hard work.
00:46:03
Audra Morris
Hmm.
00:46:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like you had to be really hungry.
00:46:05
Audra Morris
Hmm.
00:46:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like who does these things?
00:46:07
Audra Morris
Hmm.
00:46:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:46:09
Audra Morris
Or lobster, holy crap, I remember trying to eat a lobster by myself for the first time and I was like, this is really hard.
00:46:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's so hard for like a little bit of reward, really.
00:46:18
Audra Morris
It's so hard.
00:46:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like it's not that much meat.
00:46:23
Audra Morris
Exactly, it's more about butter. I've figured out that eating lobster is more about eating butter. Ditto.
00:46:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
I love this.
00:46:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah Well, I could talk history and travel all day, but thank you for sharing your tips with us. um Any final words?
Empowering Women in Travel and History
00:46:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
We want women to go right to go far.
00:46:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's our whole thing. So what would your kind of like final words to someone?
00:46:46
Audra Morris
Yes.
00:46:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
You want them to get out and explore history? Give them a little pep talk.
00:46:52
Audra Morris
Yes.
00:46:55
Audra Morris
That the world is vast and that really the world is welcoming and it's very safe. And i think that as long as you are, you know, it's kind of like your mom said, nothing good happens after midnight. As long as you're back in your hotel room by midnight, you should be okay. But I don't think that women should let anything stop them from traveling, from, you know, not even, you know,
00:47:21
Audra Morris
you can make a road trip and still go see someplace fascinating and fantastic that will rock your world like the Grand Canyon, like the Redwoods, like Yosemite, like Yellowstone, or you can get a passport and fly over a big ocean. But there's just, i mean, there's history every everywhere.
00:47:40
Audra Morris
And just because it's not a UNESCO World Heritage Site doesn't mean that there isn't something that can be learned from every single goal destination.
00:47:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Love that so much. So where can people find you? We want to follow along with your adventures and dig deeper into the history of these places. Where can people find you?
00:47:59
Audra Morris
um I have a website, thenerdtraveler.com. That's also my Instagram handle, thenerdtraveler. um I also have a YouTube channel and TikTok, all the nerdtraveler.
00:48:11
Audra Morris
And I also, as ah as a kind of random aside, with as much travel as I like doing, I and very much try to be team carry-on only.
00:48:22
Audra Morris
um Just because trying to lift suitcases and navigate public transportation and all that good stuff. So if people are trying to find ways to travel, carry on only, I do have something on my website that helps you, helps us ladies with our toiletry bag, like thinking about things that are in a liquid, that are in a liquid state that also have an option as a solid so that you can help ah call empty out your liquids bag and maybe fill it with the other things.
00:48:50
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:48:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my gosh. Cool. Okay. I got to get my hands on that. So I'll drop all those links in the description so everyone can go and find them and follow along.
00:48:54
Audra Morris
Yeah.
00:48:57
Audra Morris
Thank you.
00:48:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
Thanks for hanging out with me today. That was so much fun.
00:49:01
Audra Morris
Oh my gosh. It was so much fun. Yeah, we could we could do this for like the rest of the day.
00:49:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah No, I know. I'm like geeking out. I'm like, I got to go look up this list and see where else we could go now.
00:49:12
Audra Morris
Hey, let me know if you want my spreadsheet, girl.
00:49:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my gosh.
00:49:15
Audra Morris
All
00:49:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
Heck yeah.
00:49:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
All right. Audrey, talk to you soon.
00:49:22
Audra Morris
right, take care.