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Traveling with Challenges: How One Woman Makes the World Work for Her
23 Plays16 days ago
Annalaura Brown is a seasoned solo traveler who has journeyed across Europe while navigating the unique challenges of autoimmune growth conditions. Her experiences — especially her time in France — have taught her how to slow down, savor life, and embrace travel with courage and joy. Through her story, she inspires women to stop waiting for the perfect moment and just go.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction to Anna Laura Brown
00:00:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for joining us today on Go Far Girl. Today I'm here with Anna Laura Brown, and she is the host of the podcast Autoimmune Rehab. She's an autoimmune thriver. She loves traveling the world and is always seeking new adventures.
00:01:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
Her experiences, especially her time in France, have taught her how to slow down, save her life, and embrace travel with courage and joy. See, story inspires women to stop waiting for the perfect moment and just go.
00:01:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
And that's what inspired me to want to share her story with you is just that spirit of resilience and the always pushing forward and coming up with new ways to make travel work for her.
Early Travel Experiences
00:01:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
So welcome, Anna Laura.
00:01:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Thank you for being here.
00:01:23
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, sure, of course. Thank you for having me.
00:01:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
Of course, do you want to tell us a little bit about your background, how you got started in travel and sort of how that's evolved through time?
00:01:33
AnnaLaura Brown
For sure, absolutely, yeah. So I grew up living in a different state from a lot of the family members of both of my parents. My mom had grown grown up in California and had a lot of extended family in California.
00:01:45
AnnaLaura Brown
Then her parents and a couple of her siblings had moved back to Utah when she was in high school. So she had some family in Utah where we were I grew up. and where I actually still live today. But my dad's family was all from Nebraska and Iowa, so in order for us to really go visit a lot of the extended family, we had to either drive one way into the Midwest or drive one way the other way.
00:02:05
AnnaLaura Brown
And I'm the first of eight kids, so we have a really large family, so flying was not the budget.
00:02:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:02:11
AnnaLaura Brown
Although a lot of the initial driving, you know, I was 16 when my baby brother was born too. So there were not eight kids initially. There were, you know, anywhere from three, four, five, maybe six at one point.
00:02:24
AnnaLaura Brown
But we just did a lot of road trips, ah road trips to go visit the family.
00:02:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
I bet.
00:02:29
AnnaLaura Brown
So that was how we initially started traveling. ah The first time that I remember going on an airplane, now I know my parents have told me that they took me on an airplane a couple of times when I was a baby, and then maybe also with my sister when, you know, there were just two kids before there were more kids and then flying just wasn't feasible or, you know, cost effective.
00:02:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
I can't even imagine putting eight kids on a plane, even not even just the cost, but like the chaos of it.
00:02:50
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:02:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
I just.
00:02:56
AnnaLaura Brown
Well, and to this day, I have never flown with all of my family, the entire family and all the kids.
00:03:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
el
00:03:01
AnnaLaura Brown
We've never been on an airplane together because it's just too costly and too whatever.
00:03:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
hope It's still too much. Yeah.
00:03:07
AnnaLaura Brown
Too much. So, yeah. so that But anyhow, that started the whole you know the whole idea with the road trips. And then the first time I really remember going on a plane was when my grandma, who did live in Utah, flew me at 10 years old to California.
00:03:21
AnnaLaura Brown
And we did a whole trip where we rented a car once we got there. We drove and did a whole big, basically visited almost the whole state of California from Sacramento,
00:03:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, cool.
00:03:30
AnnaLaura Brown
all the way down through the l LA area and Oakland and bunch of stuff. And so, and that was just, you know, it was really fun. And then you know, as I got to be older in high school and other things like that, I started doing more trips, got to start flying on different trips and just started having just this desire to want to go out and see the world.
Inspiration from 'The Amazing Race'
00:03:50
AnnaLaura Brown
And then I feel like the in 2001, when, you know, right around the time of 9-11, ironically, when The Amazing Race, which is the reality TV show that where you race around the world for a million dollars, which I'm sure you've probably seen that, yeah.
00:04:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I do. I love that show.
00:04:06
AnnaLaura Brown
That TV show came out, I have to say that probably sparked even more of a desire to travel because I would see things on the show and be like, I want to go see that, you know? And...
00:04:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
We actually, want to interrupt you, but we actually planned our whole trip last year to Austria and Slovenia based off of an episode of The Amazing Race because we were watching it. We were like, um we want to go to all these places. And so we just stole the itinerary and did it.
00:04:34
AnnaLaura Brown
Oh, that's cool. Yeah, so I had done some travel, a little international travel.
00:04:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah
00:04:38
AnnaLaura Brown
I'd actually even made my first trip to France before that TV show came out ah in 99 and 2000. But I had not really done, you know, ah too much international travel before that.
00:04:49
AnnaLaura Brown
And part of that was, you know, it was the phase of life I was in. I didn't have money. I was a student, you know, different things like that.
00:04:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
Sure,
00:04:56
AnnaLaura Brown
But that show definitely sparked the interest in wanting to start developing a bucket list and start traveling a lot more. And so, you know, as of now, I have been to about eight different countries, I think eight or nine different countries.
00:05:10
AnnaLaura Brown
So, you know, still haven't been to, you know, a huge amount of countries. hope that by the time I hit retirement age, I will have at least doubled that or maybe even tripled it.
00:05:21
AnnaLaura Brown
And then, you know, maybe hopefully I'm still in good enough health in retirement that I'm able to travel even more.
Travel with Hashimoto's
00:05:26
AnnaLaura Brown
So we'll see how that goes.
00:05:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know we always got to be looking forward, huh?
00:05:29
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, exactly.
00:05:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
So how have your autoimmune issues um affected when you travel? um Did you have those when you were a kid? Did you know about them? um And then kind of how has that changed what you have to do in the plan?
00:05:42
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, so I didn't know I had it.
00:05:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
00:05:44
AnnaLaura Brown
So it's Hashimoto's primarily is my main autoimmune, which for people that aren't familiar with it affects your thyroid, can really give you a lot of fatigue.
00:05:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:05:52
AnnaLaura Brown
yeah Some people have pain issues, other things like that, digestive issues, stuff like that. I didn't know I had it until 2018. So I had already been and done some. ah international travel before I actually knew I had it. I had some pretty bad symptoms for a few years before that though.
00:06:08
AnnaLaura Brown
And during this that initial time, I really didn't do a lot of travel primarily because I just felt like I couldn't.
00:06:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
You were just so exhausted.
00:06:14
AnnaLaura Brown
So and was old once you, when you get hit initially with that autoimmune, the first few years for a lot of people, while they're trying to balance, they're trying to figure out what do I do? How do i take care of my health? It can be challenging to do that much travel. And I know I really hardly did any travel at all.
00:06:34
AnnaLaura Brown
I mean, in fact, I'm trying to think if i I think I did do during the time where I was still pretty sick, but yet didn't actually know what I have. I think I did do one trip where think we drove.
00:06:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:06:48
AnnaLaura Brown
ah Yeah, if we did drive because it was a family trip and we went to California for a family reunion. But other than that, I'm trying to think if I really, you know, I don't know that I did much travel at all for a few years.
00:07:00
AnnaLaura Brown
And now I'm more or less into remission. You know, I'm feeling it a lot better. I have a lot more energy. I'm able to do a lot more. And so I'm able to, thank goodness, be able to do the travel because, you know, went through a phase in life where I really couldn't.
00:07:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:07:14
AnnaLaura Brown
And even now I have to be really careful just because that I can definitely overdo it and I can definitely end up coming home sick. So the last time I went on a big trip, I was in Europe for almost the whole month of December, visited total of about five countries in a month.
00:07:31
AnnaLaura Brown
And I was sick for the whole month of January because I came home and my brother had whatever was going around. It was like some, they said it wasn't the flu. They said it wasn't COVID. It was some viral thing or whatever that was hitting people.
00:07:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:07:47
AnnaLaura Brown
And I got exposed and because my immune system was a little weaker, i got sick. And yeah, i was sick for almost a month after. So i have to, the other thing I also have to do is, you know, to work on, you know, trying to help my immune system before and after travel. But I also have to kind of just be realistic and realize that, hey, there's a good chance I might get sick when I come home. So I need to prepare myself for that when it comes to the rest of my life working and whatever.
00:08:15
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:08:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
Does it make you a little more intentional with planning like a slower itinerary, scheduling in some rest days and things like that rather than being on the go?
00:08:22
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, you absolutely. Yeah, I definitely don't, and not the kind of traveler that's going to try to plan to go visit, you know, three different big things all in one day, which personally, I think that's kind of dumb anyway, autoimmune condition or not. You shouldn't really be trying to run all over one country and trying to see everything you can possibly see at once.
00:08:45
AnnaLaura Brown
I try to have the mentality of,
00:08:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, that's more just like checking off a list than traveling, right? Like you're not
00:08:49
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah,
Travel Planning with Autoimmune Conditions
00:08:50
AnnaLaura Brown
exactly. I try to have the mentality that I'm glad I get to be here. I'm grateful I get to be here. Hopefully I get to come back. You know, I mean, you never know for sure that I'll get to come back to that place.
00:08:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
getting the experience.
00:08:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:09:00
AnnaLaura Brown
So I try to pick, you know, really the main key things that it's like, okay, if I, if this is the only time I'm coming here, what are the main things I absolutely have to see and go away after making sure I see those key things and anything else that I get to see is gravy, you know, or it's the cherry on the sand sundae, however you want to put it.
00:09:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Yeah. That's such a good, that's such a good tip. I think that everyone needs to have their reminder because sometimes, and I'm guilty of it too, I'll be looking at itinerary and I'll be like, well, I'm already right here.
00:09:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
I should probably just go to Switzerland. I mean, if I'm close to Switzerland, I should probably just go here, you know, and I just will start. And then I'll ah have to like rein myself in and be like, calm down. Like is he the you have to, because otherwise you're just exhausted and running from place to place, like you said, and not actually like,
00:09:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
having any experiences. So how did France become your your standout place? Did you
Connection to France
00:09:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
start in Paris?
00:09:56
AnnaLaura Brown
Well, so I started going to learning French at the age of four, a private immersion school.
00:09:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
Did you...
00:10:02
AnnaLaura Brown
So I had started learning French. I had teachers that were native French speakers that were from France. my One of my aunts had majored in French in college and had lived in a dorm where you were only allowed to speak French and her roommate was a native French speaker and she became almost kind of like a second aunt to me almost.
00:10:21
AnnaLaura Brown
And so I grew up around several French people and studied French. And so going to France had been on my bucket list for quite some time. So it was kind of already, you know, at the top of my list.
00:10:34
AnnaLaura Brown
Also have always really wanted to go visit, you know, like England and Wales and, you know, all of the UK because that's where a lot of my ancestry comes from. So that's been a really big bucket list as well.
00:10:45
AnnaLaura Brown
As of right now Scotland is the only place on the UK that I've actually been.
00:10:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Did you love it?
00:10:50
AnnaLaura Brown
haven't made it to the rest the UK yet, but France just, it just really stood out. And so I, you know, I had a goal to go there and I have been there four times now, I think.
00:11:02
AnnaLaura Brown
And one of those times was doing a study abroad in college.
00:11:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay. And so do you go to the same city in France every time you go? Are you checking out different areas of the country?
00:11:14
AnnaLaura Brown
I try to check out some different areas. i do end up going to some of the same cities. i mean, everybody pretty much knows that you're going to see some of Paris every time you go because you basically have to fly into Paris pretty much. I mean, you could fly into Nice, but that can be more complicated. It can take longer. i haven't personally ever flown into Nice. I have flown home from Nice before though, where I like went and flew into Paris and then went around, traveled around, and then flew home from Nice because I was already down in southern France.
00:11:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's a nice way to do it though.
00:11:46
AnnaLaura Brown
But yeah, i handed up I have some friends that live in France.
00:11:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:11:49
AnnaLaura Brown
I know some French people that I'm pretty close to. So I sometimes will spend a little bit of time in some of the same cities, but a lot of times, yeah, I am setting a goal to try to visit
Exploring France: Must-See Locations
00:12:01
AnnaLaura Brown
some other places.
00:12:01
AnnaLaura Brown
So like the next time I go, my goal is to do Southwestern France because I've done a lot of Southeastern, like, you know, over by Italy.
00:12:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
okay
00:12:09
AnnaLaura Brown
So Cannes and Antibes and Marseille and Nice and, you know, all of that side. But I want to do like, Toulouse and Carcassonne and Montpellier and you know that other southwestern side so that's that's the main new region that I plan on to visit in France the next time I go there.
00:12:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
OK.
00:12:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
What's your favorite region so far?
00:12:28
AnnaLaura Brown
I would say oh it's hard I really like Normandy actually and I like Normandy more than I like Paris. I'm not really a huge Paris person. People You know, it's fine. Paris is fine.
00:12:40
AnnaLaura Brown
there There are things in Paris that you really need to go see. Let's put it this way. It's just their bus list. Like, everybody needs to at least go experience what the Eiffel Tower is like. You got to see the Louvre.
00:12:51
AnnaLaura Brown
You got to just see some of those key things. But I feel like once you've seen some of those things, it's kind of like too loud and noisy, too many tourists, too many people, too crowded.
00:13:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, it's just an experience.
00:13:01
AnnaLaura Brown
Just not really for me.
00:13:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:13:03
AnnaLaura Brown
And I also like the center, like near tour with all the castles and things like that. When I did my study abroad, that's where I went. So I would go to school in the morning and then I could take off on the train and go visit castles in the afternoon. It was really cool.
00:13:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
What a life. That's a something else.
00:13:17
AnnaLaura Brown
know.
00:13:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's a good way to break up the monotony of studying.
00:13:23
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, it was for sure. Yeah.
00:13:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
So if you had to recommend one place in France for like a solo women's trip, where would you send them? you think to the Normandy like, I don't know.
00:13:31
AnnaLaura Brown
I would say, assuming you've already been to Paris, if you haven't been to Paris at all, going to at least check out Paris for a little bit is worth your while. But assuming that other than that, I would say, yeah, somewhere in Normandy, ah there's a lot to see in Normandy. Even though I've been there a couple of times now, I haven't been anywhere close to everywhere in Normandy.
00:13:53
AnnaLaura Brown
But, you know, Normandy, I would also say it's also going to depend on how much time you have because the south of France and the beaches is beautiful. You know, there's a lot to see down there, too.
00:14:04
AnnaLaura Brown
And, of course, the center with the castles. But, you know, it it really depends on how much time you've got. If you've really only got your typical like seven days like most people have, I would say maybe like two days in Paris if you haven't been there already, two to three days, and then go spend the rest of it in Normandy probably for one trip.
00:14:20
AnnaLaura Brown
And then you can go back and check out Southern on a separate trip.
00:14:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:14:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:14:24
AnnaLaura Brown
yeah
00:14:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. That's smart.
00:14:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
what would you say to women who are nervous? Other, I mean, everyone, not everyone has Hashimoto's, but everyone kind of, most people have, do have something that they're always in the back of their head when they are planning a trip. And so I think you kind of touched on it a little bit by being prepared ahead of time and kind of monitoring your schedule. But what about those women that are just really like letting something within themselves, hold them back?
00:14:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
What would
Encouragement for Women Travelers
00:14:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
your advice be? How did you get to that point where you're like, look, I know I have this, but I'm still doing it because this is what I love. Like,
00:14:57
AnnaLaura Brown
I would say the biggest thing is have a big why and actually really evaluate, do you really want to go? Because if you really want to go, you're going to get your butt out of the couch or the bed or whatever, and you're just going to get to the airport and do it.
00:15:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
guys.
00:15:11
AnnaLaura Brown
i mean, if you're not, and if something's really holding your back and you're really not going out there and doing it, you really need to evaluate, do you really want to do it? Because if some, there's, there's really no reason to not do it if you really want to.
00:15:26
AnnaLaura Brown
And the thing is, yeah, it it's going to cost money, but at the end of the day, the way that things are at the moment with Europe and the way that prices have increased on a lot of things, what people sometimes don't realize is they can be just as cheap or maybe even cheaper to go to Europe on a trip than it is to go like to Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
00:15:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know. I've noticed that. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:15:50
AnnaLaura Brown
And it's really not like dangerous or anything as long as you're in like the major... tour cities and things. You don't go off the beaten path too much and, you know, you use extra common sense.
00:16:03
AnnaLaura Brown
I would definitely say with France, if you're going to do anything other than Paris, you definitely want to know some French too. So that's really going to be key. If you really don't speak any French at all, then, and you're over there as a solo woman, then Paris might be all that you can do.
00:16:19
AnnaLaura Brown
that or maybe nice too, but yeah, because they're still in France.
00:16:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's a good tip. Good
00:16:24
AnnaLaura Brown
There's not, i mean, there are, there are, and there aren't a lot of English speakers like with tour, you know, in the main tour sites and things like that, you won't have any trouble like the hotels and things like that.
00:16:35
AnnaLaura Brown
But outside of that, just, you can't just assume that your average everyday person is going to speak English. So.
00:16:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
tip Good tip. Did you find that people were unfriendly to you in Paris? I know that's kind of a rap that they have and that people sometimes i don't want to go because they're like afraid that people don't want them there.
00:16:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
um Did you experience that while you were in Paris?
00:16:57
AnnaLaura Brown
Well, but i also speak French too, though, so it wasn't really that big a deal. But yeah, I mean, you do have to be really careful with pickpockets and scammers and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, I mean, you're going to encounter a little of that in every major tour city, really.
00:17:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I think so too. I i remember thinking um a lot of that in Athens and in Rome as well. um Naples, I didn't really feel, that's probably the place I felt the least safe as a solo woman is in Naples for some reason.
00:17:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
It just bothered me. I just, you know, like sometimes it just feels off and I just did not enjoy that.
00:17:35
AnnaLaura Brown
Hmm. Yeah.
00:17:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
But I think what you're saying is just being aware. And I think with the French, It's always a good idea, no matter where you're going to learn a couple words, right? Even if you're not going to be fluent, you can put your effort forth. You're visiting their country. You shouldn't expect everyone to adapt to you.
00:17:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
You should at least have a ah good enough foundation to to make an effort. And then hopefully they'll make an effort back. And somewhere in the middle, you can meet and have a decent experience.
00:18:01
AnnaLaura Brown
Absolutely, for sure, yeah. And like I said, it's going to vary from country to country, but the French are actually known for not really being that great at English. They, you know, they really like their French, and so, you know.
00:18:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, because it's superior. and
00:18:14
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, exactly.
00:18:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
I do love it. i took it I took four years of French in high school, but unfortunately, unlike you, I didn't have people around me that also spoke it. And so you just send tend to lose that stuff when you're not kind of immersed in it and using it. So I can read really well.
00:18:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
um And I can I can write it, but I get kind of flustered when people are are speaking quickly. And then I'm trying to come up with an instant response. But if I have like time to think about it, I could do it.
00:18:45
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, sure.
00:18:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's not on the fly.
00:18:46
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, that's always tricky.
00:18:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'm like, hold on, give me five minutes. I'll i'll respond.
00:18:50
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, that's always
Language Learning and Travel
00:18:51
AnnaLaura Brown
tricky for sure.
00:18:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
So my sister had lived in ah Chile for 18 months when she was younger. And so she got really fluent in Spanish. And so when my boys were young and she came back home, I had her babysit them for the whole summer. And I said, don't you dare speak English to these children?
00:19:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like, they know ah not a drop of Spanish, but you just speak to them in Spanish the entire time and like basically force it on them because i know it's so important. And when you're younger, it's so much easier. And so the first couple of days they would say, mom and Jamie is acting so weird to us. She is so weird.
00:19:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
She doesn't even know how to talk to us. And I said, well, then you're going to have how to talk to her, you know? And so at the time the summer was over, they were having good little conversations. So
00:19:37
AnnaLaura Brown
That's awesome. Yeah, i definitely feel like I was definitely lucky, you know, getting the early exposure to French. And yeah, funny story. I was ah in college and i couldn't pass calculus, which is required for both a business major and a business minor. And so I and I already knew French pretty well. This is after my first big trip to France. And I decided to major in French instead and I still needed a minor and I couldn't do business because I couldn't do the math.
00:20:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
but
00:20:05
AnnaLaura Brown
So I decided on a whim to minor in Spanish even though I had never even taken a single Spanish class. So I started Spanish in college at Spanish 101 and went all the way up to do a Spanish minor and the only way I felt like I could do it was to do study abroad.
00:20:21
AnnaLaura Brown
So I actually did study abroad to Chile too. So I've done study abroad twice.
00:20:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
why That's amazing. Yeah. It's such a good way to do it just to be kind of thrown into that environment with, with no choice. I find that French and Spanish have a lot of the same root words, um you know,
00:20:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
So sometimes that can help because I can relate something to, a you know, to Spanish or French based off of whichever one I remember at the time.
00:20:43
AnnaLaura Brown
They do, you but it's tricky because of all your, like, it's still, like, the pronunciation's pretty different, and even some of the verb tenses and things in French and Spanish are pretty different, so it's like, yeah.
00:20:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
but
00:20:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
I was just to say conjugating is always my, yeah, that's the craziest. So did you use your French and Spanish out in your, in your job or your, your real life after that, or basically for travel?
00:20:58
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:21:04
AnnaLaura Brown
um i have to some degree not not a ton necessarily so i've had a couple of different careers but currently now i'm in sass so that's like you know like your sales of tech and i actually work for a company that produces a platform that is sold to travel agents and tour
00:21:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
Upcoming Travel Plans
00:21:23
AnnaLaura Brown
operators so we're in the travel space i work in the travel space
00:21:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, that's cool.
00:21:27
AnnaLaura Brown
And I use the French occasionally because I do cover Canada. So occasionally I'll get like Quebec leads that don't speak the greatest English and I'll end up speaking to them in French.
00:21:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:21:37
AnnaLaura Brown
But I don't use it ton really.
00:21:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:21:41
AnnaLaura Brown
No.
00:21:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, it's good. You can still depend on it to pull out when you need it.
00:21:46
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, for sure.
00:21:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's where's your next trip.
00:21:47
AnnaLaura Brown
Absolutely.
00:21:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Are you going back to France?
00:21:50
AnnaLaura Brown
I am actually going to Italy in a week and a half from the day of this recording with my work. My work is doing us itll a trip in Sicily for the entire company.
00:22:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
Nice.
00:22:01
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:22:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's amazing.
00:22:03
AnnaLaura Brown
So it's going to be people.
00:22:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
So a free trip is a better trip too.
00:22:05
AnnaLaura Brown
I'm pretty stoked.
00:22:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's amazing.
00:22:07
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, exactly. So I have that. Then I'm doing couple stateside trips this summer and fall, but I'm not doing any big, like, Europe trips other than the Italy trip.
00:22:18
AnnaLaura Brown
I'm planning on, I have already booked it, and, you know, unless there's some major crazy thing that happens, I'm planning on doing a cruise that goes to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco in June of 2026.
00:22:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Amazing.
00:22:32
AnnaLaura Brown
So that's going to be my big trip for next year. So...
00:22:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah love that. What cruise line are you going on? Is that Norwegian?
00:22:38
AnnaLaura Brown
Sir Alberti. Celebrity.
00:22:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
Celebrity. Nice. Yeah. They do um the Mediterranean cruises like that.
00:22:42
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah. Wow.
00:22:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
They're just so pretty. And we did one. Oh my gosh. I did one last year. it was 12 days, 11 ports. I don't know what I was thinking.
00:22:54
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:22:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
Because it was just chaotic. But every port we were like, well, we have to go because this is amazing. um Luckily, say luckily, it's funny, there was a storm where we couldn't dock for two days.
00:23:02
AnnaLaura Brown
yeah
00:23:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
And so we were forced to have a break. So I went to the spa and relaxed for a couple of days.
00:23:10
AnnaLaura Brown
Oh my gosh.
00:23:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
But otherwise, it was just so jam packed. But that's the most fun itinerary.
00:23:14
AnnaLaura Brown
No, this one's nine days. Nine days going to and from Barcelona and then also with stops in Cadiz, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal, Porto, Portugal, and one day in Tangier, Morocco.
00:23:27
AnnaLaura Brown
So feel like it's a pretty good itinerary and this would be pretty good.
00:23:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, that's going be great. I would love to go to Morocco. Yeah.
00:23:32
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:23:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
I love that. Ours, we started in Athens and ended in Rome. So we stopped in Istanbul and Cushidasi and then down through the Greek Isles and then um over to Italy and then ended in Rome. So it was one way.
00:23:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
We started in Athens a few days ahead of time and then stayed in Rome a few few days after. So um it was a fun experience.
00:23:51
AnnaLaura Brown
That sounds really cool.
00:23:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
and It was just, it was really a lot.
00:23:52
AnnaLaura Brown
That sounds like a really cool itinerary too. Yeah. yeah
00:23:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
Istanbul was so incredible. I didn't really know what to expect. And it's now like one of my favorite places. I can't wait to go back. um Just the history of Istanbul is incredible.
00:24:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
And it's been um through so much, so so much change. I mean, it was there like in biblical times and it's there now. And the churches used to be Christian churches and now they're Muslim mosques, but the Muslims...
00:24:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
believe that they ah they want to honor every all the heart of history, so they don't cover any of the Christian markings up inside the inside these mosques. And so when you go, you still have like Mary and Jesus, and you just have...
00:24:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
The Muslim writing, it's just this chaotic, like beautiful, like honoring everything experience. And so I just was not prepared for like how much to take in there was.
00:24:41
AnnaLaura Brown
people
00:24:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
And so that was, that was one of my favorite stops surprisingly, but yeah, it was really cool. But back to that.
00:24:51
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, that's cool. I don't know. For some reason, turkey hasn't ever been on my bucket list, but maybe I'll have to add it. I don't know.
00:24:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Oh, and the food.
00:24:57
AnnaLaura Brown
Is it really good?
00:24:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
So good. So good. But that's one thing that's sent fun about cruising too, is even though you're only in town for one day, sometimes two days, kind of just gives you a peek at somewhere you may not have gone.
00:25:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
um
00:25:11
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:25:12
CHANTELLE KINCY
You can decide if you want to go back and and spend more time. And so that's really cool. Well, I'm excited. I can't wait to hear about your cruise when you get back.
Embracing New Experiences
00:25:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
What would you say is the biggest lesson you've learned about yourself through travel?
00:25:27
AnnaLaura Brown
I would say that I actually am a lot more open-minded to unique experiences, to trying food that maybe I would have thought before, ew, who wants to eat that, you know? hold that That I'm just, you know, I'm more open to some of the crazy things than maybe I would have thought that I would have been, you know?
00:25:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Do you find that you're more open to that while you're traveling than you're at home? Like you're not going to be in Utah thinking like, I really want blood pudding right now. Like, but I will eat it somewhere else.
00:25:55
AnnaLaura Brown
Yes, I'm definitely more willing to it when I'm traveling. Absolutely.
00:26:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
What's the craziest thing you've tried to eat?
00:26:03
AnnaLaura Brown
Oh, couple of things I would say, honestly, maybe Escargill in France.
00:26:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:26:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
What do you think? I think it just tastes like chewy and whatever sauce it's in, right? Kind of like buttery garlic.
00:26:15
AnnaLaura Brown
taste's like all It just tastes like oil and garlic because that's basically what they put in it. Otherwise, the actual scargo just tastes kind of like like chicken or beef or turkey or just like a regular meat.
00:26:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, that's what I think too.
00:26:26
AnnaLaura Brown
you know It doesn't taste any different than...
00:26:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just kind of chewy. I feel like they always put like a lot of fennel or something, fennel and garlic, and it tastes kind like that.
00:26:30
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:26:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
But I think the thought of it that is an issue.
00:26:33
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah. two Yeah, exactly. But it's not really that good.
00:26:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
Did you try haggis in Scotland?
00:26:41
AnnaLaura Brown
I did not. I was only there for two days and I i was actually in Amsterdam working for two weeks because that's where the headquarters for my work is.
00:26:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:26:49
AnnaLaura Brown
So they had put me up in the corporate apartment and I was in Amsterdam and I decided to go spend one of my weekends in Scotland.
Encouraging Language Learning in Family
00:26:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh
00:26:56
AnnaLaura Brown
because it was a pretty easy trip over there.
00:26:58
AnnaLaura Brown
And there was, you know, it wasn't like I felt like if I went there that I would miss out. I was able to go see the castle and, you know, the museums and some of the big things. But I didn't, I don't know if, even if I'd have wanted it, I don't know how I could have found it.
00:27:10
AnnaLaura Brown
mean, I didn't, I actually got so busy trying to run around and other things that I only even ate out once the whole time I was there.
00:27:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
um my gosh.
00:27:17
AnnaLaura Brown
The rest of the time I was just like snacking on stuff. So,
00:27:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:27:21
AnnaLaura Brown
It was on a Sunday morning breakfast, so I wasn't about to go.
00:27:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
And Rose,
00:27:24
AnnaLaura Brown
That wouldn't have been the time to try Agus.
00:27:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
That doesn't sound appropriate, does it?
00:27:29
AnnaLaura Brown
No, so I, you know, I stuck with your typical, I think it was like a, it was like an avocado toast thing with eggs and bacon, and it was like a normal, like something you eat at home in the States, too.
00:27:41
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah.
00:27:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, my kids make fun of me because I eat avocado toast everywhere I go at least one time. And they're like, well, exploring the world, one avocado toast at a time. I'm like, that's me. Gotta try it.
00:27:52
AnnaLaura Brown
ah That's funny.
00:27:53
CHANTELLE KINCY
Cause it's a good like comfort food and I want it. and and so
00:27:57
AnnaLaura Brown
Yeah, it was good. And this place had pretty good. Yeah, it was really good.
00:28:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's awesome. So in closing, I just want to thank you for hanging out with us and for talking to us. I think that um a lot of people are going be able to relate to how you feel a with your ah autoimmune issues and being able to kind of just travel your plan around that. And I love the insight that if it's something you really want to do, definitely find a way to make it work.
00:28:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Um, do you have any final words of encouragement for women to get out there and go or just do it?
00:28:28
AnnaLaura Brown
I would say just do it and realize that, you know, it's not going to be as big a deal as you think.
00:28:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
just
00:28:36
AnnaLaura Brown
There are ways to and get accommodations. There's ways to do it. And even as a solo traveler, you can do it.
Promoting Solo and Group Travel
00:28:44
AnnaLaura Brown
I mean, if you really don't want to be totally alone, there's lots of companies that offer group trips and you can sign up for a group trip and go on one as a solo traveler.
00:28:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:28:53
AnnaLaura Brown
So, you know, it isn't isn't as complicated or as hard, I think, as people think it is.
00:28:58
CHANTELLE KINCY
Wink, wink. I owe for a group trips for women. So you can hit me up if you want to go. We'll figure something out. So where can our listeners find you? I know you have your podcast. Go ahead and tell us about that.
00:29:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
If you have a website.
00:29:09
AnnaLaura Brown
I do. So my podcast is Autoimmune Rehab. It's on like all the places, Apple, Spotify, you know, whatever. I stream it for my blog too. So we'll link to it. I also did self-publish an ebook on Kindle on budget travel to France.
00:29:22
AnnaLaura Brown
So we can um link that too. So people can go check it out. has a lot of really good juicy tips about how to go to France on a budget and enjoy yourself without spending all the money from the kitchen sink.
00:29:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:29:34
AnnaLaura Brown
And yeah, there we go.
00:29:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
I love that. Well, I'll put those links in the descriptions for everyone. And then you guys can follow Anna Laura. And I'm definitely going to go find that book for sure, because I love that idea.
00:29:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
So thank you for being with us. I appreciate you. And we'll talk to you soon.