The teacher’s detour

There is something slightly ironic about being a teacher who loves to travel. Most of my life is built around schedules and bells ring. Lessons start and end at precise times. There are deadlines, calendars, programmes to follow and places I am supposed to be.

And then there is travelling.

Travelling is where I allow myself to take a detour.

So, why The Teacher’s Detour?

I’m an English language teacher from Italy, and travelling has always been much more than simply visiting a new place for me.

I love the obvious parts, of course: getting on a plane, walking through a city I have never seen before, trying food I cannot pronounce properly, taking far too many pictures and coming home with a camera roll that will probably take me six months to organise.

But what fascinates me most is everything that happens in between. The conversations you weren’t expecting. The tiny cultural differences you suddenly notice. The words you learn because you desperately need to order something. The wrong bus that somehow takes you somewhere beautiful.

And, perhaps inevitably, I travel like a teacher 🙈.

• I read every sign.
• I want to know why a building looks the way it does.
• I stop in front of historical plaques while everyone else keeps walking.
• I listen to the languages around me.

And yes, occasionally I find myself thinking:

“I could use this in class.”

The strange thing about travelling is that the journey doesn’t really end when you unpack your suitcase. Travel has a way of following you home.

Every place leaves something behind. Sometimes it’s something important: a different perspective, a story you didn’t know, a culture you understand a little better. Sometimes it’s much smaller.

• 🍣 A new favourite food.
• 🈯️ A word in another language.
• 🎶 A song you heard in a café.
• 🚕 A street you still think about months later.

And somehow, all these little things eventually find their way into my classroom too. Maybe that’s why teaching and travelling have never felt like two completely separate parts of my life. Both begin with curiosity. Both require you to accept that you don’t know everything. And both become much more interesting when you are willing to listen.

This isn’t a travel guide. Well… not only.

There will definitely be itineraries here. There will be recommendations, budgets, places to eat, things worth seeing and probably several very strong opinions about whether a famous attraction is actually worth the queue.

I want The Teacher’s Detour to be useful.

But I also want it to be personal.

I want to write about what places feel like, not only what there is to see. About history, languages and cultural details. About mistakes, unexpected discoveries and those moments that never make it onto a perfectly planned itinerary.

Because some of my favourite travel memories were never part of the plan. They were detours.

Maybe that’s what this blog is really about: existing beyond the bell. Most of the year, my days are measured by bells. Then, every now and again, I get to step outside that rhythm and wander somewhere new. Sometimes that’s another country. Sometimes it’s a city a few hours away. Sometimes it’s simply discovering something I had never noticed before.

I don’t know exactly where The Teacher’s Detour will lead yet. And for once, I think that’s the point. So consider this the first stop.

The bell has rung.

It’s time for a detour 🎉.