The Serendipity Of Travel

I’ve always loved the word ‘serendipity’. Not only for the way it’s consonants seem to pop from your lips but also how this pronunciation seems to somehow represent its very meaning – to discover something beautiful when you were looking for something completely unrelated, and often ordinary.  It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago when I found myself sitting in a strangers living room in suburban Brussels that I truly discovered the meaning of the word, and it’s an encounter that I will value forever purely due to it being one of the most unplanned but enjoyable experiences of my travels so far.

My trip to Brussels was pretty simple – a one night work trip to meet with some of my colleagues from Europe and the US, a little bit of sightseeing, and enjoying some of Belgium’s finest beer and moules frites. I booked myself into a guesthouse close to the centre of town and was looking forward to being in a new city.

As my taxi pulled up to my guesthouse I was greeted by a smiling lady looking slightly puzzled by my arrival.

‘Are you McPherson?’ she asked?

I am Nicole McPherson…’Yes…?’

‘I’m so sorry but we couldn’t get in contact with you to let you know that the hotel website double booked…we don’t have any rooms tonight’

‘Oh…’ Oh, crap! I knew that there were no rooms left in the whole of Brussels that night as a colleague of mine hadn’t been able to get a room, so visions of me sleeping on the street were soon running through my head along with the sudden kick-start of problem solving in my mind which soon went into over-drive.

‘But…’ the lady started, ‘I have a spare bed if you would like to stay at my place?’

I must admit, this offer more than surprised me…me, a stranger, sleeping on your couch?! Really?! Here I was in a foreign country with pretty much no other choice and I think the fact I had no alternatives really helped me to relax and enjoy the experience, and I have to say I had one of the most interesting and insightful nights I’ve had as a traveller.

I’ve always classed myself as a spontaneous and carefree person, but this change in circumstances has cemented for me that we as travellers must take every opportunity we are given with both hands and run with it as far and as fast as we can. When I would have been happy to go to my hotel room and watch some mind-numbing TV I was forced to socialise with a local, and in turn learn so much about the culture of the city I was visiting, and ultimately, make some new friends.

As this was a short work trip I probably otherwise would have taken the easy route and stayed at another hotel, but I’m so glad that this small technical error allowed me to meet an open and extremely generous Belgian family and allow me into their lives for one night. We chatted for hours over cups of green tea and I taught their mostly French speaking daughter some new words in English. We talked about the places we’ve visited, our future travel plans, hopes and dreams.

The next morning we returned to the guesthouse where we sat around a huge 12 seater table with the other guests from all over the world – we shared croissants, coffee and many stories – a family on a road trip across Europe, a Croatian couple in Belgium for IVF treatment and a couple of Italian businessmen who barely spoke English but could muster enough to tell me they loved Aussies and proceeded to giggle with me all through breakfast over our new bond.

As I said my goodbyes I was invited back again and invited to visit their family next year in Argentina. These are experiences which I’ll always remember, and the next time I think to myself ‘Hmmm, no not tonight’ or think about just taking the ‘easy’ route…I will think back to this and know the answer must always be yes – every time.

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