The World Is Full of Pleasant—Though Often Unexpected—Pleasure

What does Crete look like in your mind’s eye? Dusty blonde limestone outcrops, crumbling Classical ruins, and dark blue sea—right? And yet, when you turn the page to this month’s Images From the Road, the geometric patterns of deep green trees, shrubs, and grain rows convey a fertile, verdant island that looks nothing like the parched rocks of the imagined version.

Photography, like any art form, has its techniques and tricks. What the photographer chooses to leave out can tell as much as the image itself, but ultimately, it’s a truthful medium. One of the reasons we decided to include a two-page spread of photos in the magazine is to give a visual impression of what life is like in the locations we send our correspondents and editors to scout for you, our readers.

I’m a huge advocate for the imagination (especially in an era when I’m convinced our constantly connected, data-on-demand society is eroding our ability to imagine). Nevertheless, it’s also true that we can be hampered by our expectations, too.

Think about Mexico City. If you’ve never been there, would you expect leafy, bohemian districts where cyclists glide along quiet streets lined with craft stores, artisan breweries, and independent art fairs? Probably not, but that’s what Jason Holland, our roving Latin America Editor, found in the Condesa-Roma district of Mexico’s exciting capital city.

Challenging your preconceptions reaps huge rewards, and this month’s issue is packed with stories of people who weren’t willing to accept the standard, often outdated, view of their destinations. Like real estate investor Ronan McMahon, who wasn’t content to just dismiss the incredibly popular tourist cities of Rome, Florence, or Venice as “too expensive, too difficult, too late.” Instead, he found a way to own a home in historic Italy that isn’t just affordable, it can pay its own way.

And in Georgia, regular contributor Tricia A. Mitchell found a spectacular green, mountainous nation that’s wonderfully affordable, deeply cultured, packed with mouth-watering food and wines (Georgia claims it invented wine). What’s more, in Georgia, North Americans can stay for a full year on a tourist visa.

What a joy it is to be pleasantly surprised. When we update our expectations, the world becomes instantly bigger. And better with it.

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