Chaos, but Make it Summer! Imagine meeting 6 strangers somewhere in Montreal. Now you are going to live and travel with those strangers for the next 6 days. What could go wrong? What could go right? Everything went right! Montreal was perfect; a mix of excitement, intrigue, and curiosity led us to each destination. Also, growling bellies or just greedy bellies: smoked meat at Schwartz's deli, late-night foraging for sushi in the pouring rain, ice cream, and cherry dragonfruit matcha- yum!! Know you will eat and eat well on a Passport Required trip! Picture: A rainy day spent huddled together under a thatched roof shelter, laughing, talking, and sharing food at the Caribbean festival. Listening to a lone performer play to an empty field. A walk in the rain with Toni, who was a stranger yesterday, a friend today, accompanying me to get my delicious gluten-free croissant. We laughed and talked as the rain drenched us to our bones. Many lively discussions and games of UNO reached late into the night in the hostel lobby, far past quiet hours. Strolling through the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, lingering to study Rembrandt Van Rijn, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and staring at the gravity-defying glass sculpture of Dale Chihuly. Ancient sculptures close enough to see the chisel marks. Next to Mont Blanc, absolutely beautiful! A beautiful condo where we could spread out, gather together, a hot tub, a pool, and a pond. Who could ask for anything more? Tremblant International Blues Festival, anyone? Why, yes, of course. A warm day spent dancing and strolling through open-air concerts. A delicious family meal on our last day there, cooked with care and consideration, was the icing on the birthday cake for Ty. I spent a lovely afternoon swimming alone in a pond, staring at the sky, watching the clouds, witnessing nature at its grandest. The ride back to Montreal was bittersweet, as we knew this was our last full day together. Half the group went to a pool that Erica had rented earlier in the week; half went to Six Flags, where we rode rollercoasters and a couple of nerve-wracking rides with the glee of teenagers. We all gathered together for a stroll through the vendors at the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique. The lively music filled the air. We were exhausted, but like bad children, we stayed out past our bedtimes. The people I met on this trip were all lovely humans. I hope to see each of them again somewhere in my journeys. We all offered up our homes and hometowns, as if we were old friends. I thank every one of you for the memories, laughs, and heartfelt conversations. Our host, Darnell...thank you for opening up the world to people in such an unexpected way. I know that I am a different person than I was when I first met you. I have travelled, experienced, and felt the pulse of other cultures because of your vision. I can't thank you enough. You have my admiration, friendship, and love as the highest compliment for these trips! September and October trips are booked! Who is joining us?? If money grew on trees, I would book every trip!

What a week! I fly home tomorrow afternoon and I am going to miss these beautiful humans so very much ! Deep connections were made. Poignant meaningful conversations were had. I am in awe of all the Deep belly Laughs and sore stomach muscles from laughing soooo hard ! … And the depth of feelings shared in such a very short time. Lifelong connections were made in 7 short days! With 7 people I had NEVER met before !! And as a woman in her 60s, it was so lovely to have Darnell as our guide. I felt safe but also went solo at times. There were no rules. No expectations for me to meet. We were all brand new to each other. TIL we weren’t. As promised. The trip was everything I had hoped for and more. I am loved. I am full of life. I am changed. And also a little teary. 🥹. I have already booked trip 2! In October If money and time were not an object, I’d book them all! Darnell is such a beautiful human and so easy to co exist with. He seems to attract the same from his travelers. If it’s not in you , or you think it’s not ?… he will root it out. It won’t be hard. You will go willingly. Again and again. The adventures were amazing. The long days of walking and walking around Montreal. As a group. As smaller splinter groups. Some time alone for the more introverted that need that. Like me. Is just fine and encouraged. As a 64 year old woman who had been through several medical procedures over the past few years , I was apprehensive. I didn’t want to be the old lady who slowed down the group. But wow, did I flourish. I don’t know how , in just one short week, I was able to let down my guard and receive all the beauty and love and adventure and food and the laughs. Omg the laughs! The hot tub sessions at midnight drinking champagne. The family cooperative dinner on one of our Airbnb nights. The deep belly laughing so much I cried playing Uno til the weeee hours of the morning. Montreal was such an exciting and fun city. The music festivals. The poutine ! Those maple bagels tho! Still I will always remember most , the beautiful people. Rebecca the beach girl who won my heart with her grey tabbies, Toni who frankly scared me at first , has become one of my favorite kick ass humans. Ty who sang to me on the way down from treehouse hike to heaven, moved me to tears. And me with no water proof mascara ;). Erica (LA and NY ) who literally sent me flowers in the hospital the week after our trip. Small hiccup. It won’t stop me. Her kind heart ! Stormy ! Skipping laughing stormy ! Who has a twang from God and a heart just as big whom I can’t wait to see again in October. Or in Nashville ! Erica (Portland) who shook my martini and made me smile with glee in our hostel community room, and Darnell. Sweet sweet Darnell. Teaching us all to frolic. Just frolic man. The day at six flags riding 7!!! Count em. 7 rollercoasters!! I still have hip bruises! And I could care less. The pool sessions. The hot tub deeeepppp meaningful convos. The tears shed with people I just met ! How can this be? I don’t open this easily. Usually. I’m authentic. But a bit quiet and definitely need some space now and then ! Yet I hadn’t even went home yet, before I was scheduling the next!! Trust me. Don’t question the urge. Book the trip. You will never regret it and I guarantee , you will book another. And you just might meet me there. An ex nyc native who moved to the nw and as an empty nester had the urge to travel but not completely alone and not having to plan it all. Don’t hesitate! Your heart and soul will thank you. Again and again. So do it !!! I’ll see you there ! Much love to all of my new friends and especially Darnell who is one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met !

I once again had a great time with Passportrequired.com! Chaos: But make it Summer was a perfect title. Montréal was a beautiful city!

I recently had the magical opportunity to take a trip with Passportrequired.com on the springtime trip 3 Countries and a Train. The trip and the other travelers were amazing. Imagine spending your day exploring Prague, climbing the 287 steps of the Prague Castle- the reward a sweeping 360 view of Prague and trying pig knuckle..delicious by the way. How about accidentally stumbling upon a Robot Bar. Budapest offered more exploration and new experiences. Days spent finding our way around on trams and on foot. Wandering through a vast market with everything from kitsch souvenirs, horse meat, Hungarian paprika, and cavier. Vendors were friendly and helpful without being pushy. Nights offer beautifully lit buildings and bridges. Another first was the opportunity to zoom through the city on a scooter, laughing as mistakes are made and nearly missed accidents. A warm mineral bath to soothe the soul and bones. Train rides, with the fact that we are traveling on the same path many took to their deaths lingering in my subconscious. Reminders dot the landscape. In Vienna, somberly standing in front of the grave of Mozart, Beethoven's home, and other historical monuments. Watching the families gather on Sunday afternoon in parks and public spaces. Standing in a long line for decadent frozen treats. Walking through beautifully ornate cathedrals. The frescoes covering towering ceilings. I can almost hear the massive pipe organs. The travel companions a mix of naivety and wisdom, all with an exuberant curiosity. Thank you Darnell Lamont Walker for yet another experience for the books!! I would recommend these trip to kust about everyone!! Literally filling journals! Chaos Summer trip booked!

Passport Required: My Magical Brigadoon I almost talked myself out of this one. Three countries. A train. Daily sightseeing through Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. When I saw what this trip, I genuinely wondered if I was doomed — a 70-year-old burden slowing everyone down, that person the group politely waits for while secretly wishing they'd stayed home. I almost let that fear win. I am so glad I didn't. Because what Passport Required delivered wasn't the burden I dreaded. It was Brigadoon — that magical place that appears out of nowhere and makes you never want to leave. Averaging nearly eight miles a day site-seeing. Eight miles a day on these septuagenarian legs, and I didn't regret a single step. Here's why. The scenery demands your feet keep moving. Prague, Vienna, Budapest — each city layers its own personality, its own architecture, its own rhythm on top of the last. But it's the travel mates who truly make it impossible to stop. The people Passport Required attracts are the kind who make every corner worth turning, every street worth wandering, every unplanned moment worth chasing. You stop watching the clock entirely. That wandering is exactly how we found Karlovy Lazne in Prague — a bar where actual robots mix your cocktail. My vodka and juice, served with mechanical precision by machines. My first robotics drink. As a certified mechanical engineering nerd, I filed that moment directly under spiritual experience. We never would have found it on a rigid itinerary. We found it because Passport Required travels the way travel should work — following the participants, bending toward curiosity, letting desire set the pace. That same spirit is how I ended up at the base of St. Vitus Cathedral climbing 121 steps just to get inside, then 287 more up the tower. Nobody flinched. Nobody suggested I sit this one out. They just moved with me. Every one of those 408 steps was mine. Earned. And the view from the top over Prague was worth every single one. Between the cities, the train rides offered their own quiet magic. European countryside rolling past the windows — green farmlands, tree-covered hills, small towns and clustered communities and long houses appearing out of nowhere. It kept whispering the rural South to me. The same quiet green. The same scattered communities holding their ground between nowhere and somewhere. A reminder that people everywhere are simply living, building lives far from the tourist photographs. That's what Passport Required gives you — not just the landmarks. The in-between. I booked this trip telling myself I might be a burden. I finished it having walked 8 miles a day through three countries, climbed 408 steps, found a robot bartender down an unplanned street, and made travel mates with every mile. This septuagenarian found his Brigadoon. And its name is Passport Required.