The Next Flight Departing featuring Christina Piombetti

“Hmmm, I wonder if I could catch the flight at 4:30PM to LA?” This crossed through Christina’s mind at 3PM; just an hour and a half before the flight would take off. It was the next flight departing. There wasn’t much time. Without further thought, Christina booked the flight, packed her bags, and was to the gate within the hour. Now that is a love for travel and spontaneity if I ever did see one. You can check Christina’s Instagram feed if you need more proof. Once there, you will see images that share where her next trip is going to take her! Her itch to travel is so great that she has not gone a month in the last two years without getting on a plane. She also has not gone a month in the last five years without a road trip.

What started this itch to travel? When she was younger, she went on vacation to a little beach in Maui every year. She realized that though she loved Hawaii, she wanted to see more of the world. She began taking small trips while working for a PR firm and discovered that every little place had its own vibe and subculture. As someone who spent her school years studying communications, putting research to travel fascinated her. People began calling her short trips ‘Christinacations’ and to this day, she still takes them.

Once she started to make more disposable income, she questioned whether she would rather buy a new thing or to go do a thing. She made it a point that she was not going to buy gifts, but plan trips instead. On her 30th birthday, she went to Paris for 10 days and the experience changed her life. She shares…

“My first trip to Paris- I’ll never forget it. I mean, it was just- the city has this vibe. It’s just alive. It’s like what I felt in New York, but with a deeper history. Parisians have such a pride in their city, and it’s such a beautiful city at that. They are nice, kind, and go out of their way for you. They take such care in preparing the food for you to enjoy. It’s the whole experience- the immersive experience of travel is what makes it worth it for me. It’s not just eating at a new restaurant, seeing new architecture, or meeting new people. It’s all of it together. It’s immersing yourself in another place for a short time, which you can then take it with you and go somewhere else.”

Christina took her first trip to Paris after having a stroke. She realized that she needed to get out of where she was and do something completely different in a completely new place. She ran across Sylvie Gil’s workshop on Instagram and thought it looked amazing enough to try. She wrote to Sylvie asking if she could attend. A few interactions later, Christina rented her gear and off she went. This trip along with travel changed the trajectory of her life. Traveling has not only impacted her personally, but impacted her as a creative and continually inspires her work. She shares…

“Anything new is good for creativity. Just changing it up entirely stops the stagnation. When you see new places, things catch you in a different way and widens your perspective. It helps me not to burn out and always keeps life interesting. Moving around so much has kept me from working on the back part of my business, but at the same time, flow is really important to me. So if I am not in my flow, then I need to do something that gets me there. I then trust that what needs to come, will. You can’t have both, so I allow room for the process to be what it is in order for me to be where I need. Traveling also provides new lighting, subjects, and places. It challenges you in different ways. You can dial something in that you have seen, but you can’t dial something in that you haven’t felt. For example, the Parisian women have a way that they walk, talk, and carry themselves. I’ve definitely incorporated that into my posing. Paris has beautiful light, cream color buildings, and pink tones that I am in love with, so I try to find that equation in other places so I can evoke that same feeling and emotion in another area. However, if my subjects are in a field in the Hudson Valley, that place holds a different vibe and I want that to come across. ”

When you plan a trip, what things do you seek to include in your trip? Why?

I have a method for planning. I know I am looking for specific things for each trip. My hotel is pretty decided since I am very loyal to Marriott, unless there’s a unique spot that I would rather stay at. I am always looking for cocktail bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. If there is a good coffee shop, I will snuff it out! If the city is not a cocktail bar type of place, then I look for the diviest place in the city. I try to book a really nice dinner and something fun like tacos and margaritas. All this being said, I will get different magazines or ask people who live in the area for their favorite spots. There are so many recommendations that can make it hard to narrow down, so I pick one thing from each reference in order to help. I look at menus, websites, and how far it is from where I am staying. I put a lot of work into my travel and I enjoy that, but I also always leave room for spontaneity. For example, in Paris, you want to have a dinner reservation or it will be really difficult to find a place to eat. Lunch, however, you can be walking around and stop in a new place. If you don’t give yourself some freedom, then you can miss a lot of fun.

What are your essential travel items?

My suitcase is always packed with the basic essentials. I have a duffle bag, suit case, and a larger suit cased packed, so I never have to worry about it. Which honestly, you won’t have to worry about because there is a CVS somewhere or the hotel has essentials for you. If I forget to refill my essentials, I keep an extra in my closet. All I have to then worry about is adding clothes! In my packing, I make it so that I could make it about a week. I’ve created this wardrobe, almost like a uniform I guess, of jeans, three t-shirts, a long cardigan, sweater, and dress with flats in a few different colors that makes it easy for me. This developed for me because once I flew to New York and had to live out of one suitcase for 6 months. A tip: if everything is in the same color family, not palette necessarily, but the same color family, then you can mix and match. Also, when you’re traveling, people aren’t going to realize that you’re wearing the same thing. You don’t have to worry about seeing too many of the same people. And if we’re honest, they probably still wouldn’t care that much!

What would you say to someone who has a desire to travel, but something may be holding them back?

Ask yourself, “What is holding me back?”- then question it. Katie O’Selvidge talked in Editor’s Course on talking to your fears like a small child. So talk out what is really holding you back and challenge yourself to see if it is really true. Is it time? Money? Fear? If it’s something like time or money, figure out ho to do it on a small scale or prioritize it to make it something you will make happen. What are you going to trade so you can do that? I don’t do presents, I do trips. For this birthday, I’m not getting presents, I’m going to Big Sur.

You can incorporate this into your every day life. You can try out different things in your neighborhood. You can drive to the next town over to have dinner for date night or the next town over for a new cup of coffee. You don’t have to visit Paris. Go small- pick a spot one hour away and find a place to stay. For example, I had a little mini-vacation that I do every Sunday night to a new beach and I take photographs of that beach. Somebody once said that the key to happiness is having something to look forward to this week, month, and the future. I think there’s got to be something to that, because I am always looking forward to my next trip. I love planning and preparing for it. It could be something small, though, like after I work out, I go one town over to have a cup of coffee. It is good coffee, but it’s also so easy and it feels new. As humans, we love repetition and the sameness and to feel comfortable, but if you look at Tony Robbins with the hierarchy of needs, we need variety. We need our old faithfuls because you don’t want to have none of it, but have the same thing all the time is too off balance. Anything to break you out of the repetition- go on a walk, the next town over, an hour away, two hours away. Have a one night over night- it’s amazing what it can do for you especially if you’re feeling funky. So what’s that one hour trip for you? Is it LA? Nashville? Chicago? A little town no one has ever heard of? What is a good reason not to? I didn’t have a good reason not to go to Paris, so I just did it and that stirred something in me that I never knew was there.

PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY