Scouting ‘Northern Italy + Switzerland’ Part 1
Milan, Lake Como, Lugano (Switzerland), Bolzano, Venice, Florence, Fiesole, Cinque Terre…who wouldn’t want to go on that tour?
Florence, Italy
Sounds like a dream trip, right? Well, this very tour was something Tony and I talked about doing for a long time when we worked abroad. We're both into hiking and were living in Florence working for a company called, EuroAdventures, but our busy schedules never allowed this particular trip to come to fruition. Despite the constant talk of, "Let's go hike the Dolomites, man."
Now, after starting and creating VoyEdge RX, this 'Northern Italy + Switzerland' trip was the first itinerary we created and it feels damn good to be on our way to Milan to scout each and every aspect of this tour.
(Quick update: we're in Milan - and it's cool, but it's a metropolis and we're looking forward to getting into the mountains and doing some serious hiking.)
Now, onto the good stuff...
Milan, Italy
Let’s start with the basics. Everyone wants to travel. It's in our blood, it's in our nature to explorers and seek out the unknown. Yet, why do so little of us every actually take the leap into a new place, or on a new excursion?
Yes, people take vacations, but the majority of people chase those 40-hour workweeks and steady paychecks, all to house stuff they don’t need and cement themselves in decent enough lifestyles and quality standards of living. And there's nothing wrong with that, but do you really want your golden years to be the only ones where you travel outside your comfort zone?
The time is now, and that's ultimately the same sentiment and conclusion our team came to when we founded this company. It was more of why not? Than, "Should we do it?"
And ultimately, we're glad we are doing this. As we've said from day one, if we can change at least one person's lives from all of this, then we're doing the right thing.
Life is meant to be explored and shared with others. Not confined to three walls and a computer screen.
But, overall, isn't there more to life than a paycheck and working at a desk? How do people only take ONE vacation a year?! What about those who crave more? What about the people who have said ‘enough’ and are challenging the status quo are parents and grandparents set for us.
Work hard for 40+ years, get married, have kids, save money and live within your means.
We live in a time and era where that status quo is changing. With entrepreneurs simply saying ‘No,’ and beginning to craft the lifestyles they’ve always dreamed of.
22 year olds can drop out of college and run social media for companies while they travel the globe. People can invent products, tools and software that allow them to be more mobile than ever before. And the notion of working in an office for 9-5 is at risk of being eliminated for majority of Americans. That very standard, that very notion is beginning to become erased, as people begin to craft lifestyles that are centered on living the life they've always dreamed of.
Chase what's most important to you. Don't let anything stand in your way.
My point is this….we live in an amazing time…more people are starting companies than ever before, it’s truly a fantastic time to be alive with so many entrepreneurs chasing their dreams, goals and lifestyles they've always dreamed of.
Now, bringing it back to VoyEdge RX here….it’s been more than a year now since Tony and I had a text conversation about how shitty it is to get stuck in a routine after years of working abroad, traveling the globe, showing people amazing things in incredible places.
Coming back from an adventurous lifestyle to a steady 9-5 is heartbreaking. Some would say soul-crushing.
For us, in late 2015, we had hit a point where we weren’t satisfied. We were working on other people’s dreams, not our own, and that wasn’t ok to us. In fact, it was appalling. It made us question who we are, what we were doing, and why we were doing it.
At the time, going to our CrossFit boxes at the end of the day provided an outlet for an hour plus, but it was never enough. Even two-a-days weren’t cutting it. No matter if we were going and beating the shit out of our bodies at the gym 7 days a week, going hiking, something was totally missing.
CrossFit provides such a good outlet for stress relief, but there was always something else missing. Travel.
That adventurous lifestyle was forever calling.
It took us a while, and many many fucking texts questioning our own existence, we began to put the pieces together. All we wanted to do was start a company based on working out and pushing our own limits. Seeing as much as we could, while doing as much as we could.
In a way, it's a sort of, Active vacationing. And that's all about getting up and living. Not sitting on your ass and drinking on a beach while ignoring your work email for a week (that’s not a vacation in our books) and active vacationing was born out of the notion that the world was meant to be explored. Meant to be traversed, and also meant to be challenging in every way in order to forge a better YOU.
How do you know who you are if you never challenge yourself to experience new things?
With so much to see and do in the world, we want to inspire people by living healthy, adventurous lifestyles and do what we feel we were purposed to do. Forge a community focused on active lifestyles and global exploration.
And to us, that’s what VoyEdge RX is all about. It’s not just CrossFit, it’s not just about travel, it’s about intertwining each and everything your capable of and throwing it into the wind to be challenged. It’s about taking yourself willingly outside your comfort zone and seeing where and what you can do,
Too often I’ve seen people push past their limits – and it’s an incredible thing. People don’t really know the can produce miracles by focusing on one small task at a time, and when you begin to let go mentally, and hone your body towards physical improvement, your body and mind begin to connect in ways that make you a more complete person.
I don't think I'm doing the justice of selling the feeling here, but there is something powerful to be had when it comes to combining fitness & travel and I hope through our blog, our website and our content, you’ll be motivated to join our team on a future expedition.
Signing off from now, about 37,000 feet above Portugal.
Updates to come soon. Follow @VoyEdgeRX on snapchat and Instagram.
Shoot me an email with any questions, comments or concerns: cam@voyedgerx.com
Scope out the rest of our Northern Italy + Switzerland Itinerary by clicking the image down below.
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