Writer travels with no baggage new boyfriend
<p>Travel is supposed to be the ultimate relationship test for any couple, but one writer took the concept to a whole new level.</p>
<p>Clara Bensen had enjoyed just four dates with science professor Jeff Wilson, who she met on dating website OkCupid, before he invited her to join him on a summer holiday.</p>
<p>He planned to spend three weeks travelling through Europe with no baggage and no concrete plans - nothing, in fact, but the clothes on their backs.</p>
<p>Bensen, who lives in Austin, Texas, has written a book about the experience, No Baggage, which is set to be turned into a movie.</p>
<p>Writing for Marie Claire, she admits her original response to the proposed experiment was an automatic "hell no".</p>
<p>But she soon found herself arriving at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, with nothing but a green dress, a small handbag, and a guy she had just met on the internet.</p>
<p>"The night before we left we sat on the floor and slowly whittled down our possessions into two tiny piles," Bensen writes.</p>
<p>"My pile had a passport, iPhone, deodorant, contact lenses, tampons, a toothbrush, a cotton scarf, two pairs of underwear, and a few cosmetics. Jeff's had a passport, phone, notebook and map of the Balkans.</p>
<p>"He stuffed everything into his pockets. My dress was pocket-less, so I brought a tiny handbag instead. The summer dress was another impractical choice on top of all the others.</p>
<p>"I figured the trip was already so ridiculous – why not add a touch of elegance?"</p>
<p>Bensen said the couple made it through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and the UK.</p>
<p>During the day, they explored tourist spots and people-watched at parks and cafes, and at night they found places to couch-surf, bunking down with locals.</p>
<p>"After a week, travelling without luggage became an afterthought to the adventure at hand," Bensen writes.</p>
<p>"Aside from a roof, a bed and a bar of soap, I didn't need much. I felt no desire to go shopping – a departure from past holidays where I felt compelled to stock up on knick-knacks and mementos."</p>
<p>As for the pair's fledgling relationship? The journey ended up bringing them closer together, Bensen said.</p>
<p>"By some miracle – despite 21 days of travel, absolutely no privacy, and a shouting match on the side of a road – we still weren't sick of each other. That had to mean something."</p>
<p>The initial travel experiment took place three years ago, and the couple are now living together, having made four subsequent trips since - to South America, the Caucuses, Scandinavia, and Japan.</p>
<p>"One book, three years, and four more no-baggage trips later, I'm still so glad I said 'yes' to a crazy invitation," Bensen writes.</p>
<p>"I wouldn't have it any other way.”</p>
<p><em>First appeared on <strong><a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></a>.</strong></em></p>
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