What does it say about me that I spend more time planning what shoes I will take on a trip than everything else on my packing list? My closet floor is littered with rejects from my search for footwear that will get my feet through a long day of hiking or sightseeing without pain.
My feet have not been the same since I carried twins at age 30. That’s the year I was I gave birth to two beautiful baby girls weighing in at roughly 6 pounds each, even at 6 weeks premature. What a gift they both are — the gift that kept on giving with Morton’s neuroma in both feet to this day.
Add a recent bout of plantar fascitis, and I’m a sucker for shoe come-ons. Yes, I want to feel like I’m walking on clouds. Yes, I want all-day comfort. Yes, I want my feet to feel pampered even as I trek 20,000 steps on cobblestone streets in pouring rain.
I probably singlehandedly boosted Google search traffic in the weeks before I traveled to Italy for the first time. Was I searching for the best restaurants in Venice or the best time to visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome? Oh, no. Nothing so glamorous. I was typing every possible search variation to unearth recommendations for the perfect pair of (comfortable) shoes to save my feet: “best shoes to wear on cobblestone streets,” “best shoes to wear sightseeing in Rome,” “best shoes that won’t make you feel like you’ve been walking on a bed of nails instead of the hills of Tuscany.”
I won’t list any of the brands that didn’t work — perhaps SOMEONE found their shoes comfortable. I was particularly sad that a cute pair of bronze leather tennis shoes, and that adorable pair of cream canvas walking shoes — both of which were touted on blogs as being the toast of travelers everywhere — DID NOT WORK OUT at all but I still kept because, well, hope springs eternal that I was just having a bad foot day (week, month, year) and that I might find an occasion where I really wouldn’t mind — for a few minutes at least — that my feet feel like they’re filled with stones when I put on these shoes.
In the end, I found a few versatile pairs that worked well for heavy walking — Skechers and Hoka brands have been my friends for travel. And if I’m occasionally envious of that person who can wear stilettos on a cobblestone plaza and not break an ankle, I don’t dwell on it long. My shoes were made for walking — and my happy feet are moving on to new places.
What miracle shoes do you recommend for travel adventures?
