How Mark-Kate & Ashley Inspired Me To Travel

Let’s be honest here. Growing up Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen were kind of my idols. These girls began acting as babies, were in so many fun and adventurous movies and tv shows, and they were given the opportunity to travel all over the world, they had books written about them and even got to travel in these books, as their job!

I always dreamed to have the same life as them, and honestly thought it was going to happen.

Unfortunately it never happened. Are you as surprised as I am?

Even though I was never able to be a child star and travel the world while getting paid, I was able to religiously watch and then re-watch all of the movies that these girls were in.

The first time I can remember feeling what I would soon realize is wanderlust happened while watching ‘Our lips are sealed’, the movie the girls starred in that took them to Sydney, Australia. And what do you know, the first place I traveled overseas to was Australia.  In this movie the girls witness a jewel robbery and are put in the witness protection program. Unable to keep their mouths shut, the last option for them is being sent to Australia. If they tell anyone their situation, the will be pulled from the program.

In the movie the girls pull pranks on the men that the robbers hire to get rid of the girls, go surfing, spend so much time at the beach, and meet gorgeous Aussie boys.

Pretty much a young girls dream.

But ‘Our lips are sealed’ wasn’t the only movie the girls starred in that immediately made me want to go on an adventure.

I used to always watch Passport to Paris and Holiday in the Sun. Like, all the time. I loved how European Passport to Paris was, and how the girls struggled to break free of their strict grandfather and have some fun, riding on the backs of motor bikes from guys they just met.

In Holiday in the Sun they go to Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and get to go swimming at midnight, ride a yacht, go to a hotel party just for teens, and of course, meet boys.

I think I sense a theme here…young Brooklyn was boy crazy.

But seriously, these three movies inspired me to travel more than I could ever explain.

I still think of all the places that they went to and hope one day I can go as well and have even better adventured than the girls did.

Other places they went in movies is

• Salt Lake City, in ‘Getting There’
• London, in ‘Winning London’
• Disney World, in ‘Full House’
• Hawaii, in ‘Full House’
• Rome, in ‘When in Rome’
• New York City, in ‘New York Minute’
• Some Island, in ‘The Challenge’- I have no clue where this actually was
• Summer Camp, in ‘It Takes Two’
• Out West, in ‘How the West was fun’

They also got to run around town in ‘Double Double Toil and Trouble’, and go on a solo adventure in ‘To Grandmothers House We Go’.

It seemed like every movie they were in they were getting to go explore somewhere new, and it only made me want to go exploring more!

If it weren’t for M-K & A, there is a good chance I never would have developed such a strong case of wanderlust.

And who knows, maybe Australia wouldn’t have been my first solo country.

Thank goodness for them!