A Whirlwind 48 Hours (That You Can Repeat, Too)

Bonjour from a high-speed TGV train currently taking me from Paris to Lyon.

After spending two days in Normandy at the inaugural France – U.S. media forum, I'm now heading to France's third-largest city to report on a story.

In the last 48 hours, I:

✅ stood at the very pond where Claude Monet painted his famous water lilies 

✅ ate at the oldest restaurant in France right next to the exact spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake

✅ walked the halls of the castle where William the Conqueror was born

✅ descended to one of five D-Day landing beaches in the breathtakingly beautiful village of Arromanches

✅ networked with colleagues from France and the U.S. over excellent Norman cider

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that this is my work; I never take it for granted.

Travel media is not an easy career. This reel is going viral right now because it aptly describes the industry's current state.

Here's the reality:

Working as a travel journalist, photographer, or writer (I do all of the above) in 2026 is not going to be anyone's sole income. Run from the people who promise you it is possible.

Instead, working in travel media is an additional income stream that anyone can develop.

Despite the falling rates and the across-the-board AI adoption that's eating up publication budgets, here’s the thing that keeps me (and many of my colleagues) in this career:

Working in this field allows us to see the world in the way that most people I know don’t really have access to.

At our upcoming workshop in Athens, we’ll talk about this during the session called "Developing an income stream with your travel writing."

Much of the three days we'll spend together will be dedicated to the craft of writing.

In this time, our attendees will learn the anatomy of travel features, master personal essays, and practice writing consistently on the streets of this ancient city.

But we'll also dedicate time to the business of writing.

I'll share going rates, negotiating tactics, and ways to keep getting work to help you have similar whirlwind, unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences like the one I just had in France, on a regular Tuesday.

Travel writing is a way to see the world even when, and especially when, you don't have the means to do it on your own.

That's the hack that many of my peers and I have figured out. That's why we're still here.

Interested in learning how to do it, too? Join me in Athens.

➡️ Tuition & securing your seat: Tuition is set at an inaugural rate of $1,200, and you can lock in your spot today with a $400 deposit.

(I'll run this workshop again next year, but at a higher rate.)

Registration closes in two weeks, on Friday, October 9.

👉 Click here to grab your seat in Athens with a deposit

This workshop is open to all levels: from writers just dipping their toes into the craft to seasoned practitioners looking to reignite their creative imagination.

If you have any questions, just hit reply to this email. I’d love to help you decide if this is the right next step for you.

See you in Greece,

xx Yulia

P.S. This Sunday at 2 pm EST, I'll be joining my friend (and our podcast guest) Sibu Szymanowska to talk about this very topic: getting started in travel writing to develop an additional income stream. It's free to join, but RSVP is required.