I would love to consider myself an authority when it comes to dressing for travel, however there is still one frontier I have not conquered in the travel-wardrobe realm. By the way, that is totally a place. Travel-Wardrobe Realm. The shopping is phenomenal. The hiccup in my total frontier domination is in finding the ultimate travel shoe.

Shoes for schlepping, shoes for traipsing, shoes for shuffling along a picturesque esplanade. When you're traveling, chances are high that you will be doing a good deal of walking. Walking is one of the best ways to navigate and explore a city, town, village, or neighborhood. I have yet to find the Holy Grail of Travel Footwear, but I'm trying. One pair at a time.

The Manolos, Louboutins, and Givenchys? Notsomuch for the traveling. Or at least, notsomuch for the walking around. The following are known for comfort, and have shown some success with aesthetics, but the elusive perfect combination of the two has yet to be found.

Sofft - these are the closest I have come to ultimate travel shoe, in the form of flats. Patent leather gunmetal flats, which are not only completely comfortable, but are also surprisingly chic-looking. When people compliment me on these shoes, and I tell them they're Soffts, the nice people are always surprised.

Cole Haan w/Nike Air - I haven't purchased any of these for myself, as of yet. I continue to try them on, and clomp around in them, pretending I'm walking on cobblestone streets in some far-off part of Europe. They are not uncomfortable, but I also wouldn't be able to spend an entire 8 hours walking in them. I think my expectations might be a bit high. But that is what happens when you slap "Nike Air" on a pair of shoes. You expect extreme comfort. And unparalleled athletic ability.

Aerosoles - I used to have a pair of these, but then my level of shoe-snobbery hit an all-time high and I won't wear them anymore. This is probably just barefaced foolishness on my part, as they have a number of cute styles, with very flexible soles. I managed to find this surprising pair of Aerosoles boots:

Dansko - These are worn by medical professionals, and those in the culinary field, who have to be on their feet all day, which is a ringing endorsement if ever there was one. I can't get past how clompy and unattractive they are. I still have a pair. I just wish they weren't so clompy.

Born - These are very similar to Soffts, both in comfort and the fact that they use Scandinavian characters (like the umlaut and slash O). My unofficial opinion is if the brand has Scandinavian alphabet characters in it's name, the shoes will undoubtedly be very comfortable. And not entirely unattractive! These sandals look pretty good for "sensible" shoes!

Tsubo - these are fairly close to Danskos in style, but somehow less clompy, and I've actually seen an adorable pair of slingback pumps that the wearer swears she can walk around in all day.

Donald J Pliner - These are my fashionable concession to comfort footwear. Pliner's shoes are stylish, although not outrageously so, and comfortable-ish. They will not feel like little pillows for your feet, the way Borns or Soffts will, but they do look good. Although I don't recommend anything with a kitten heel when you're in Europe. My DJPs were microfiber pumps with a slight kitten heel. En route to Prague castle the kitten heel would catch, repeatedly, in between the cobblestones, and one time I walked right out of the shoe, which stayed put - kitten heel firmly wedged between the stones.

I really missed my Danskos that day.