which places did you go barefoot?

After a dreadfully cold June here in Scandinavia, we finally got some of that Southern Europe heat here as well, so I took the opportunity to properly barefoot all weekend long. I stopped by at my local shopping mall, ate a hamburger in a roadside bar & grill, and finally attended an early night showing of the new Terminator film. Barefoot every time, including driving my car in bare feet every time when switching between locations. Nobody paid any attention, nobody harassed me, nobody cared one bit about my bare feet. Quite the opposite, it was I who was checking out other people's feet more trough the corner of my eye to see how many others would share my choice in "footwear". I counted a grand total of 5 other people, 2 adults and 3 minor children, who had also ditched their footwear in favor of more freedom, + plenty of flip flops in sockless feet.

Scandinavia in the summertime would probably be an unadulterated barefoot bliss for you people, because I've yet to witness this phenomenon here where other people would actually try to stop you from entering a location in your bare feet. Even the clerk at the movie theater cash register couldn't be bothered to give a toss, which was the biggest surprise. I was predicting the movie theater to have the highest probability to pay at least some sort of attention to the outwards appearance of their patrons.

My recent years of barefooting are also showing tangible results. I encountered everything from grass and tile floors to tarmac and gravel, and short of the larger pieces of gravel sometimes pressing the bones of my feet nastily, my soles barely registered any sort of discomfort from the textures they came in contact with. It now feels like wearing sandals, without actually wearing sandals. My tarmac and winter time training is paying off big time.

 

I went to a restaurant for dinner in my bare feet for the first time today! No one gave a crap, it was awesome!

 

Great time at the seaside yesterday.

Barefoot all day long in lots of different places - the amusement arcades, the fun fair, around the shops. Walked on so many different types of surfaces, both wet and dry.

Saw loads of other barefoot people, not just near the sea but around the centre of town too.

Went into a restaurant and a couple of fast food outlets without any problems

One thing that made me smile - we were sat on the promenade and a young couple walked up right to the edge of the beach, took their shoes and socks off and walked down towards the sea. A few minutes later they returned, stood on the very first step, carefully cleaned the sand off their feet and put their shoes back on again. It was like they were scared to stand on concrete even for a few seconds without shoes.

 

Over a week of being totally barefoot now, been to various places, walked on lots of different surfaces. It's been great.

Apart from a few strange looks and a couple of comments, I've not had any problems. I would say most people either don't notice or don't care. Been in the local supermarket several times including for a large weekly shop yesterday without any hassle. It's cool walking down town centre streets and seeing the reflection of my bare feet in the shop windows.

While out this morning I saw one of my neighbours walking her dog. We stopped and talked for a couple of minutes ( she's used to seeing me barefoot), and her dog started licking my bare toes, which was kinda nice.

 

I have had the best barefoot adventures the past couple of days! I went with a few friends to float down the channel on tubes for 4 hours and everyone else had to worry about their sandals sinking the whole time, but not me! Afterwards we went to a buffet restaurant. Standing in line at the buffet everyone was noticing my bare dirty feet, but no one really seemed to care. I actually got a few smiles and one thumbs up from a guy.

Today I woke up early and went to the Saturday market barefoot. They close off about 4 blocks on main street and a few on either side for it, so it is really huge. I did some shopping at the stalls, got some amazing tacos from a food truck, went into some stores and even saw a fellow barefooter for the first time! I stopped in a Walmart on the way home too, to see what sort of tubes they had, and no one cared there either.

I had such a great couple of days. My confidence as a barefooter has definitely gone wayyyyy up!

 

I don't think I have worn shoes in at least a week. My boss has finally stopped telling me to go find shoes because it's dangerous. She finally just said "are you SURE you're ok walking around like that?" And I said yes and that was that. So I have been working, shopping and going for dinner barefoot 100% of the time now.

I have started to get kicked out of stores though. Walmart tried kicking me out but I argued with them until they let me pay for my cart full of items. A liquor store also kicked me out, but I was not in the mood to argue that time, and was with someone else who just grabbed me what I wanted.

How do you guys deal with this stuff? The thought of having to bring a bag with me so I can carry flip flops just in case annoys me. Normally I have my wallet/purse that has a little ankle strap and that is it. I kind of feel like I should just shut up and put shoes on sometimes so there isn't any hassle, but I don't want to. I don't even find my sandals comfortable anymore.

 

Through Snow...Snow...And Even More Snow, Just About To Walk Down To The

Front Gate Of My Block To Check The Mailbox Then Off To Town....



Cheers Glen.

 

At the weekend I went to Crewe bit boring I know but I spent the whole day barefoot as the weather was lovely and warm until about 17:00. I had a wonder around the town and went into some of the shops, my favourite being B&Q where the floor was surprisingly warm and when I left my soles where filthy. Then around 2pm I got the train to Stoke on Trent and had a wander around the shops there too although it took about 20 minutes to walk from the station to Hanley.

I was wearing my Bohemia Styled Shirt Dress with Black Leggings, my favourite cardigan and 2 anklets including my favourite one with the bells on.

Nice Warm Street in Crewe


Dirty Soles on the Train (sadly my iPhone died just after taking this)

After wandering around the shops there I started walking back to the station, I noticed what looked like cream on the floor so naturally I had to step in and it was wonderfully sticky, and then a bit later on I found a melon that someone must have dropped and had broken in half so I stood and crushed that too.

Then I got to the station and got the train home.

 

Went shopping in Nottingham today. I've been there barefoot a few times before, but this was the first time on my own.

Spent several hours there, walked quite a few miles, went in lot's of shops. People in big cities really don't seem to give a damn if you're barefoot. While in the Old Market Square a woman from Radio Nottingham approached me with a microphone, I thought she was going to ask me about my bare feet, but she just wanted a soundbite about something else. Still, I can say that I appeared on local radio barefoot, that's a first.

By the end of the day not only were my soles dirty, so were my toes, and my heels were a little sore. Walking back for the bus, the floor in the Victoria Centre felt nice and cool, and the slightly springy tiles in the Bus Station even nicer.

 

Mattygroves, if your heels are getting sore you must be walking heel/toe. Try making a conscious effort to walk toe/heel while barefoot. For some people it comes naturally, but if you are new to barefoot walking & you've spent most of your life walking with shoes on you might feel awkward at first. After a while it'll seem more natural & your heels won't hurt at the end of the day.

 

That's a great look you have going on there with those lovely dirty tootsies, Bohemian Girl. Very nice. Glad you're having fun. (I too can't resist treading in any random muck that's lying about )

 

Mattekat, I really sympathize and feel the same. I don't think there is any answer. Just depends how you feel on the day. Sometimes I do slip on some flip flops just to avoid any hassle, then take them off again asap. I agree it's a pain carrying them around though. (I don't always, then just have to go for it).

 

So today I went to Nottingham and with the weather being quite nice spent most of the day barefoot. I explored the city for about an hour then walked back to the train station and had to run barefoot down the platform to make my train.

Then I stopped off in Derby and had a wander round there too mostly in the Intu Centre although I also popped to Primark. The streets from the train station to the Intu are so smooth and perfect for bare feet.



Then I walked back to the station walking through a patch of loose soil and got the train to Stoke on Trent where I had to transfer before my train home. At stoke I had a half hour wait between trains so had a little wander around near the station. Saw a huge pile of broken glass next to a low wall so sat down and put my feet in it (careful enough not to cut myself)










Then I went back to the station and got the train home.

(Also I walk barefoot on broken glass sometimes, I know how to without getting cut, don't try this at home as they say)

 

What does broken glass feel like? I saw some on the road the other day and wanted to try that, but it looked a bit scary and I'm not sure my feet have reached that level of toughness yet.

 

Today all day in the city and doing the groceries in the supermarket. It keeps feeling wonderful, al those different surfaces with different temperarures. Soft cold marble, or rough gravel, it sometimes can be a bit difficult at first look, but its never a hazard. Who need shoes really?

 

Went and saw Ant-Man with my girlfriend then we went to a Long John SIlvers and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

 

It's weird but cool if theres a big pile of it but only little shards and you have to be careful. I love exploring different textures and think it feels awesome and it makes a crunchy sound but don't tread on individual pieces because unless you have really tough feet they may pierce your skin. Also only tread on big pieces if they are face down.

 

Been barefoot as a matter of necessity for the past couple of days. We're experiencing heavy rainfall here in my region, and there have been places where the ground is just flowing with water. So, not wanting to ruin my better sneakers by having them absorb all that water, I've been wading trough the sometimes ankle deep puddles in my bare feet. And I'm not the only one who thought of this. Yesterday, during my trip to the shopping mall, I saw a pair of teenaged brothers there who were also ploughing trough the rainy conditions without footwear.

 

Worked barefoot (home remodeling) the last three days, walked my dogs barefoot, went to the gas station.

 

Am bf at work all the time now...and that's in a staid office job. I originally tested the water with crocs (vile hateful things, but still shoes), then gradually slipped to flip flops, now am barefoot all the time. People have just gradually got used to it and no longer comment. I don't bother to put anything on when I go out to lunch either. It's amazing that no one actually cares. So if anyone's still hesitating....just do it