According to Mr. Yorick, there can only be three reasons for travelling: 
 'Infirmity of body, 
 Imbecility of mind, or 
 Inevitable necessity.' 
 Therefore, he considers his own situation to be, evidently, the last; and embraces the self-given title of 'sentimental traveller'. He's not at fault at finding such a designation, as the journal of his travels is not a conventional one. Even though Yorick embarks on a journey to France and Italy, the reader barely learns of these, mostly because the author never reaches Italy during the text. The journey record is nothing but the summary of the relations Yorick makes, especially with women. 
 Addressing the popularity of travel books in the form of a parody, this book also lays the foundations to sentimentalism. 
 Thing is: Yorick loves women. All the other reviews of this book here on Goodreads keep account of some of the hilarious scenes this book contains on which Yorick makes contact with the opposite sex. But more than women, something Yorick cannot resist is a good sad story. 
 When Yorick departs to France, he doesn't even remember they are at war with Britain (small detail), and so he forgets to get a passport. When confronted with this fact and threatened to go to the Bastille, he dreamily pictures how poetic his circumstances would be as a captive man. At least until he finds a trapped starling and is pleasurably moved to tears by its fate. 
 This is not even the first or the last time Yorick bursts out crying of excess of sentiments through the narrative. 
 'A Sentimental Journey' is certainly not on its path to become one of my favourite books ever. Not even close. But if what you're looking for is a hilarious piece of literature to entertain you for an afternoon, this is the perfect book for you. 
 The excess of feeling, the ridiculously exacerbate language, the sexual innuendos: all of these are priceless. There can be no question Sterne had a tremendous sense of humour (eventually I will be reading 'Tristram Shandy' as well, definitely). 
 So, I leave you with this piece of advice: whenever you see someone being overly-sentimental, don't tell them they're acting like a teenage girl. Tell them they are acting like a Yorick.