Wandering from city to city – sometimes in my dreams – not unlike my own travels when I was younger.
I changed locations more easily then. There was no baggage except for the most literal. I was responsible for myself, I owned little, and I could pick up and go – on one bag – easily.
Well, after a little artful packing of course.
Even in the thirties I did my share of exploring new places, though more typically on business trips. (Hello? World? Business trips are not glamorous! They become a blur of airports and conference rooms and rental car counters… Jet lag and meeting prep, and hoping to get home for clean laundry.)
My more recent travels, generally to France, have slowed considerably in frequency. (Real life. Alas.) But the excitement of seeing my sons discover the world?
Absolutely delightful. Especially when it’s part of a university program or for an internship. (I don’t have to foot the bill.)
As for me?
One of the countries I’ve yet to explore is Canada, beyond a few business trips. Are you shocked? I am, when I consider how close I lived for many years (drivable), yet I tended to head south to anywhere warm and by the ocean.
But a discussion of poutine recently (a very specific “delicacy” in Quebec) sparked the idea of returning soon – if possible!
Travel for Adventure or R & R?
I may no longer wish to do some of the more adventurous journeys I sought once upon a time; I find that room service at a seaside resort or endless hours in a bustling European city hold far more appeal. And then of course, the time and inspiration to write.
So much of the world remains to be discovered. Better yet, to me, spending a month or two in a new place would suite perfectly – able to unwind, and to soak in the experience more fully.
Are you feeling “the itch” to get on a plane and go? Are there specific countries you dream of visiting? Have you reached a stage at which the best “vacation” would be to stay home and do nothing? To go away – and do nothing?
Travel Tales Redux
As long as we’re imagining, can we teleport? Breakfast in San Francisco, lunch in Kyoto, dinner in Paris, and sleep in my own bed sound fine to me.
Teleporting is absolutely allowed! (No jetlag.) Love the idea of sleeping in our own beds at night… Good one, Wolf!
Am getting a little excited as we have a trip to London via Singapore – then on to Amalfi Coast, Tuscany and Venice.
Travelling anywhere from Western Australia is a marathon – it’s almost 24 hours to London – so we try to fit in as much as possible but we don’t have a lot of time. I was just saying to my husband today that I have a dream to travel to a new country and stay for a few months, writing and painting and soaking in the culture. I find sometimes being in your own surroundings, even when you love your home, can make you lose yourself a little – being defined by work, family etc.
I would love to go to Canada – one of my dearest friends is in Quebec and we were just talking about meeting (have been friends on Facebook for a few years).
Hope you had a nice Christmas – I am happy it’s all done … so much ahead to look forward to.
Best wishes x
That sounds exciting, Vicki Lee. (A 24-hour trip? You need Wolf’s teleporter.)
I hope you thoroughly enjoy that trip – such nourishment for the soul, not to mention the artistic spirit.
(Like you, I’m glad Christmas is over. Now we can relax… and eat leftovers.)
May I say how strongly this post resonated with me? I spent many years in a profession that required my family and I to move a lot, and my inherited gene of wanderlust developed into an incurable condition. I’m now in my fifties, gratefully divorced, reasonably financially secure and the last of my children to leave home will be graduating from college in May. My dream is to sell this now-too-large home in a rural area, find a smaller base of operations within reasonable reach of my kids and urban civilization, and travel – spending 3-6 months in the places on my “bucket list”, then returning to base.
Though never in my life have I shied away from new places, jobs or people (and in fact always eagerly anticipated doing so), I, too, traveled more easily when I was younger. Far more easily! And so, lately, I have been doubting my dream; not the feasibility of it so much as the wisdom. This post, with its reminder that “So much of the world remains to be discovered”, has restored my confidence in the rightness of my dream and my determination to do as much as I can to realize it.
Thanks!
So happy you stopped by, blue Eyed Gypsy!
It is indeed a little different traveling when we’re no longer “kids.” But experience of it is so extraordinary, isn’t it?
Wishing you wonderful adventures in the year to come.
Planning a trip to NYC – never been there before. Not exactly R and R but will have to incorporate some routine down time in order to survive the masses. Quebec will have to be the following year.
Life is about experiences, relationships and pursuing happiness. Travel allows us to address all of these aspects. It is different when you read about a place in a book or the internet, see it on TV, visit it for business, visit on vacation, visit on an extended vacation or live there. The more time and focus you can devote the more you gain from the experience and really get a “feel” for a place and the people.
I have found that every place has something to offer, while some places more than others. Of course it is all a matter of perspective and one’s interests, desires and desires at that point in one’s life. Does one seek natural beauty, a challenge, a rest, intellectual stimulation, artistic stimulation, etc.
Big Little Wolf, Canada is a very safe, similar culture where there is great natural beauty and different cultures. Quebec City will remind you of Europe in some ways and America in others. Montreal is more sophisticated and more of a City with various cultures. Gibby’s restaurant in a former horse stable in old Montreal is quaint, romantic and the food is good. While Quebec is known for Poutine and Pea Soup, Moose Tourtiere is quite a treat if you get a chance. Toronto is quite large, offers everything and according to Peter Ustinov is “New York run by the Swiss.” The people of the maritime provinces are delightful, warm, caring and open. In Newfoundland there are more pubs that there are people! Kidding. In northwest Ontario (eg Lake of the Woods) and Manitoba there are thousands of accessible lakes that are quite beautiful. I spent three weeks in a cottage on the beach this summer with my two girls and only 20 other cottages with 40 miles. It was both beautiful and relaxing. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have a place in Lake of the Woods. I also understand that Blythe Danner and her daughter Gyneth Paltrow have made a habit a getting a cottage not far from where I was this summer. Oddly enough it is not that expensive. Alberta and British Columbia have the mountains, skiing, wildlife and hiking. Banff also has a 4 star Michelin restaurant. Vancouver allows you to sail and ski in the same day, has a large Asian population, nightlife and great beauty. I could go on but there is a lot to do and see.
The Plains of Abraham battle site (where the English defeated the French), in Quebec, is interesting when there is a re enactment. I found it ironic that the French general (Montcalm) and the English general (Wolfe oddly enough) were both killed in battle and both their seconds, who were Scottish, signed the treaty.
Finally Vicki, that sounds like a great trip. You can have some refreshments at Raffles, shop the people`s market and enjoy the history of Singapore. Do the flights from Singapore to London still stop in Dubai or Mumbai. If you have not been to Tuscany before Florence and Sienna are a must. Florence’s Uffizi gallery is a must (and if in low season and you are interested you can see an otherwise off-limits wing you can see the Contini Bonacossi Renaissance collection). If you have kids / boys you can tell them that the only reason the Ponte Vecchio survived WWII is that was the only bridge the Germans did not blow up because they needed a bridge to retreat on and you cannot fit a Sherman tank over it.
I am planning a ski trip to the Rockies. It is a religious experience for me to ski in the mountains. I will have to stay away from the moguls or it could be a very religious experience.
You are so right about business trips. They are exhausting and time consuming. I left work in large part because I could see I’d be travelling the length of England on a train most weeks; Brits haven’t got their heads around video conferencing. I had long been sick of journeys into London, as much as I love the place. Bill loves travel, having never been able to afford it when his kids were young; also his first wife refused to fly — until now, strangely. Anyhow, we’ve been to Africa, India, the US, most of western Europe. I still want to see St Petersburg and Moscow and as we have Russian friends it shouldn’t be that hard, we just haven’t planned that trip yet. We’re taking the motorhome to Fontainebleau next spring. I’m imagining lots of day trips into Paris! Bill wants to see the Harry Potter museum outside London… Travel is our top priority these days, and we make loads of economies in other areas in order to fund it.