to move up and down
biting the bullet
chasing winter, catching planes, snagging beds, and sneaking glimpses of the world in 2010.
Typeverything.com
‘Life is Either a Daring Adventure or Nothing’ print by LLKoOLReL.
Sure is nice to be a traveller again.
Washington - “80 Miles”
Why did you say that to me?
Eighty miles out on the sea
When I am built
With parts of you
And you
Are built
With parts
Of me
Two things: 1) I love it when Megan is in this mode, just her lovely lovely voice and one instrument; and 2) I am reminded of London every time I hear this song, so much sometimes that I think I can conjure up my smell memory of sitting on London buses, and walking to work through W2 to W1, and wandering quietly around the perimeter of hidden, private gardens.
I’ve sadly neglected my travel blog, primarily for the fact that I haven’t had time to do much writing for pleasure. I would write in my journal at least once a day during my trip last year, but often I would scribble a thought or quote or idea at multiple points throughout the course of a day. For 2011, I have about 10-15 entries in my diary.
I feel a bit sad about that fact. So I’m not going to be too hard on myself, or edit myself excessively in the interests of just writing.
Tomorrow, I’m off on a “business trip” of sorts - I’m flying interstate for some meetings and other business related to my PhD and will be staying two nights in Canberra. This will be my second trip to Canberra in six months (with quite a few more to come in the next 2.5 years), and my third and fourth flights since arriving back home from RTW2010.
Though I learned to hate flying (thanks TSA) and love train travel (thanks Deutsche Bahn), I will admit to feeling that familiar sense of excitement for another journey, no matter the vessel. The magically mundane tasks of checking carry-on baggage restrictions, writing up packing lists, actually packing my bags…those tasks had become so routine after ten months, and I was happy to let go of them after returning home in October 2010. Then again, I’ve dotted the months following with near-monthly roadtrips, so maybe the routine was never abandoned in the first place… Whatever the case, I’m glad to be off again. Perhaps I’m not a “traveller” this week, but I know I’ll get my chance to explore again, and sooner rather than later.
May 2010: 3.51AM (London, England).
One night flashes before my eyes every time I see this photo. The tube. Brick Lane. A Belgian, an American, a Mexican, a Frenchman, an Australian. The night bus. The late night/early morning chill. The sunrise. A grubby window. A beautiful view.
October 2010: Cinque Terre, Italy.
October 2010: Love Locks (Cinque Terre, Italy).
October 2010: Looking back on Vernazza (Cinque Terre, Italy).
October 2010: Riomaggiore, Italy.
October 2010: Seaside Silhouettes (Cinque Terre, Italy).
Josh Pyke - “Under the Milky Way” (The Church cover)
“Sometimes this place gets kind of empty
Sound of their breath fades with the light
I think about the loveless fascination
Under the milky way tonight…”
This song transports me in time and space. It is camping in the desolate outback, lying under a black sky full of the brightest stars. It is the beach on a sweltering night. It is preferring the lyrics of “We Are Australian” over the national anthem (because WTH is “girt by sea”?!). It is being home somehow, inside a melody I feel like I’ve always known.
Travel takes on all kinds of significance for different people. Many people I spoke to before, during, and after my trip told or asked me about being “bitten by the travel bug”. To a certain extent, there’s truth in the cliche; travelling to new and interesting places whets the appetite for more travel. Months before the end of my trip, I had already begun to research and plan future trips that might take years to eventuate, if at all. Admittedly, as my homecoming approached, I felt excited and relieved to know I was going to be in one place for an extended period of time. After all the newness and stimulation of an extended trip away, it sure was nice to settle back into life in Melbourne.
At some stage during my travels, I realised that I wanted to keep this blog up and running after arriving home, after telling all the stories I could remember and wanted to share. And there are still many stories to retell, and many many photos…I still have to work through the photos taken during the last month of my trip! So I guess I’m just putting this here to say I haven’t forgotten about the blog, and that there is more to come… :)
lately i find myself missing those things particularly unique to places i visited last year. i had insatiable cravings for tex mex, have been dreaming of french farm villages and castles along the rhein, and just now felt a distinct longing for a greased up breakfast at a traditional american diner.
they just don’t make ‘em like that here.
