Seeking Stillness

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

As the date for new adventures draws near (under two weeks now) my excitement is really starting to percolate which is wonderfully exhilarating but it is also tempered by an underlying nervousness which I assume is natural.  In all of my many years of living life I have never travelled for three months.  It has required some thoughtful consideration.

My brain, which tends to be overactive at the best of times, refuses to be quiet these days and is filled with Spanish conversations and wonderings. Wondering about how I will manage should I miss my connecting flight in London, wondering if my mother who has dementia will still remember me when I return, wondering about how I can manage things so I won’t have to pay so many foreign banking transaction fees and admin costs, wondering if driving in some of the bigger Italian cities is wise , wondering if I will make any lasting new friendships, wondering if I will be ready to come home at the end of June, wondering if I will fulfill my goal of living like a local – not rushing around like a mad fool trying to see all the tourist attractions – my goal of living holistically, of going deep as opposed to wide.

Honestly, it will be a relief to go and quell some of these obsessive thoughts.  I also make to-do lists and can only let go of things once they have been accomplished and permanently crossed off.  My to-do list is very full at the moment and so my brain feels full; it’s exhausting.  My daughter suggests that since things are written down I don’t need to worry about them any more because I can just refer to my list but that’s not how life works for me. Drat!

This is why I like calm organized environments – they help still the static in my head. Intricately patterned things make my brain hurt because they are so busy; it’s like they compete with my already overloaded cranium.  Meditation and running helps, as does sitting on the beach matching my breathing to the ebb and flow of the waves. Spending the final month of my adventure in Sardinia on all those glorious beaches should help me find the inner stillness I crave and I’m  hoping to return more grounded than ever.  You can be the judge!

 

 

 

 

 

Light in My Life

23 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Bits and pieces

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Light. The word alone triggers a powerful internal sensation, a yearning, and my mind instantly flips through those moments when lighting has made me catch my breath – the light in The Louvre in Paris in the section with the sculptures, the light at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in the Egyptian room, the light in the Laduree dining room on the Champ Elysees, the light around “David” in Florence; all examples of soft, filtered, natural light – light that caresses and soothes the soul.  It’s a similar sensation to being wrapped in one of those heated blankets they give you at some spas.  My body lets go of stress in these light-filled environments – my shoulders relax and I stand bathed in an internal moment of profound peace and contentment.

In contrast to these moments are those where the light is brilliant, intense, and invigorating. Morning sunlight streaming through my living room window expands my heart and makes me want to get on with the day, makes me want to get outside and soak up all that energy.  My steps quicken, I feel happy, I could conquer the world.  In these moments the colours are vibrant and so is my life. My heart feels like a solar powered battery that is being recharged. This kind of light makes me want to live life out loud.

Sunlight can also mean warmth and warmth means lighter clothing. No longer bundled under the weight of mitts, scarves, sweaters and winter jackets I feel unencumbered. Breezy light- hearted clothing mirrors the lightness in my heart. This type of clothing requires less thought which clears space in my mind for other things. Sunlight quite miraculously lightens the load of everyday life.

For me, sunlight also equals freedom  – freedom from feeling slightly depressed. Freedom from the feeling of just going through the motions – existing but not fully living. Dark days weigh me down and make me feel heavy inside.  So when summer transitions into fall, and fall into winter, my body mourns the loss of light and my heart crinkles with the leaves at the thought of it. Fall is my most difficult time of year and I want to scream at those celebrating the lovely colours of the leaves and the crispness in the air, that something inside of me is dying a slow mournful death!

Hence I am heading toward the light! Being in Spain and Italy for three whole glorious months should satiate my need for the kind of light that restores and balances my life.

 

Roll On!

14 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

This is actually an extension of my previous post, “Consider The Size”. I am going to share some thoughts on packing light – as in carry on suitcase only.

Firstly, for me, the absolute best thing is coordinating colour so I can mix and match pretty much everything I take. If you are creative this serves you well as you can pull together several different outfits while actually packing very few items of clothing. Basic black cannot be beat for a couple of reasons. It doesn’t show the dirt (read less laundry here) and it goes with every other colour you might wish to match it with. And don’t forget about that black Pashmina that is a blanket on the airplane, a head and shoulder cover when needed in some churches, a shawl to go with that little black dress in the evening, and a beach blanket if desperate – perfect!

Another packing tip is to roll everything – honestly I have done this so many times and it works brilliantly. Rolled things seem to miraculously take up less space. I roll everything separately but I have read that some travellers prefer to roll total outfits – for example the t-shirt, capri pants, and sweater combo gets laid on top of each other and rolled together. Using this method you could reach into your suitcase grab virtually any roll and it would work – no thought required – stress free dressing. It’s like front end loading, which isn’t a bad thing!

I can hear some of you saying, sure, rolling everything might take up less space but what about how it looks – bet it would still need ironing. Ironing? Are you crazy – who the heck wants to iron on holidays! Don’t know about you, but ironing in my house is practically a thing of the past. So, no, most rolled items do not need ironing either; which is rather surprising, but trust me I don’t pack an iron in my carry on and have never regretted it. And yes, I even roll that little black dress that works with sandals for morning-market shopping or with bits of bling for cocktail-sipping terrace hopping.

Of course fabric selection is right up there with rolling. Always try to travel with knit fabrics that stretch and are forgiving wrinklewise as well as wastelinewise for those times when you find you’ve indulged in one too many gelatos and need a few extra inches to accommodate the splurge. I struggle with this because I love 100% cotton which as many of you know, is not a wrinkle free fabric but still I manage and no one has ever barred me from entering because my wrinkles were showing – on my clothes that is!

So consider rolling the next time you travel. If you think I’m crazy, try it with a few items first.  You’ll be a convert in no time.  

Reality Check

07 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in Bits and pieces

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

Oh boy, just when I thought I had conquered aging gracefully I’m flung back into awkwardness by the simple act of purchasing travel medical insurance!

Girl behind the desk, “Are you perhaps over 60?” Even the question sounds formidable. Me, “Oh yes, crossed that bridge awhile back.” Girl behind desk shifts her position and her black blazer before responding, “Well, your age puts you in a different category so costs will be slightly higher. Every year over sixty makes a difference.” She says this almost apologetically.

“Since when is sixty old!”, I want to shout at her. “I have lots of great years left and I don’t wish to be put in any kind of category”. I stifle the impulse to reach across the desk and whisper in her ear, “You’ll be my age one day too sweetcakes – just wait!”

Next question – “Have you any ailments that required you to visit a Dr. in the last 6 months? Are you on any prescription medications?” I sit up straighter and prouder and confidently state that in fact, I take no prescription drugs and haven’t been to the Dr. in the last six months – touche! Now it has become a sport, this banter between us. At the moment we are tied.

So we volley questions and answers back and forth and I am slowly regaining my composure and feeling less diminutive when she lands the big one. “How long are you going for?” “Three months”, I gleefully reply at which point a shadow crosses her face and I brace myself for what might come out of her mouth. I desperately want to casually slip in that it’s most unfortunate she isn’t retired – it’s such a shame she has to travel during high season for short periods of time, but I resist the urge not wishing to mirror her smugness.

It gets worse: “The most reasonable rates are for 30 days and once you go over that the cost increases significantly and 90 days is the maximum coverage you can get under our plan.”  Ok – so now, not only am I being punished for being over sixty but I’m taking a hit for being able to enjoy my retirement and travel for extended periods.  What the hell!  At this point I realize there is no winning – the stakes were set before I even entered the ring!

When she reveals the total amount I am astounded and think to myself, God forbid, excuse me a minute while I go take out a mortgage to pay for this – but since I know better than to shoot the messenger I keep my mouth shut, politely gather my wits along with the information she has given me and gracefully cross the floor to the door. Sometimes facing reality is a lesson in acceptance – I realize there is still work to be done here.

Letting Go

02 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Bits and pieces

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

There is a compelling reason for writing this particular post. It is not about travel, but it is about being challenged to stay true to my belief that material things no longer matter in my life – I am not defined by the things I own. At the moment my integrity is being tested.

I just learned that the person who kindly stores my grand piano, and has done so for the past 13 years, is moving and can no longer love it for me. So here I am face to face with letting go of something material that has brought immeasurable joy into my life. Why does my heart crumple at the thought of selling something I haven’t even played for thirteen years?!

It crumples because it isn’t just the piano – it’s the memory of that expansive ephemeral sound floating in the air after the last note has been played, its the thrill of accomplishment when finally mastering a complicated few bars, it’s the way I would find myself at the piano playing when feeling lost and needing something to hang on to. It’s remembering both my kids perched on the bench learning to play when their feet barely touched the pedals and their hands had no hope of reaching an octave. It’s because my mother’s heart and soul lives in this beautiful instrument that I inherited from her. But most vivid is the soft sweet memory of playing my kids to sleep when they were tiny wee babies with their whole lives stretched out before them.

I have concluded that these memories, which the selling cannot erase, will be enough to sustain me when it’s gone. I have posted my piano for sale. I am comforted by the idea that selling it allows someone else the opportunity to experience the joy of owning a beautiful instrument that will shape their life in untold ways. I hang on to the hope that they will grow to love it as passionately as I do.

 

Hola!

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Feeling pretty proud this morning. I composed a lengthy paragraph about myself in Spanish and it translated accurately when I popped it into Google Translate. On the other hand I often sound like a two year old when trying to speak to someone. This language learning is both fun and frustrating.

Every once in awhile there is a break through which inspires me to continue. Interesting how it happens right around the time I’m so discouraged I’m ready to pack it in, thinking who wants to be a damn polyglot anyway.

Of course, even though I know better, I get caught up conjugating verbs and learning the structure of the language. Ideally I should be focusing on learning to speak it first – the way all human beings learn language the world over. I know this. So why am I sabotaging myself? I can read and write Spanish fairly well but can’t get past hello when speaking to someone.

Some of you will laugh when I say I am shy, but seriously, I am so painfully shy when it comes to speaking Spanish it’s friggin’ ridiculous. My brain freezes, everything I thought I knew goes out the window, my tongue gets tied up in knots, I become embarrassed and flustered and feel foolish – you get the picture. I think its called stress! You’d think at the delightful age of 63 I’d have managed to let go of all that crazy shit. But, oh no, it follows me around like a hungry dog.

In recent efforts to overcome this debilitating mental block I walk around my apartment speaking Spanish to myself. I’m trying to get used to hearing my own voice speak another language – also trying to get some flow happening. I think it’s actually working so maybe tomorrow I will find the courage to pick up the phone and join that Spanish conversation class. The one I should have joined two years ago because now I have exactly two months before landing in Malaga. Deseame suerte!

The Pretty Bits

21 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by in Bits and pieces

≈ Leave a comment

After my initial blog post I received a note from another blogger offering tips and suggestions to make my blog site prettier – adding photos to support the text was one of them. I struggle with this idea and here’s why.

I love printed language; the very idea that symbols arranged in a specific order on a page can take someones breath away, crinkle their heart, make them weep or coil back in horror, illuminates the power of the printed word.  Words do not need to be embellished with a photo to make them more powerful – they can stand alone. They are enough.

While reading, my mind creates its own images to support the text, firing up more brain cells and allowing for creative interpretation as opposed to being given an image, or someone else’s idea of what it would or could look like. Photos rob the brain of its ability to paint its own canvas using the palette of experiences gathered over a lifetime.

Because of this my posts will most likely remain unadorned – simple text upon a white page, put there for you to enjoy. Words and letters arranged in a specific order to capture a moment in time, convey a feeling, or share a story that needs telling. That is the art of writing – powerful in its purity.

Whoa…wait a minute. Rewind. Soon I will be posting travel photos which will most certainly be supported by text. Have I just undone all of the above? Hmm, typical of life – there are no absolutes!

Consider The Source

18 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ Leave a comment

When planning trips I love to do all the research and book everything myself. There’s a sense of accomplishment and something very satisfying about discovering great deals. I delight in finding obscure interesting tidbits about the places I’m visiting and usually find such information on blog posts written by the locals.

One valuable piece of information I have learned is this: When booking plane tickets online, or anywhere for that matter, always use the airline’s official website and not a third party such as Expedia or a travel agency. The reason for this is, should there be problems you can go to the airline counter at the airport and receive immediate help; whereas if you booked through a travel agency or third party the airport airline agents will politely tell you they are sorry, but you need to contact your travel agency, or whomever you booked through, to sort it out. And given the time zones etc. sometimes reaching the travel agency isn’t so easy or convenient. Just something to think about.

Another useful tip I learned while reading travel blogs is to book train tickets and bus tickets in the language of the country you are travelling in/to using a local site. It sometimes works for accommodation as well! You can frequently find awesome deals and save tons of money, not to mention travelling in style and comfort! When travelling in France with my daughter in 2011, I booked our train tickets on the local site from Paris to Avignon and got a smokin’ deal. First Class seats (with extra leg room, close to the food car) were the cost of econony seats on the English site. We saved $90 each – which allowed me to buy a heck of a lot of extra croissants!  Should your foreign language skills be lacking, like mine were, the trick is to have two browser windows open – the English site and the French site – so you know what the French site is requesting – it worked like a dream!

Amazing deals are always extremely limited in number. They are usually available 5 to 3 months in advance of your travel date and sell out very quickly!  It is wise to mark your calendar or set a reminder for yourself to book the very first day they become available or the likelihood of scoring tickets is pretty slim. The tricky bit here, is to keep in mind the time/date differences. For example, I need train tickets from Florence to Salerno on May 26th this year so I will be looking on Iltreno, the Italian website, on January 25th at one in the morning because we are one day behind Italy.  Fingers crossed that I get lucky and end up travelling first class for the 4 hour trip in a super-comfy extra wide seat at a super reduced rate. That would make my day – well that and maybe, just maybe, finding a bottle of chianti stashed in my handbag along with, you know, a piece of salami, some cheese, and oh look, there’s olives as well!

Now all of this sounds like a bit of work and it is, but I love the challenge of finding travel deals better than those advertised. I’m a little geeky that way – some might say a lot geeky – but hey, my wallet loves me and yours will too.

Size Matters

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ 2 Comments

Ha! Thought the title might capture your interest.  I’m sorry to disappoint but it refers to my suitcase.  When I tell friends and family I’m travelling for three months with carry-on luggage they look at me like I might have taken leave of my senses. I reassure them I know what I’m doing, smile politely, and try not to become ruffled by their response.

“Why only carry-on?”, you might ask as well. The thing is, I have a total of seven flights over the three months, possibly more, and the thought of potentially losing my suitcase that many times almost makes me want to stay home!  Imagine being on the beach in Sardinia without my favourite swimsuit – the one that took me absolutely freaking forever to find because not any old swimsuit fits all my body bits anymore, or desperately trying to read toothpaste labels in Spanish or Italian to find one designated for hyper-sensitive teeth, or having to spend your first day in an incredibly amazing place racing around replacing things -just not my idea of fun. So I will travel with carry-on and suffer any consequences such as not being able to bring back one of those colourful Spanish pottery sinks like a friend of mine mentioned her friend brought back with her – in one of her suitcases no less.  Imagine!

Another reason for just carry-on is that I have reached a point in my life where “things” don’t matter like they used to.  I’m collecting “experiences” now and they can all fit in my brain no problem – leaving room in my suitcase for the essentials.  Now, this does present a slight problem because at times my memory is sh*t and those of you who know me well, know I struggle with this; but it is what it is, and I will always have my travel writing  to fill in the brain blips. Undoubtedly I will find a few things I’d like to buy, but having the constraints of carry-on will check those impulses and keep me “experience” focused. See, there are methods to my madness.

Who knows, I may throw all this yabbering out the window and arrive back on the tarmac in Vancouver with super-sized suitcases full of all sorts of wildly assorted things – but I doubt it. So to those of you hoping for souvenirs of my trip – this is your heads-up!

My Brain’s OS

12 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Pretravel plans

≈ Leave a comment

Maybe it’s good it’s taken me two years to save up for my travel adventure. My brain’s operating system doesn’t work like it used so having the past two years to research and delve a little deeper into things has afforded me the luxury of making mistakes – because mistakes will be made – life is just like that. Initally I was certain I was going to Sicily (you know, to hang out with the Mafia and slurp tomato sauce through a straw) but glimpses of my previous trip to Florence kept flashing in my brain like subliminal messages and once I paid attention to them things got sorted out.  What was I thinking!

The other gift time gave me was the opportunity to begin learning a new language – and since Spanish is spoken almost as much as English the world over, it made sense to me to learn Español. I know, you’re thinking why would she learn Spanish if she’s going to live in Italy?  Well, I’ve recently discovered that Spanish is very similar to Italian muchas gracias, grazie millie! And learning a new language has fired up some of those brain cells that I thought were long dead, no longer capable of performing an intricat synapsis. Since Spanish was my new language of choice then it just followed suit that Spain would appear on my travel roster. In fact, Spain is where I’m going to start – it knocked Italy right off the first place post.

And Sardinia? Well that was just listening to my heart instead of my brain; the beaches were beckoning and my soul responded.  Simple as that. Although, there is a piece of brain programming responsible for my strong affinity with the sea – that physical and emotional draw back to the water wouldn’t be so powerful without my brain’s remembering previous experiences.

So you see, my brain’s operating system seems to shortcircuit at times. It seems haywire, but eventually it does come full circle.  The circuit completes itself – just in a very meandering way! Aren’t brains beautiful!