Travel Tales and Wander "Lust": March 2008

Travel Books I Need to Read

When you can't go anywhere, armchair travel is the next best thing.

Unfortunately, I don't really seem to have time for books...in fact, I have many travel books on my shelf, just dying to be read - or at least have me FINISH reading them.

Half-finished books on my shelf:

-Around the World in 80 Dates by Jennifer Cox

"Traveling solo is brilliant," says Jennifer Cox, a seasoned travel writer and head of PR for Lonely Planet before she set out on her extraordinary journey to find Mr. Right--a quest she recounts in the delightfully witty and insightful Around the World in 80 Dates.

-The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux

Famous travel journalist decides to walk around Britain...yeah...walk.

-French Lessons by Peter Mayle

Adventures with knife, fork and corkscrew as the superb Mr. Mayle leads us on a culinary tour of France.

-Spanish Lessons by Derek Lambert

American couple decides to buy a house in a small, coastal Spanish village. Misunderstandings, and the like, ensue.

Never-opened books on my shelf:

-Mr. Dimock Explores the Mysteries of the Far East by Edward Dimock

-Anything Considered by Peter Mayle

-L'Affaire by Diane Johnson

-The Olive Season by Carol Drinkwater

-Best American Travel Writing 2005 by some publishing house

-The Paris Review Book (by the Paris Review?)

-Wanderlust by Salon.com

I'm telling myself I have to read all of these books this year - or at least until I buy another travel book. But have you stepped into a bookstore lately? Holy crap, talk about being spoilt for choice.

So, imagining that at some point I will be done all these books (or they magically disappear) does anyone have any favourite travel finds that you'd like to share?

Itchy Feet Returns!

For the last wee while, I started to think that maybe the wanderlusting, travel-fancy, adventure solo-trekking, itchy feat extraordinaire was no longer. After coming back from Italy (which, I WILL be posting about more, I just haven't had access to my photos until now), I started to think if perhaps that part of me was gone. I was dischenchanted with travel and wanted to stay put.

I could chalk it up to not having the best time in Rome, but that was merely due to the fact that I had just been fired, and well, it ruined my whole trip. Plus, Rome was just a disappointing city to me (though I know many find it lovely, I didn't - but more on that another time).

I could also chalk it up to feeling the pressures of life and needing to establish a real career and also having a wonderful boyfriend of whom's side I could not bear leaving.

But that's all changed. Suddenly, I am travel hungry all over again!

I had coffee with two college chums this morning who are embarking on a 6-month odyssey from Japan to China to Thailand to Vietnam to India to South Africa to Botswana to Zimbabwe to Tanzania to Eastern Europe and finally to Norway where they will live for a year (she's Norwegian, he's got a work visa for there).

And all I could think was...I WANNA DO THAT!

It would be the perfect time too...

Sadly, I am so much in debt that I wanna pay at least half of it off before I attempt to go anymore. Plus, if any career opportunities come after school, I want to be able to grab them by the horns.

But I can still dream.

So, I have made a tentitive plan to travel to Buenos Airies, Santiago and Montevideo in November for two weeks. Most likely on my own (more exciting that way!) but my mom might come too.

Of course this is dependant on whether I can get time off of whatever work I am doing and if I have paid enough of my debt out, but it's still LOVELY to have something to look forward to, just over the horizon :)