... to Think About Travel

Travel Inspires the Mind

Several years ago I compiled a book of travel quotations for Reed Publishing called 'Wish You Were Here'. It was a joyful task - reading widely to find comments that famous people had made about travelling. Some of the things they said made me laugh out loud; some made me roll my eyes in disbelief; some made me think, Oh, that's just what happened to me.'
  I've chosen a selection of my favourites to share with you. I hope you like them.

• When you go on a vacation to forget everything, you generally find when you open your bag at the hotel, you have. (Anon)
• Thanks to the big jets you can have your breakfast in London, lunch in New York, dinner in Los Angeles - and all of this while your luggage is on its way to Buenos Aires. (Derek Nimmo)
• Only fools want to travel all the time; sensible men want to arrive. (Prince Metternich)
• 'Sip and buzz on by,' as the flower said to the honeybee, which is not bad advice for the traveller either.' (Ivor Herbert)
• There's nothing wrong with guided tours if you regard them as a good way to get around and don't pay any attention to what the guide is saying. (Robert Allen)
• The summer tourist soon finds that the cheaper rooms in the beach hotel overlook the ocean - completely. (Herbert Prochnow)
• Standing among savage scenery, the hotel offers stupendous revelations. There is a French widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects. (Gerard Hoffnung, quoting a Tyrolean landlord)

I'll finish with some good travel advice from a camping ground proprietor in Switzerland: 
   Do not depose your litter. To abuse the showers is punishable. Between 23.00 -06.00 hours everyone should keep calme.
   I guess that means you can go hysterical the rest of the time! 

... to Have Fun With 'Giggle' Translate!

I have spent many happy hours lately planning our trip to Europe. And part of the fun has been reading the translations into English of websites in other languages. In fact I have renamed 'Google Translate' as 'Giggle Translate'.
  The flowery English hypes up the hotels and locations into flights of fantasy. Sometimes the translations are completely impenetrable; sometimes they are laugh-out-loud hilarious. Here are some examples to bring a smile to your day. See if you can guess what they're about!

1. 'The innumerable traditional settlements outspread all over the impeccable natural scenery in combination with the unique mentality of the hospitable inhabitants compose the unparalleled amalgam of excellence.' 
2.  'Watch your next 3 ride options to a selected compound will always find on my path.'
3.  'The area has limited traffic, you can still get under the Hotel to download the pack, then it will be our care to send fighters to the plate for the transition took place.'  
4. 'To tinker the canopy for the bedtime story is the purest breeze.'
5. '... to feel smitten by the exquisiteness of this metropolis.'

 And the answers are....

1. A region in Crete
2. Booking a ticket on German rail
3. Arranging valet parking at an Italian hotel
4. In the catalogue for the children's section of a German department store
5. A town in Italy

I  love it!

... to Learn Something New

At the End of the Day

 'Make every day a school day,' says my friend Sue. 

  And she's right. In this wide, wonderful world there are so many fascinating people, plants, and animals; words, ideas, and plans; structures, inventions and technologies; books, movies, art and music to discover. So much to keep you excited about learning!
 At the end of each day I like to spend a few minutes reflecting on what has happened over the intervening hours and what new things I have learnt. 
 And today, while reading a gardening book, I came across a word, a lovely word, I hadn't heard of before.  Miz-maze.
 A miz-maze is a labyrinth made out of turf. Or a state of confusion! Which led me to look on websites about labyrinths and Iron Age forts and the difference between a maze and a labyrinth (labyrinths have a continuous path and no dead ends) and Druids and centuries old school traditions in Winchester and ... in fact I was in a virtual Google miz-maze.
 You can tell I love research, can't you? What new thing did you learn today?

... to Think How You Live Your Life

A Greek Sculpture from Chania, Crete

This week I have been reminded of a passage from the novel 'Zorba the Greek' by Nikos Kazantzakis.
  Zorba visits a little village and comes across an elderly man planting an almond tree. He wonders aloud why the man is bothering to do that when he is so old.
  The man turns to him and says, "My son, I carry on as if I should never die."
  And Zorba replies, "And I carry on as if I was going to die any minute."
   Which one of them was right?
   How do you live your life?

... to be Grateful

Published by Conari Press

I've been reading this book Attitudes of Gratitude  by M. J. Ryan and it has made me more mindful of my responses and reactions to people and events in my life. It's certainly helped with thinking about the good things, focussing on what's right and how giving a 'thank you' and a smile can brighten someone's day, including my own.

  Today I'd been at the supermarket at an extremely busy time. People were blocking the aisles with their trolleys; others were standing talking holding up the flow of traffic; a couple of the items I specially wanted were out of stock. By the time I was halfway round the store I was in a bad mood, tired, grumpy and just wanting to get out of there. 

 Then when I got near the checkouts I found I was third in the queue so had to wait quite a time to get my groceries processed and packed. There was a lot of impatient eye-rolling and finger tapping going on, I can tell you! 

  I eventually sat down a few minutes ago with a cup of coffee to read this book and lo and behold! the author was talking about being stuck in a queue, and so on. 

  'She's writing about me!' I thought. 'That's exactly what it was like today for me!' 

  I had to laugh.

  But the author didn't get grumpy & stressed with having to wait as I did. She thought about the experience as being grateful for the chance to slow down from all the rushing around she'd been doing. I'll have to try it!

  So next time you see a woman with a huge smile on her face as she pushes her trolley through a crowded supermarket and then waits a long time in a line - it might be me!

  

... For Yourself

A Quiet Corner of the Garden

Life has been a bit hectic lately and I've been feeling as if I needed to stop and take some time out. So today I sat here, under the magnolia tree and read for a while. It was peaceful and so still that the sparrows came and fed from the bird feeder hanging on the other side of the tree, without minding my being so close to them. Half an hour of solitude, a good book and observing nature was just what I needed to recharge and start again.
   I hope you could find some peace in your day and some time to yourself.

... to Read Something Heartwarming

Kylie Meets Rosie

I have a soft spot for donkeys. Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted one and that dream came true 18 years ago when we moved to a lifestyle block north of Auckland. Rosie was six months old when I bought her. She was fearless, feisty and funny, and best mates with our dog. The photo is of my daughter Kylie meeting Rosie for the first time.
   So it warmed my heart today to read an article in the Country Living magazine from December 2011. It was about donkeys in the village of Chalford in England.
   This historic village of stone houses, dry stone walls and narrow alleyways is built on a steep hill. The older residents were finding it difficult to get to the local shop. So in 2009, the community restarted an old Chalford tradition - using donkeys to deliver goods.
   Now villagers can phone their shopping list to the local store. Their grocery orders are loaded into the pannier baskets of the donkeys Teddy and Chester, who plod up the hills and along the alleys to deliver the provisions right to the people's front doors.
   How much nicer that must be than the way I shop, fighting the crowds at supermarket!