Travel Life
Rituals & heartbeats of a [travel] life
Hi Friends,
How are you this week? Here we are in February and I feel like it’s going to go by in a blink of an eye. It’s so short that we will be at the middle next week. Crazy.
I had an epic weekend here in Melbs (I find myself adapting to the shorty nicknames that I hear locals delightfully using all around me) and I am energized on so many levels.
Back in December, when I knew that I would call this city home for several months, I started researching in-person writing classes or workshops. I have a project that has been percolating for several years and I intend to give it serious focus in 2024 (or give it up). I was delighted to find what sounded like an excellent course/workshop, over several months, fitting into my timeline in Melbourne and had a good mix of in-person sessions (6 hours each) and on-line (2 hours each). Well, my course started this past weekend, as part of Writers Victoria at the Wheeler Center in the CBD [Central Business District], and wow - it exceeded my expectations, which were hopeful and high.
My writing group is enthusiastic and engaged and our teacher - who is a successful author herself - has a compelling and interactive gameplay for our time together.
I forgot how infectious and energizing in-person sessions can be. Whether classes or seminars or meetups there is just an electricity to the in-person experience. During 2020-2022 I took many opportunities to do excellent online learning but I will admit it’s not the same.
The class was excellent in content and practice, I am writing differently already and the bonus was meeting some fantastic people. We are making plans to get together outside of class and I am so looking forward to those dates as well as our future writing sessions.
As we spent the day together and got to chatting during breaks, several of my classmates asked about my travel life and one of the questions was what’s your typical day like so I thought answering this would make a good post.
Travel life is LIFE for me. And while it can seem like it’s all Select spritz, cafes, and exploring, there is work, health needs, connections, and the rituals that make up daily life.
Typical Days
I’m an early-ish riser normally. My grandfather (my favorite person to spend time with growing up) always said we shared the love of early morning quiet and getting a good long walk in every day. I wake between 6:30-7:30 depending on the time of year and for the last year plus, have a serious commitment to a Qi Gong practice. I’m getting older (aren’t we all?) my body can be creaky and travel can contribute to that feeling: sleeping on different beds, sitting in chairs that might not be ergonomically correct, lugging bags.
Qi Gong has been life-changing. I am transformed by the end of my 20-minute practice: energized and pain-free. Depending on the day, I might follow my Qi Gong routine with weight training and/or mobility workouts for 20 minutes. All important to a productive day.
Lots of water and breakfast follow and then I usually head out for a walk. This is the routine if I don’t have an early morning client zoom. If I have a 7 or 8 am zoom I will do Qi Gong and have breakfast before the call.
My walks energize me for my day and are crucial for my well-being. No matter what I will walk an hour a day, at least. Depending on where I am, the walk can be a very brisk urban exercise or by a river or through stunning parks and green spaces. I have a little bit of all three currently available to me in Melbourne. When I’m in Florence, I walk through my neighborhood and do a loop around the Arno, maybe darting into the Piazza della Signoria to visit my favorites. In Edinburgh, there is also the delightful mix of cobblestone streets in the city, a walk along the burn (river), and green spaces that might include some ancient cemeteries. Walking exposes me to things I might not find otherwise and inspires me in my writing - I often take voice notes while I am out on a walk as ideas or scenes and dialogue come upon me.
Coffee is an important ritual for me and is a big part of the morning walk. Here in Melbourne the coffee hype is real and the baristas are so incredible: super friendly, happy, and excellent at their jobs. My coffees feel infused with that joyful energy. I love it.
After a walk and coffee, I tuck in to get work done. I have several projects and clients with different needs that include writing; planning; developing and strategy different parts of their business. This year I am working on developing a new business that is travel/experience-focused and I am very excited about it. More on that soon.
I always have a good dedicated workspace in my apartments and houses, whether I make them or they come with an office. But having a “workspace” is important to my routine. I don’t ever work in cafes or coffee shops (or poolside like so many instagrammers post lol) - I’m too distracted with people-watching or chatting up some interesting person.
Being in Melbourne has been interesting in the timing of my zooms/calls. With the US they are typically very early in the morning sometimes starting at 6 am. With UK/Europe they are 7 or 8 pm. So I lay out my call/zoom schedule every week on Sundays and work my routines around them.
I usually go for another walk around sunset. Melbourne has been wild in the best sense of the word, as at sunset, hundreds of giant bats head out for the evening. This phenomenon lasts for about 30-40 minutes and I never get tired of watching.
People ask if I get lonely and I think the honest response is: rarely.
I love meeting new people and I’m not shy. I have connected with people on social media from the cities I am traveling to who have similar interests or work connections and we will meet up in person. I have made friends just being out and about in the different cities I’ve made home. This past Nov-Dec in Florence, which was my 3rd year, I was super social. I have made friends with local Florentines who I was so lucky to spend some wonderful time with this year and I made some really fun new connections with visitors this year (almost all of them at Il Santino - my absolute favorite wine bar in the world). I also made some great friends in Edinburgh on my first visit and spent time having coffee, dinner, a glass of wine with several of them on my last visit in September and October.
In the evenings, I might go out to dinner or just make dinner at home (most nights a week I stay at home). I love to go to bookstores and libraries and just browse the books. I grocery shop and take care of my health. I wrote about health needs a bit in my last post, and how I deal with emergencies while traveling. However, I also have regular mental and physical health needs and find that I am lucky to discover wonderful care in the cities I call home, even briefly. Right now I’m working with a fantastic acupuncturist here in Melbourne. I have an excellent acupuncturist in Edinburgh that I am so grateful to have worked with on both my visits last year (both times I was there for 6+ weeks) and plan on seeing her when I return.
Life is pretty normal but also not. It is amazing and I’m grateful every day I dared to give this a go.
Weaving in Adventure & Exploration
I plan excursions and experiences as they find me in that someone will tell me I have to visit/go/do something and then I will make it happen. Other times it will be pre-planned such as visiting Turin for the first time in November I planned a food walking tour with a private chef - a must! I highly recommend a walking tour/food tour when traveling. The place I have had the best luck is on Airbnb experiences. You learn so much about a city while doing these! There are other walking tours besides food (but honestly, do the food!) you can explore such as the excellent ghost tour I did in Venice or the history tour I did in Edinburgh. Read the description and reviews and book one that calls to you, even as a fun staycation in your own city, I have found my hosts to be so engaging and knowledgeable. I don’t think you will be sorry.
The arts and theater are a big focus for me so I will spend a Friday or Saturday at a museum or gallery and try to get tickets for shows that interest me. There is a wonderful play coming to Melbourne this month, The Dictionary of Lost Words, and I’m going to get a ticket. Easy to look up venues and shows and calendar out my visits or make a wishlist.
Finally, and importantly, I make time for connecting with my son, friends, and loved ones by text, email, or calls. Most of my friends and I will connect on Instagram regularly but we also text almost weekly just to say hi. We will schedule calls or zooms. Connection is important to me.
Mostly my travel life is made up of rituals of everyday life.
I think travel makes me go out more but I also don’t feel like I’m missing out if it’s not go, go, go, or a hectic pace. I embrace being in the moment more and am likely to follow through on visiting a place that is on my mind, like a beach, town, or historic spot, while traveling because I’m only there for a short time. I had one of my local friends in Edinburgh tell me that she booked lunch at a spot I went to by train the prior week because she was inspired by my explorations and she had wanted to go for over a year but hadn’t made time likely because it is not necessarily convenient and going by train meant figuring out details. Don’t let details overwhelm you! Make it fun. And if you can’t make it fun - ping me and I will help. Seriously.
There we go. A bit of a snapshot of my [travel] life. My rituals help me acclimate and also expose me to the heartbeats of my locations, adapt to them, and learn what makes them uniquely theirs. Work, health, learning - everything is figure-out-able.
What are the rituals and habits you bring on your travels?
Do you have questions about my travel life or places I’ve been?
Comment and question below - I love hearing from you.
Until next time, Cheers my friends.