I am not certain of the future. I am resonably confident that this is the last of long journeys. The three journeys have been travels. They have been general plans with invention in between. Tomorrow was not planned. We had to be certain places. But, there was no clock.
We moved as we choose. Yes, we had to be in Florence. But, we could stop in Lake Como and Parma on the way. We were in Paris. We had the early afternoon to wander Luxembourg Park in the rain.
We were travelers, not tourists. We did not get off the bus. There is the Sunday afternoon in Florence at the Home Show.
We never rushed to see or visit. We rushed to trains and planes. We sat in front of David and we looked. We had coffee at the British Gallery and spent the one of the best forty-five minutes of my life talking to my youngest daughter about life and art. Hell, they are the same thing.
And, then there is that Sunday in Rome.
I do have regrets. The major one is that I did not try to get all the kids together in Rome. I should have. I hope that the opportunity occurs again. Beth, Caroline and John, together, would have been happiness. With Angela and Patrick, it would have been glorious. They would have laughed so hard. Pizza on Thanksgiving.
We began planning for this trip in 2017. Originally, we were thinking Ireland and Spain. Then Ireland, Scotland and Spain. John and Angela had enjoyed Scotland greatly. Betty's interest in her family ancestry heightened with her research. We had unfinished business in England.
I was not enthused about Scotland. But, the idea grew on me. We dropped Spain. I lost my desire. The trip was evolving.
As I thought about it more I wanted Bill to join us. Traveling alone is difficult even in a tour. Strange people. My feeling was that Bill would enjoy our "traveler" approach. So, we added Bill.
Caroline is a given. Always travel with Caroline.
The final journey was hectic and different - planes. What happened was a fantastic journey.
The greatest adventure was Oban to Cambridge. We became true travelers that day. What we did was as close as a train to Calcutta. The bus ride was daring and on the edge of your seat adventure. It was a ride that we took because we had to and then we wanted to. The "what if" and "why not" of that bus journey is of legend. I will enhance the journey over the years. I will quietly smile as an old man when I remember. The curves. The near misses. The tires half on and half off Loch Lomand!
I will remember the young lady at Westminster Abbey. I remember the young man in the coffee shop in Hammersmith. I will remember the retired gentleman in Wexford. The young man at the front desk at Gonville. They have faith in the future, I believe in them.
I remember the Russian server in Edinburgh. The waiter and "Queen" afficinado at the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow. The young ladies in Dublin. The tour guide in Dublin. The young lady at the pastry shop in Southwold. The older lady at the Southwold museum. The "not audience" friendly musician.
As I think of this journey, it is the young people that I remember. So much courage.
I loved Dublin, Wexford, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Southwold. I am surprised by Southwold and Cambridge. I would go back to Dublin and Southwold.
Ireland was a taste. We missed so much.
The years to come may be more sedate. I hope not. Cruising does not immediately appeal to me. I love the trains. I love the unexpected. There is the night train to Milan from Paris. The strangers asking in Siena for directions in broken Italian as if I was born in Siena. There was the gentleman in security at the Gare du Nord complaining in French about the person in front of us and never thinking as I smiled and nodded that I was not speaking French. Other than an occasional "oui".
Buying movie tickets in Rome.
In Parma, my first experience buying groceries in Italy.
But, I am afraid this will be no more. The next trip is a cruise. The only joy I can foresee is that it is the Queen Mary 2.
I need to roam. Do I know Rome? No. I simply did not see enough. But, after two weeks I am at home with that part of Rome. Morning walks, I will miss them terribly. Waking up and just walking. Without a great number of people, you can see store fronts. Instead of being taken to the Latin Quarter, you are in the Latin Quarter. You walk Kensington Gardens because it is the park in front of you.
How confining will a ship be? I am abhor mandatory routine.
I ran across a quote from C.K. Chesterton "A traveler sees what he sees, a tourist sees what he has come to see".
I reviewed my past blogs. The writing remains poor. But, there is growth. We were always travelers. Out intent was to be Travelers. It is the evolution to that realization that appears in our travels and in my writing.
I read several of my 1014, 2016 and 2018 travels. I find that I am always overwhelmed. I am occasionally grumpy. Never prepared. Continually nervous.
I am thankful for my walks to the Vatican. There is the afternoon in the park surrounding the Villa Borghese. I remember a morning walk down the Via Nazionle to the Colosseo and wishing Bill was there to explain it all to me.
If your memories were dreams, I would sleep to dream.
I enjoyed moments. Please use public transportation when you travel. There is a metamorphosis that occurs with the use of public transportation. It is slow. Again, you are a traveler in a strange land. You are bewildered. Then, you are there. You belong.
I like laundromats. I love laundromats. It is sociology 101. Like public bathrooms, nothing is more egalitarian than laundromats. Laundromats are man against coin machines. It is time to think.
So now, you know I am apprehensive about cruising. I am afraid I will become more a tourist than a traveler.
The joy of saying - "a carry-on and backpack and a month in Europe" - disappears. We will be the newest members of a very established club. Will we ever belong?
I want Italy, the south of France. A blustery sunny day in Como.
I will see Oban again, Maybe. Destination ports are iffy on cruises - from what I am learning, Maybe Glasgow- At dinner on the ship "did you go on the tour". "Nope, I went to the Hard Rock and talked to the waiter about our mutual admiration of Freddie Mercury".
Wish me, Luck. Hey, it is an adventure.
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