Above photo: taken in Fonte de' Medici, Italy; mystery bug on a stalk of lavender. Anyone happen to know what type of insect it is?
Update: Thanks to Christine for identifying this as a Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina americana).Modified 5:53 pm EST.HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to you dads out, especially my own dad!
I was delighted to receive an e-mail from my agent at Curtis Brown to say she had just finished reading the mss I had sent her; she really likes it and is excited about sending it out, yay! She caught some typos and one or two small plot inconsistencies, though, so I'm going to fix those first. I've written nearly one-third of my next novel (my goal: to have it finished by August), am in the planning stages for the novel after that, and also got another paid illustration inquiry because of my Flickr pics. I love my work, and I am so SO glad that my tendinitis has healed to the point where I can work normally again.
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I'm a grilling demon, barbecuing anything I can get my hands on. (Those squirrels better look out!) Yesterday I barbecued portobello mushrooms for lunch along with some sliced eggplant. So far I've avoided using sauces and marinades because I'm more interested in the taste of plain grilled foods, only brushing on some olive oil flavoured with fresh-picked herbs like thyme. I'm sure I'll start experimenting with fancier prep methods soon.
Speaking of thyme, I picked some lemon thyme from our garden (thanks to Allison for the tip) to use in my tea yesterday, also added some mint leaves, poured boiling water over top. Yummmm....mint lemon thyme tea! I think I'll try brewing up a pitcher next time and stick it in the fridge for some iced tea.
And now to the final installment of my trip report...
My trip report instalments:Part 1 (Paris)Part 2 (more Paris)Part 3 (Fonte de' Medici)Part 4 (Montalcino and Montefiridolfi)Part 5 (La Petraia)Part 6 (Florence)Part 7 (more Florence)Part 8 (Cinque Terre)Part 9 (Pisa, Fiesole and Volpaia)Part 10 (Lost in Siena)Part 11 (Siena)Part 12 (Rome)
Why I Love Traveling
Not everyone wants to travel. Because of the time and expense involved, not everyone can. I've loved traveling ever since I was a child, when my family used to go on a trailer camping trip in different parts of Canada and the U.S., from the Canadian Rockies down to Key West in Florida. Years later, I found out that my Dad had to take out a small loan each summer to enable my family to do this traveling; he paid it off in the fall when he began teaching again. It made me appreciate those trips we had that much more, not only because it gave me a love of travel and exploration, but also because of the sacrifices that Dad and Mom made for us kids.
Here are just a few reasons why I love traveling:
The journey.
I may not be as enamoured of flying as I used to be, but I still love the idea of the journey. From
Love of Travel (an excellent piece about the love of travel):
"Most of us are descended from wanderers, nomads, and travelers. Indeed, every culture I can think of - and many more that I can't - count among their most hallowed and defining myths and legends, stories of heroic journeys and epic traverses and travels that both capture a sense of greatness and possibility, as well as signal the requirement we all face to journey to find meaning, purpose, identity, divinity, and ultimately eternity. Journeying is in our blood, in our genes, and I'm at least partially convinced that you can learn a lot about a person by how he or she deals with the whole idea of picking up and going someplace just to see what's there, or as Joseph Campbell describes it, of '...bumping into experience and people while you're wandering.'"I especially love that last bit. :-)
Some of our trips have required more physical effort than others. The toughest (and still my favourite trip) was our
canoe trip on the Nahanni River. In Italy, we did a lot of walking, often on hilly terrain. I would far rather walk around to explore an area than sit on an air-conditioned tour bus looking through glass.
The people.
I find that I never truly feel as if I'm in another country or place until I interact with the people living there. The language is an obvious difference, of course, but sometimes an accent or even just seeing how differently other people view things can be enlightening. It helps keep me from getting in a rut in my own way of thinking and blindly accepting the way things are done.
Conversely, I'm also reminded of all the things we have in common, making me more cautious about how much weight I should put on the differences.
The history.
This was a biggie for me this trip. Many of the places we visited during our trip really brought history alive for me, turning what was a usually dull subject (for me) in school into something new and exciting. I've heard of Michelangelo, but to see some of his creations in real life was amazing, and to see the actual tomb where he was buried. Looking at pictures of Roman ruins is a far different experience than walking through them yourself, the remnants of ancient buildings rising up all around you; nothing like the dust of Rome in your shoes and hair to make you feel part of history. I found it to be an immensely humbling yet inspiring experience.
This happened over and over again during the trip, especially in cities like Paris, Florence and Rome. Sometimes it seemed as if everywhere I looked, there were stories to be told, connections with historical figures and events that had seemed so dry and distant on the printed page.
Many of you who live in Europe are somewhat jaded about this, I'm sure. :-) As Scott S. once said, some of your graffiti is older than our whole country!
The scenery.
Travel not only gives you the opportunity to see different scenery but sometimes also GORGEOUS scenery, like the Tuscan countryside or amazing seaside views.
I also always enjoy checking out how different the plants and animals are, and how the locals interact with them. Like the red fox that came by the Fonte de' Medici restaurant most nights, looking for a handout:
And the green lizards we kept seeing everywhere, sunning themselves on fences and stones:
The food.
Trying the food in a different country has always been part of why I enjoy travelling. I'll try pretty much anything as long as I'm not allergic to it and it's not moving. I love trying new taste sensations, and while travelling would rather pick randomly from a menu than have something I've had many times before.
Sure, I may not like it, but at least I've tried something new. :-) I love food, as many of you know. There are very few foods I don't like. I used to dislike more foods, but made it a point to try each of these at least once every year, to see if I still didn't like them. As a result, I now like kiwi and sea urchin, both foods I couldn't stand before.
I'll often come back from a trip with new inspiration to try cooking a different type of cuisine and new ways of preparing familiar foods. I'm aware that at least part of the reason I enjoyed the food on this past trip so much was because of my surroundings. My recent enthusiasm for trying Italian cooking is a way of bringing part of my trip enjoyment home, revisiting the experience.
When I came back from Didgeri-Douze in England, I remember experimenting more with different kinds of teas and tisanes as well as being inspired by Talis Kimberley's "tea library." That whole experience had a lasting effect and whenever I go to my own tea library, I remember that wonderful trip. I've also enjoyed sampling and bringing home teas from other trips as well, such as my "1001 Nights" tea from Frankfurt (first sampled at Juliane's house) and my Blood Orange Tea (first sampled at a friend's place in Austria, then Katy bought some more for me in Germany). And now, of course, I have my Paris tea. :-)
Personal growth.
Traveling helps keep me from getting in a rut.
Traveling puts me in situations where I have less control of my surroundings than at home. There's a certain risk to traveling that goes beyond just getting lost or losing your wallet. You're no longer on home turf...people deal with this in different ways, I find.
Some people insist on sticking with their usual mindset, expecting the people and places around them to adapt rather than the other way around. This type of traveler does a lot of complaining, constantly (and often loudly) pointing out ways the foreign place isn't as good as back home.
I try very hard NOT to be this kind of traveler, to focus on appreciating what the new place has rather than what it hasn't. They may have different ways of doing things which may seem confusing and sometimes frustrating to a tourist, but I see that more of a benefit to the whole travel experience rather than a negative....what would be the point of traveling if the place you're traveling to is exactly the same as back home, after all?!?
Sometime the differences help me appreciate what I have that much more. Sometimes I end up taking home new ways of thinking about or doing things, integrating what I've learned into my own day-to-day routines.
Ultimately, I find travel helps me learn as much about myself as I do about the rest of the world.
Any ideas about what kind of bug this is? Like the rosemary beetle,
it was also on a stalk of lavender.The wonder.
This is the main reason I love traveling.
When I'm in a place I've never been before, I find that my senses are all heightened. I notice my surroundings more, am more aware of what's going on around me. From time to time it can get a little scary or overwhelming but y'know, I think that sometimes we all need that.
I find that traveling helps remind me how important it is not to let life slide by, to get as much as you can from the experience. You're much more aware that you may never come back to a particular place again and how important single moments can be.
You don't have to travel to know this, of course, but it's one of the aspects of travel that enhances the experience for me.
If you've read through these reports, you will already have guessed that Jeff and I had a wonderful time. Thanks so much to Ginny for making this trip possible!
Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:38AM 
