travel – Page 4

Hi, gang,

We’ve been talking about some heady, heavy stuff so far this week, so I thought I would end the week on a lighter note. With all the sturm and drang of our politics, we can all use a little hope for the future. Joy brings us energy!

Last weekend the tulips were in high bloom in the Skagit Valley of Washington State. One of the reasons we moved here is that, while we love to travel, we don’t want to feel like we’re constantly running away from our home base. We have been to Keukenhof in The Netherlands and loved it, but it’s a heckuva lot easier to take a short ferry ride, then drive another hour or so to the Roozengarde gardens.

So, as I leave you for the week, let me take you on a journey of some of the great beauty that exists in this world!

Oh, and daffodils, too!

If there are tulips, there needs to be a windmill!

By age 26, Cheryl Strayed had stumbled over and over again. Her mother had died a few years before, suddenly while still young, from cancer. Her abusive father left when she was only six years old. Estranged from her siblings and adrift with sorrow, Strayed had sabotaged her marriage through infidelity and drug use.

On an impulse, she picked up a book about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and decided to try it. Impulsivity had run her life thus far and hadn’t yielded any positive results; this impulse to attempt a portion of the 2,000+ mile hike could prove fatal.

Though she did some advance preparation, there was no way that this backpacking novice could be ready for such a monumental task — and yet she went anyway.

In Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Strayed describes months of foot-chewing hiking, where she dealt with rain, snow, ice, and heat, often alone with her thoughts. In this remarkable book, beautifully written, she shares the healing she gained on her journey, transforming from a broken young woman to a transformed, empowered one.

Rocky Mountain National Park - Days 4-5 009 — Hubby resting on a Colorado hike.

I’ve never backpacked, but I am no slouch as a day hiker. Hubby and I have been known to get up early and hike all day long, especially in Switzerland. While I can’t relate to being alone for months on end, I know how the feet can hurt, especially when the toenails start falling off! I could always sit on a sofa when a needed to, though, with feet propped up so the blisters could heal, so I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to do that day in, day out for months.

Swiss hiking is also known for its excellent facilities. Restaurants pop up in the middle of nowhere so you can fill up on hot apple strudel with vanilla sauce, or, well, grappa if that’s your pleasure. Strayed, on the other hand, cooked while on the trail, eating food she carried with her. On the rare occasions she made it into town, she had to count every penny.

Strayed describes vacillating between pride in each daily accomplishment and a complete and total sense of failure. These can occur on the hiking trail, one after the other, or both at the same time. Again, I only know this from a “day trip” perspective — I understand just enough to be deeply in awe of Strayed’s persistence.

Critics have compared this book, sometimes unfavorably, to Awol on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller. In my view, Awol is a very different book. It is more trail-focused and includes all the interesting people that Miller meets along the way. Strayed’s book is more about her inner journey. The Pacific Crest Trail is less traveled than the Appalachian Trail, and the forced solitude gives Wild a deeply introspective feel as she reflects on her pain, her mistakes, and her grief.

Wild is raw, authentic, and gut-wrenching. I laughed and cried as I read it, sometimes at the same time. I gobbled it up, reading it as quickly as I could, and thinking of it constantly during those times when I had to put it down. The book satisfied me from start to finish, and good thing, too! I had run across a string of boring books lately, and I was due to find a good one.

020 — My idea of lunch on a hike...Swiss rosti, which is like hash browns, with cheese and tomatoes.

While I wouldn’t recommend that anyone new to hiking start with such an extensive journey, I have a real affection for hiking as a way to work out personal challenges and to gain confidence. Out in the fresh air, with one foot in front of the other, one eye on the ground and one eye checking ahead for critters, we find our competence and the best part of ourselves. Strayed learned that lesson…so next time you’re thinking about a self-help book, think about lacing up some hiking boots, grabbing some poles, and heading out on a trail.

Hi, all,

I just wanted to say a quick “hello” to everyone who reads this blog. I took a hiatus I hadn’t planned to take — apparently I thought that moving was no big deal. I was wrong.

The good news is that we are getting settled in, and I’ve even hosted my first houseguests! The furniture looks great in the house, and I’m making progress on getting the garden set up. Spring has arrived here in breathtaking fashion, and every day we fall more and more in love with our new hometown.

However, there is still much unpacking to be done, and I am a bit tired and bruised from the work. So, I’m going to make it short and sweet today by sharing some photos from last week’s overnight trip to Victoria, B.C. Enjoy!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my weekly blog recommendation,

From left: my sister Val, honorary sister Joanne, sister Amy, and me. It was an all-girl trip!

Flowers are exploding everywhere in Victoria!

One of three rainbows I saw last week. God is showing off!

Today’s post is later than normal. Our car arrived in Tacoma! Yay! We drove to pick it up and drop off the rental car at the Seattle airport, so I’ve been in a car all day and have the sore behind to prove it. It felt so wonderful to be in our own car again! Anyway, sorry I’m late, but on to our regularly scheduled post…

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I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that truly captures the essence of France for me. I’ve read travel narratives intended to entertain that fall flat with cultural stereotypes. I’ve enjoyed the Peter Mayle books the most, because he writes about Provence with such affection and delight, but even they do not convey my experience of France. I’m always a sucker for yet another book on French culture, though, in the hopes I will find someone whose vision matches mine.

La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life by Elaine Sciolino approaches France, particularly Paris, from the “charm offensive” point of view. From dress to food, perfume, and even politics, Sciolino attempts to bridge the gap between our two cultures by explaining the French need to infuse beauty and sensuality into all aspects of life.

Whenever I read a book like this, I am interested not only in the content as it stands on its own, but its relevance to my own life. Is there information that is useful for me? To that question, I can answer yes. Over time I have learned to create a more aesthetic life, racing less from task to task and focusing more on quality of life. I’ll never dress like a sophisticated Parisian woman, though I have learned a bit more about combining scarves and hats (more on this tomorrow) with my hiking pants and sweat-wicking tops. I don’t mind the occasional vase of flowers to dress up the house, and I look for little ways to add “plaisir” (pleasure) to my day. Sometimes the small touches bring great joy!

One thing I do not learn from any of these books is what the poorer French, especially those living on the outskirts of Paris, have to say. No one seems to ask them what their lives are like. So we tend to get a distorted picture of the French from its upper crust, and this book, which details interviews the author had with high muckety mucks, including Sarkozy, is no exception.

Still, Sciolino has plenty of fun stories to tell, and she doesn’t hesitate to share her reactions to what we American women would consider sexism or even harassment. She delights in her dealings with a local butcher, learns to not run around in sweat clothes (you might bump into someone you know and have coffee), and revels in sublime French food. She reflects on changes occurring in France — fewer farms, for example, and the second highest consumption of McDonald’s hamburgers behind the U.S. (I’ve been inside a French McDonald’s, and it was so jammed that even my laid-back hubby freaked out a little.)

La Seduction seduces, to a degree. If you’re a francophile, you’ll probably enjoy it, and reading it made me a bit “homesick” for a visit. Sciolino shines best when she’s talking about her interviews over the years. Other reviewers have called her to task for describing a dinner party (they called it boring), but I loved that segment of the book. For this party, Sciolino prepared as best she could, trying to follow the intricate rules of protocol — only to find that the French themselves often broke the rules. To me, it described, in a nutshell, the impossibility, no matter how hard one tries, to truly understand French culture.

A lot of bloggers are filling pages with tales of holiday shopping, decorating, and food preparation. As someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, I can’t really add to the discussion…but a recent day trip to Victoria, B.C., at least left me with some photos to share! Whether it’s gingerbread houses or teddy bears, the good folks of Victoria are geared up for the season with plenty of fun stuff.

We’re back in Houston, and I have the snifflies and sneezies today, so I’ll keep things brief. Enjoy the photos, and I’ll be back tomorrow!

Paris and Gingerbread! Two of my favorites!

Prince Bear — The Bear Formerly Known as Prince

Good morning! Greetings from Washington State, where we are spending the next several days figuring out where we would like to live. We arrived on the Olympic Peninsula later than we expected, in large part because I left my computer on the plane! Ugh. We were about 20 minutes away from the SEA-TAC airport when I realized what had happened. Hubby was kind enough not to yell, and an honest soul turned the computer in, so no harm no foul — just some brief frayed nerves.

My NaNoWriMo novel is on said computer. I wouldn’t have lost it, because I store my writing on Sugar Sync, so I can access it on multiple computers. Still, I wouldn’t have gotten much writing or blogging done on the trip!

Keeping up with other blogs is a challenge during NaNoWriMo. I’m over 31,000 words, and I’ve done it largely by avoiding other people’s blogs. Since I enjoy reading what my fellow bloggers are up to, it’s a sacrifice I don’t always enjoy. I still have to sneak around from time to time and read a few, just to feel like I’m staying connected. Maybe it’s because I’m here in Washington State, getting ready to house hunt, but I am feeling the presence of magic in my life, so it makes sense that I would find a blog of that name. I found Brynne Betz via the magic of Twitter, and I am thrilled! These are sweet blog entries that will make you smile. Check it out!

In the meantime, we’re eager to check out Port Townsend. We arrived late and saw nothing, so I have no idea what the town looks like. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say next week! Tomorrow I’ll add the next installment of The Foreign Language of Friends.