The Lure of Travel…
I’m currently in the throes of planning an overseas trip and I’m having such fun putting everything together. So I thought, “Why not make this the subject of my latest MFT?”
I often think with travel, one of the best if not the best parts is all that wonderful excitement and anticipation, as you decide where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do when you get there.
I always have problems when I book a trip because I’m torn between going back to places I love (like London) and visiting somewhere new. This coming trip is going to be a nice mixture of the new, or almost new, and the unknown.
One change with my trip this year is that I’m doing a stopover in both directions. The flight from Australia to the UK, which is where I usually start my European travels, is just horrendous. More than 24 hours of absolute torture, more so since the airlines have decided that they’re going to squeeze as many seats on their planes as they can. There’s hardly room to breathe these days in economy class!
So I’m going to cross a new place off my bucket list this year and stop in Singapore which has fascinated me for a long time. I’ve got four days to get a taste for the city state and I’ve found a really good deal at what looks to be a lovely hotel so I think I’m going to have a ball. I’m hoping at the very least to see some of the wonderful gardens that are full of orchids and exotic tropical flowers. And with a bit of luck, I’ll also manage to see the zoo which I’ve heard great things about.
A friend of mine worked extensively in Asia and became quite familiar with Singapore as she flew to various locations. She’s suggested calling in at the national museum and the art gallery and also the Battlebox which details the last days of British defense before the Japanese took over in 1942.
They’ve all gone on the list although perhaps not during this first visit. There are so many interesting museums in Singapore and I suspect that stopovers are going to become my usual way of traveling to Europe in coming years so I’m planning to take my time. If I miss something this time round, I’ll see it next time. Very Zen!
I’m also hoping that the stopover plan will help lessen my jet lag. Given how expensive it is to travel in Europe/the UK these days, it seems a pity to spend a week in an absolute haze of tiredness when I arrive. I’ll report back and let you know how this plan progresses!
I’ve actually never traveled in Asia so I’m excited about the Singapore stopover. This morning I hit a local bookshop and purchased a guidebook that I hope will make getting around easier, although I hear Singapore is fairly traveler-friendly. English is the official language and apparently there’s a really good local transport network.
Most of my trip will be based in England, doing research for forthcoming books. I always find traveling in the UK so inspirational for my stories. The issue is where I’m going to get time to write all the ideas I get when I’m wandering around stately homes or museums in Britain.
It will be spring when I’m there, too, which is my favorite time of year in England. I love the bluebells and the daffodils and that general explosion of life and color as winter moves away. We don’t get that in subtropical Queensland where I live. It’s pretty much summery all year round.
This trip started in response to an invitation from a writing friend to join her on two writing retreats. One will be in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and the other will take me to a part of Britain I’ve never been to before but which I’ve wanted to visit for years.
Given the picture on the right-hand side, I’m sure it’s no surprise when I tell you that my destination for a glorious week in April will be the Scilly Isles off Cornwall. These are traditionally considered the sunniest place in the UK and the photos I’ve seen have been stunning. White sand. Blue water. Rugged little islands covered in lush gardens. A bit like a summery version of my beloved Hebrides!
The plan is to get the first draft of this year’s Christmas story written while I’m on these writing retreats. I’m hoping I can concentrate on what’s in my head rather than all the wonderful things that are outside! It’s going to be a challenge, I can already tell.
My second guidebook purchase this morning was for Vienna. This is the “almost new” part of my plan. I went to Vienna in my 20s in the 1980s and loved it. But I was traveling on a shoestring so it will be nice to do a few things this time that my backpacker younger self couldn’t have managed.
Principal among those things is a visit to see the Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School. I was a horse-mad little girl and I have fond memories of a Disney film called Miracle of the White Stallions with Robert Taylor and Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. So it’s going to be a dream come true when I sit in the front row for a performance at the Spanish Riding School. Can’t wait!
The last time I was in Vienna, I remember being absolutely wowed by all the gorgeous spring flowers. They specialized in massed tulips in public gardens back then. I imagine they still do. Because we were in a car, we also got out into the countryside where the carpet of wildflowers across the magnificent alpine fields quite took my breath away. Or perhaps that was the effort of going up and down the hills. I definitely channeled my inner Julie Andrews!
This time round, I think I’ll be pretty much staying in Vienna proper although I may get out to Schonbrunn Palace on the outskirts of the city.
Do you follow me on Facebook? On my pages there, I usually do a fairly comprehensive photo show when I travel. If you don’t follow me there and you’d like to, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaCampbellFans/
It’s still a few weeks until I fly out but as you can probably tell, I’m already brimming with excitement about the gorgeous and historic places I’m going to experience while I’m in Europe. The run-up to a big trip is definitely one of my favorite things!