It is a cold, snowy day here in Toronto, in the midst of a global pandemic, lockdown and stay at home order as well as a state of emergency declaration; it seems we will be longer in this lockdown that originally thought. Minimally until late March or early April at the earliest. So… what better time than now to talk TRAVEL.
Don’t you remember travelling?
Remember travelling? That ever-so-awesome opportunity to explore other countries, cultures, foods, geographies; the chance to remind yourself that you are one small prism in this beautiful kaleidoscope that is Planet Earth. I miss it SO much. I miss the planning and researching, the wardrobe sorting and editing. I miss the ride to the airport where excitement is palpable and I miss the obligatory cocktail in the airport lounge while waiting for the plane to take you to the destination you’ve been dreaming about for so long. And of course, I miss everything about exploring a new place, taking the sounds and sights and smells and tastes. My father always, wisely said, that a person learns FAR more by travelling than any time spent in school and I wholeheartedly agree.
My partner John and I had a fantastic trip planned for his 60th birthday, last March. Our itinerary took us to Berlin for a couple of days then down to South Africa. We were to spend time in Cape Town as well as exploring the wine regions there. A safari was on the agenda and finally wrapping up in Paris. It was to be our trip of a lifetime and we were beyond excited. We were to leave on March 21st; our first Covid lockdown went into effect on March 15th. Suffice to say we were disappointed.
One year later…
Here we are a year after our first case in Canada and no return to normalcy in sight (at least for a few months) but being the optimist I am (not to mention a Sagittarius) I can’t help but think of travelling and that wonderful day when I will, once again, be able to pack my bags and GO. The list of places to go is always larger than the available budget, even after all these years of travelling but on days like this, my imagination takes me along to those days in our future. I’m hopeful that our trip of a lifetime will be enjoyed sooner rather than later. Until then, I’ll spend some of this blustery day browsing photos of travels past.
Where is the first place YOU want to go once we’re free to travel again?
6 responses to “Remember Travelling?”
[…] time to talk travel. After two years of ignoring the subject and periodic pouting about the great South African vacation that never came to be (thanks yet again, Covid), we have booked a trip. Back to the international […]
[…] was just over a year ago that I wrote about missing travelling. Here we are, another trip around the sun older and although I do still miss it, I’m not sure […]
Suffice to say we were disappointed. – I’d say that is A HUGE disappointment. But, those places will always be there and you can do your trip later. I feel for those kids that were seniors and their entire last year of high school was a gigantic disappointment and it’s the same for the seniors this year. My niece graduated and then had a poor college start. My daughter – her 8th grade celebrations didn’t happen and that ending was crap. And now she’s a freshman and hasn’t yet stepped on the campus. They are supposed to do hybrid starting next week – 2 days a week. Let’s hope that doesn’t get shot down at the last minute. As for travels – no travels planned – We have a few concerts that are postponed from last summer to this summer…let’s see if those happen.
I completely agree, Sandi! My partner’s son is in his senior year of high school as well and it just can’t be replaced. We’ll be feeling repercussions from this for years to come, sadly.
As for concerts; I’m with you. Can’t WAIT to get back. Fingers firmly crossed.
Well, we can now be blogging buddies and commerserate together or encourage each other! Feel free to stop by my blog and say HI too!
Blogging buddies we shall be! Friends are always welcome, no?