…some of the places I’ve been…

Healthy Mindset – Days 20-23

It will be quite awhile before we are able to travel widely again, and while I have lots of thoughts about what it could be like, for now, I thought it could be a nice challenge to pick one picture from each of the places I’ve been lucky enough to visit over the last few years. I tried to choose ones I haven’t posted before.

First time I ever photographed the stars! Island Lake is a beautiful spot for star-gazing.

Travel can be expensive, so to avoid overspending once I’m at the destination, my rule is that I can by a couple of accessories (necklaces, bracelets or scarves), artwork that can fit in my suitcase, and then a few souvenirs for family and friends. Most of the shopping I did in Sicily was here!

Perhaps from living in the wide open space of Saskatchewan, I’m always looking at the sky, even in a beautiful city like Florence!

You know how you sometimes have memories of places you visited when you were a little kid, and when you revisit them as an adult, they don’t quite measure up to your memories? I was happy that this place still existed, and it was still a magical stop off the Transcanada Highway.

It was hard to choose just one Paris picture, but it’s almost exactly a year since the fire at Notre Dame. At the time, climbing the 387 steps up the very narrow spiral staircase of the North Tower seemed like a fun challenge. Now the photographs I took that afternoon are even more meaningful.

This is hands down one of the best places to watch a sunset! I’ve camped here three times in the last six or seven years and there have been beautiful sunsets every time.

• 

• 

Couldn’t resist the Corona picture when I came across it (sorry). I love being on the water, and the pic on the left is from a sunset sail on Banderas Bay.

I say this repeatedly, but the city I dream most of visiting again is New Orleans. This was the last picture I took before flying home the next morning. Any time of day or night, sitting on the patio, and seeing and hearing the neighbourhood come alive, was one of my favourite parts of the trip. There was the guy who rode by on his bicycle every morning singing, “good morning everybody, it’s time to great the day” to musicians carrying various instruments on their backs (and once seeing someone push a piano across the street) to hearing snippets of conversations as people walked by, it all added a richness to the experience that wouldn’t be experienced by staying in a hotel. New Orleans is one of the most vibrant cities I’ve ever been and it makes me sad to read about what is happening there now.

There will most certainly be changes to the way we travel as we move forward into the “new normal”. Even when wider travel is safe, I’ll likely feel more comfortable travelling close to home, but I am looking forward to the time when I can plan another trip. That time will come, but for now I can dream about places I’ve been and places I’ve yet to go.

Once it’s okay to travel widely again, where would you like to go?

Top Photo – Love (red outside violet inside), Robert Indiana – Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, New Orleans Museum of Modern Art