For me travel is inextricably tied to reading, but also to shopping local and learning something new.  I love a tour, whether on a trolley, a boat, or a double-decker bus.  I love museums and art galleries.  However, I am not limited entirely to nerdy travel – I have been whitewater rafting, horseback riding, wine tasting, hiking, and will travel long distances to racetracks.  I have also developed a love of cacti since moving to Arizona, and I plan to talk about that a lot (welcome plant people!).

When I was growing up in West Virginia, my family rarely traveled, but somehow early on I started to crave it.  My family used to joke that I was part gypsy (I do love a long, flowing skirt), and my mom thought the wanderlust came from my dad’s side of the family – my paternal grandparents would just jump in the car and leave for a trip without warning, even if it was Christmas or Thanksgiving.  But my maternal grandparents had an RV and also liked to hit the road.  So perhaps I come by it naturally, but the desire to travel was amplified in high school by a band trip to Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, which was my first taste of the freedom of travel. Then my high school French class, which introduced Europe as a not-so-impossible travel option, further stoked the desire to get out of my small town and see the world.  My teacher (Hi Mrs. Welch!) had been to France many times and sometimes took student groups.  She spoke about baguettes and silk shirts and made them sound like the epitome of sophistication.  Unfortunately, she did not take a trip to France the whole time I was in high school because the exchange rate was not favorable, but I never stopped dreaming of Europe.  I bought a lot of silk shirts in my 20s, and I have eaten a lot of baguettes over the years.  Later, movies like Under the Tuscan Sun caused me to long for Italy.  I was in my 30s before I got to France and Italy, but it was worth the wait.  I have been fortunate that I have gotten to travel to a lot of amazing places, including France, Spain, and Italy.  Along the way, I have found that there are special places near and far, and I like to delve into them by visiting local shops and museums, reading local authors, and buying unique souvenirs to bring back a little bit of the travel magic from that location.  In this blog I will share my travel experiences, along with the books and souvenirs I purchase along the way.  I hope you find some travel and reading inspiration from my experiences. 

Just a warning – I might be a souvenir hoarder.  I plan to share a lot of my souvenirs new and old, and the first is the shirt and shopping bag above, from that first Virginia Beach spring of 1987.  Does anyone else have souvenirs from long-ago school trips?