Travel – Little Stories

Already given

March 1, 2019February 28, 2019 Abby2 Comments

33316270488_7f7a1c03a0_k — Charleston in late February.

We went away to Charleston for a long weekend, a final, celebratory jaunt as a family of two. We walked miles and miles every day and ate incredible amounts of delicious food (on any holiday, walking and eating are my primary ambitions). And then we spied some of the most grand old rowhouses, cheerful dogs, a trio of dolphins, and an injured bald eagle and maimed kestrel (at the aquarium, where they somewhat incongruously reside).

After eight years of marriage, we’ve become very compatible travel companions. He knows that I will be unnecessarily anxious about the airport (not about flying, but about being in an airport, for which I reserve a special kind of loathing) and accommodates in advance to reduce my fretting. I know that he will find the best restaurants in any given city, so I don’t spend any time researching them. He knows that I will want to find some animals to admire, wherever they exist, and I know that he will want to stop and photograph unfamiliar flowers or vines or shrubs. We rarely need to even voice our desires, which frees us up to have conversations at dinner about inconsequential abstractions (gender politics, music theory, creative expression, the value of performance art, the frequency with which one should shampoo).

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If there is anything I fear, it is the dread of the unknown, the simmering concern that a new person in the family will ruin our happy relationship. Parents we trust and respect tell us that raising children will, in time, deepen our relationship. Our sorrows and joys will both be more extreme. But as an emotionally illiterate person, I can’t help but hear this reassurance as deeply troubling.

. . .

“Lord, give us what you have already given.” — A character in Ilya Kaminsky’s Dancing in Odessa

. . .

I’m feeling burnt out on baby books, so I have been reading a history of the heroin epidemic, a field guide to North American trees, and a hefty novel by Elsa Morante. I am now feeling a little bit more like myself. Baby books are stressful.

A holiday in Italy

May 31, 2018 Abby2 Comments

May was a terror of a month, but near the end of it, we flew off to the Amalfi Coast and then to an island near Naples, and we have returned, restored and refreshed (and filled to the brim with amazing food and wine). Our yard is a swamp meadow, because it apparently poured every day we were gone, and the German shepherds smell like a fish market, but we are glad to be home and glad for all of the adventures we shared with family and with each other, concluding with commemorating our eighth anniversary on the gorgeous island of Ischia.

Buckle up for a photo dump, sans context.

Arrivederci, Italia! What a pleasure to have encountered you.

The garden isle

October 12, 2017October 11, 2017 Abby3 Comments

The fam went to Kauai for a week, and we thought about staying forever.

Dream holiday, really. Perfect time with my hilarious, strange, and marvelous family.

I took all of these photos with my old, crappy iPhone, and the island’s aggressive beauty is STILL VERY EVIDENT. Kauai cannot be dimmed!

Koke'e State Park — Canyon views from Koke’e State Park

Queen's Bath — Checking out Queen’s Bath. Note that Jak roller-bladed here.

First days in Kauai — Hanalei Bay on a foggy day

Not a joke. The rainbows are everywhere.

Verdict: Kauai = totally worth the 22 hours it took to get there.

Oh, Paris! How could I forget Paris?

August 26, 2016August 23, 2016 Abby7 Comments

Apparently, I forgot to do a Paris recap. It is worth doing to me only because of my strong need for consistency in a series. Like comma usage or list styling. The week must be documented.

So, with all of our luggage in tow, we went to Paris for a week before we came home. And it was grand. It lived up to all of my (already extremely high) expectations. The thing I’ve been telling people, when they ask about my impressions of Paris, is that it felt simultaneously a lot dirtier/grittier and a lot more beautiful than London. Perhaps it is not fair to compare cities so directly, but this comparison kept rushing to mind as we strolled along the Seine and stepped in feces. It seems to always be both, in Paris: beauty and excrement.

Photos, commence!

A day trip to the utter madness that is Versailles:

Whew. What a magical city. Merci beaucoup, Paris; let’s meet again soon.

Saying goodbye to London

July 29, 2016July 26, 2016 Abby3 Comments

London has been our temporary home this summer, and even though I have the first flutterings of homesickness for dear old Virginia, I will miss the joys of this great, sprawling city.

Things I’ll miss about London/the English way of life

All of the glorious, beautifully maintained public parks. Really. I don’t think any city wins at the park game as much as London does.
Pubs and pub culture
Well-behaved off-leash dogs everywhere
Tea! It’s ubiquitous and well made and consumed on a near-constant basis. Unlike in Virginia, I don’t have to explain to anyone what I want when I order tea.
Walking everywhere, the preservation of walking culture, the delineation of trails and country paths
Preservation of history, architecture, and art throughout the city
Endless variety of things to do, see, and eat
Every imaginable international cuisine right at your doorstep (or, at least, an hour’s walk away)
The friends we’ve made (and reunited with) here

Things I won’t miss about London/the English way of life

Fish & chips. So overrated.
Sweltering daily rides on the Tube
Having to ride the Tube every day in general. (Although I vastly prefer it to the NY subway system! So much cleaner and quieter and more reliable)
Feeling like you are breathing in black clouds of toxins every day on the street. I am eager for that clean Blue Ridge mountain air.
The weather! (We had a gorgeous sunny, 80-degree day in Wield; then the next day, it was misty and rainy, and the Brits we were with literally walked out the door into the cold fog and said, “Oh, thank God, the weather is back to normal.” They’re insane.)
Walking behind people who are smoking and being unable to pass them
Slow walkers
How outrageously expensive everything is (we can’t really complain, compared with actual Londoners, but it still was shocking)

Guion and I have been talking about London customs we want to adopt in our life when we get back to Charlottesville. For instance, we realized that we are really lazy about walking places. We live very centrally to many things, and yet we’ll choose to drive instead of walk 45 minutes. A 45-minute walk in London is no big deal. Other aspects to adopt: taking advantage of all of the hikes and parks around us; training the dogs to behave themselves better in public; and acting like tourists in our own city (e.g., we have lived in Charlottesville for six years and have still never been to Monticello. I know).

London, you’ve been grand. We hope to come see you again soon.

Up next: A week in Paris. And then home!

The magical village of Wield

July 26, 2016July 26, 2016 Abby3 Comments

In which we escape to the English countryside for a weekend with friends and are able to avoid our phones and (temporarily) forget the enveloping darkness that our homeland is lurching into…

(Everything about this village = dream life to the max)

Dogs in pubs, dogs everywhere! #heaven

The beautiful Kate with lots of pups:

And a glorious day at Manor Farm.

Being laid out like a mist (Ireland)

July 21, 2016 Abby3 Comments

This past weekend, we took a long-awaited tiny pilgrimage to Southwest Ireland, traveling mainly to visit Guion’s old friends, farming mentors, and beloved haunts. As you can see, it was an enchanting weekend in one of the most beautiful parts of the known world.

We started in County Clare and stayed at the most charming B&B ever, and then journeyed from there to the spectacular Cliffs of Moher.

The next day and a half were spent on Mizen Head, which is the southernmost point in all of Ireland, and it feels like the gorgeous end of the world out there. We stayed with Guion’s dear friends Tim and Laurence, who generously hosted and fed us for two days. Look at their amazing garden!

They also have this delightful one-eyed cat named Peewee (she was badly injured while sleeping in the engine of a friend’s car). She’s like a dog, and so I loved her. She would sleep in my lap for hours while we ate dinner and talked.

Magic all around:

We strolled along the beach at Barley Cove (where kelp abounds):

And enjoyed the charming seaside village of Crookhaven:

Perhaps my favorite afternoon was taking a short, secluded, foggy hike to see the 13th-century ruins at Three Castle Head. It was especially enchanting because we were almost entirely alone there. If more people knew about it, it’d be swamped with tourists like ourselves, but it’s so far off the beaten path that we had it in almost perfect, eerie solitude.

We also ventured off the grid to visit Guion’s other farm mentors, Dan and Pika, at their truly wild spot on the north side of Mizen Head.

Pika is a sculptor and potter, and her kiln room is Tolkien inspired. They call this shed “Middle Earth,” appropriately:

Don’t forget us, Ireland. We’ll be back.

That leaf-encumbered forest

July 12, 2016 Abby2 Comments

We feel the darkness of America from afar, but we are still enjoying our last month in London.

This past weekend, we were able to visit two green spaces I have long wanted to see—Richmond Park and Kew Gardens—and see Buckingham Palace for a hot second, Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery. Photos ensue.

Richmond Park

Kew Gardens

Buckingham Palace/Trafalgar Square/National Gallery

Husband poses with his favorite painting, “Les Grandes Baigneuses” (Cézanne).

With light from the sunken day

July 6, 2016 Abby3 Comments

It’s hard to believe that it’s July, that we’re already in the final month of our sweet summer sojourn in London. This month, we have particularly enjoyed a bit less international travel and a bit more local travel: getting to see more London museums, parks, and neighborhoods. Despite my true nature as a small-town-loving woman, I have developed quite a fondness for this sprawling city. Some recent photos follow.

British Museum and nearby — Window boxes for the win.

9-mo.-old GSD in the neighborhood — A 9-month-old German shepherd in our neighborhood. Be still my heart.

High tea — Aunt Jane treated us (and Windy) to high tea at Brown’s Hotel.

Pratts do London

June 28, 2016 Abby3 Comments

We were delighted to host Win and Tracy for the weekend in London. We had a full (and fortunately quite sunny) weekend with them, including a marvelous dinner at Dishoom (thanks, Granddad! We love you!), an afternoon at the Tate Modern (including the newly added wing), and a day exploring the gorgeous Hampstead area. Photos ensue.