Sunday, January 4, 2009

THE PARIS JOURNALS TWELFTH ENTRY December 29


This is traveling: where’s my passport, where’s my ticket, where’s my camera, where’s my bag? It’s constant checking that you have everything and of course 90% of the time you do. Nine per cent of the time it’s nearby and safe. God forbid that one per cent of the time happen on your journey.
Travel is being very hungry, very full, very tired, very rushed, confused, jet lagged, lost, constipated, crowded.
I love travel because all of the above is worth the adventure, the excitement the sense of discovery.
Today oldest daughter and I went to the British Museum, saw Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, had fish and chips at a pub and hopped back aboard the Eurostar to Paris.
The London Underground is like the Paris Metro: a train is always just a few minutes a way and gets you right to within a short walk of your destination. Of course, one must always remember to "mind the gap."
Right now I mind the fact that this trip is nearing its close and so many sights are left unseen and so much already needing to be re-visited. Life is backwards. So much time given to work and so little to leisure and fun. And then we often spend so much of our vacations rushing around doing much more than we've time for.
Given a second life I might get it right.

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