Welcome to “Travel Tuesdays,” a resource for those whose plans have been deferred and a distraction for people who enjoy armchair travel. Each week we’ll suggest a virtual destination for you to visit.
All of these ideas are curated and brought to you by Lorraine Rubinacci!
To read Lorraine's archived posts, visit this page.
Travel Tuesdays, June 15, 2021 - "Bon Voyage"
As an only child, I learned long ago how to keep myself amused. When the coronavirus necessitated closures in spring 2020, I was well equipped to handle a socially-distanced world: a quiet individual and lifelong student who enjoys reading, writing, research, gardening, cooking, nature study and other solitary pursuits. My work-from-home projects -- producing short nature films and writing this blog -- sprang from my interests and aligned with pandemic health guidelines. But “the times they are a-changin.”
This will be the final post of Travel Tuesdays, a “daily distraction” blog created during the coronavirus pandemic. As the crisis subsides and the library’s normal services resume, there is less need for this column, and my efforts will be directed towards the library’s daily operations.
By writing this blog, I offered an alternative journey to you, the reader, one that explored diverse topics and that led you on a trip through linked articles and interconnected ideas.
I hope that over the past 16 months, I have been able to convey some of my enthusiasm for this world’s riches, that I have succeeded in increasing your interest and understanding of people and places, and that you’ve been entertained. I fully realize that virtual travel is not a substitute for real life experiences . . . nor is reading, for that matter. Yet this array of virtual experiences may have nudged (or jolted) you to consider the world in a different way, or, as Proust phrased it, “to possess other eyes.”
Before I sign off, I do wish to make one final, and potentially unpopular, observation: that “travel” does not necessitate long flights, frequent voyages, extravagant adventures or waste. In fact, in its worst forms, tourism can blind us to the world, create distance between the traveler and the visited, and have negative impacts on the destination. During the past year my best travel has consisted of walks on local conservation lands and kayak trips on local rivers . . . and the research I did before and after each outing. During these excursions I come alive: I encounter new settings, observe life from a different perspective, and ask new questions. I come out of myself, and my understanding of the world changes. If Thoreau “travelled a good deal in Concord,” I’ve not strayed much farther than my Southeastern Massachusetts’ home.
So, for old time’s sake, and because it’s difficult for me to resist words, here’s one last link: “50 inspirational travel quotes” from Rough Guides.
Bon voyage.
