May 26, 2015

Do You Travel?

I'm off to Melbourne soon to spend a few days with fellow writers at the Melbourne Romance Writer's Guild's annual retreat. And along the way, I'll catch up for a night with fellow LoveCat, Sharon Archer. It will be a social whirlwind and I can't wait!

Interestingly, it's had me thinking about when I last traveled for the pure fun of it, or went somewhere brand new. Off the top of my head, I can't remember, and I think that should change.

I'm not talking about a great, big, expensive trip - just somewhere new to explore. There are some towns within an hour's drive of me that I've never visited - perhaps a day trip is in order.

What about you? Are you a traveler at heart, or do you rarely venture out of the places you know? Where was the last fabulous place you visited? Or do you have dreams to travel to certain destination one day? 

23 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel

    Sounds like you are going to have lots of fun and I do love to go and visit new places although sadly I don't do this often enough either there are a few reasons but one of my daughters has recently moved to Wagga Wagga and we have been to visit once so far and we are going again in a couple of weeks for a few days last time we visited the little zoo they have there in amongst the botanical gardens not sure what we will be doing this time but of course with 4 young children to keep amused it should be fun :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Helen, I've never been to Wagga Wagga, but it sounds perfect for one of those little trips away to keep life interesting! And having four young children will help you see all the special little things that adults often miss. :)

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  2. oooh, Rachel, Melbourne is lovely! You'll have heaps of un, especially with lovecat Sharon! I love to travel and have a great trip lined up in a few weeks (San Francisco and new York, both places I've never been to). But now you've got me thinking about the plenty of places closer to home that I haven't visited yet- hmmmm, a road trip could be on the cards!!

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    1. Oh, I'm jealous about your big trip, Louisa! And, yes, you have so many amazing places closer to home - places that are on my list to explore too!

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    2. Louisa, I'm thrilled to bits to have Rachel whizzing in to stay for the night... she's very brave to come while we're still in reno-chaos! But we've cleared to paint cans so there's room for her! ;)

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  3. I love travelling, Rachel, and over the last few years have been lucky to visit some amazing countries. But just recently I went on a short road trip with my DB down south to Wanaka and Queenstown. We had a wonderful time and I felt like a tourist in my own country. Sometimes I forget to look at places right next door.

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    1. Sue, isn't it strange how we forget about the places so near to home? So easy to take them for granted!

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  4. I hope you have a ball in Melbourne, Rach. I'm really looking forward to visiting Melbourne in August. With Mr Douglas playing the odd masters hockey tournament in the last few years, I've been to some places I wouldn't have normally visited -- Grafton, Diamond Beach...Hobart! It can be a lot of fun exploring close to home too. Sometimes we'll just take off in the car for the day for the purposes of exploring. Oh, and for cake -- we always seem to find cake. :-)

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    1. Oh, what a lovely list of little places you've been visiting, Michelle! And I especially like that cake plan. :)

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  5. Hi Rachel, you'll have a ball at the retreat. Just pack your winter woollies. And give Sharon a big squeeze for me please!

    Love this quote. Wouldn't it be nice to just give in to wanderlust? I've been very lucky to do some of that in recent years though usually it's been tied to writing-related events or research. On my last trip I was very busy with research but I still managed to have fun and experience somewhere new - Copenhagen! Brilliant. Remind me to bore you with my photos some time!

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    1. Annie, I'll definitely give Sharon a squeeze from you. And I'm definitely asking to see those photos one day!

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    2. LOL, I'll look forward to that squeeze from Rachel on your behalf, Annie! :)

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  6. Travel. This is one of my favourite things to do. I love, love, love to travel. In fact, I need to plan a new trip asap.

    My last great trip was last year - Paris, London and The Lake District - just magic. We are off to the Blue Mountains in a few weeks (after my daughter runs in the state cross country trials in Sydney!!)

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    1. Jen, I remember that trip you took - the photos were amazing! I've never been to the Blue Mountains, so I'm hoping you get time to snap a few pictures while you're there too. :)

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  7. Rachel, only one sleep and I'll be seeing you! Woohoo! Looking forward to it!

    As for travel - oh, yes, I definitely have a travel chromosome! The last fabulous place we visited was The Simpson Desert in central Australia. Fascinating place! I seem to remember blogging at length about this so don't get me started, will you! LOL

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    1. Sharon, you constantly inspire me with your travels! I love it when you blog about them. :)

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  8. My next trip is to New York - yay! Me and Louisa living it up in the Big Apple :-)

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    1. I'm totally green about that trip, Amy! New York is on my bucket list. Have a great time and take lots of photos. :)

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  9. I'm another who loves to travel and get travel-envy when I read about others' adventures which leads to my dreaming (and sometimes plotting) of ways of getting there myself. One of the reasons I love to read is for the virtual travel -- love to immerse myself in another's place-in-the-world.

    My most recent Big Adventure was Italy -- this time last year I was living la dolce vita in Roma and my sister is there now so I'm reliving it through her eyes (and Instagram.) Later this year we're off to America and Canada for a few weeks. I'm most excited about my first visit to Montana.

    But I do love the smaller trips as well and you've reminded me that I need to make an effort to chase more of those. So many beautiful places for day trips and I don't do that enough.

    Enjoy your trip south, Rach, and make sure you pack your winter woollies.

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    1. Bron, I agree about the virtual travel through reading - I've been introduced to so many wonderful places through books.

      Montana? I've been in love with all those middle states (good with geography, no?) since listening to John Denver as a kid. Also on the bucket list. :)

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  10. Yep, totally a traveller at heart! Although I started later compared to a lot of people I know, J and I bought our first house together quite young (23...which seems crazy now) and so we had no money for it until later on.

    This year I'm off to Iceland, England and possible Germany as well as heading to NYC again for the RWA conference. No money for anything else, mind you haha.

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    1. Stefanie, I was a late starter too - just wasn't the thing anyone I knew did when I was growing up.

      Wow, your list is awesome! Now I'm hoping you'll blog about it. Especially Iceland!

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