I�m off to Switzerland today! For an exhibition of my paintings at the Halde Galerie in Widen, near Zurich. The opening reception is Friday night. Then I will take a train (so I can see the countries I am traveling through) on Sunday to Amsterdam, check out the museums, galleries and such there and then fly home on May 5. Needless to say, I am very excited and eager to go. Just need to zip my bag up and turn of the computer.
I think the main reason I am so excited about this trip (besides my obvious love of travel and exploring!) is that I am going alone. Not that I haven�t traveled alone before: to Mexico for a month, to Santa Domingo for a week, and to other places. But this is different. The first time I went to Europe I was with two children. Tamar was eleven and Aaron was five. We were in London for two weeks and had a wonderful time, the three of us. We stayed in a B&B in Bloomsbury, near Sunny Googe Street. They were good travelers, enjoying the pigeons outside the National Gallery, watching the horse races on TV in the B&B, going to museums with me and generally, being in a new city. Then my husband-of-those-years came over for the rest of our six week trip. We took a boat-train to Paris, then rented a car and drove down through Chartres, Aix-en-Provence, the Riviera, Sienna, Florence to Rome. The last day in Rome, I said to my then-husband, �Let face it, our marriage is not good.� He asked what I wanted to do about it. (We had already had a round of marriage counseling.) I told him I thought we should split up when we got back to NYC. And we did. And I have never regretted that decision.
The last trip I took to Switzerland, two years ago also for an exhibit, I had a traveling companion with me whose very subtle, passive ways made him hard to be with. There is nothing like traveling with someone to know how you relate! This time I am going alone!
So. . .more later, probably in two weeks, maybe sooner!
Posted by leya at April 25, 2005 06:18 AMHave a wonderful trip! I've done a lot of traveling by myself and it's a completely different experience than being with even the best of traveling companions. I miss having someone to watch my bags while I run to find the ladies room, but I have also met such interesting people who I only ended up talking to because I wasn't with someone else.
I'll look forward to hearing your stories!
Posted by: Rachel at April 25, 2005 10:47 AMTraveling with the wrong person, whether you're otherwise close or not, can be deadly. I ended my trip to Vietnam a few days early to escape a companion who was driving me quite insane. Traveling alone, especially if there's a language you can use, is more apt to give you unexpected experiences.
If I'd known you were going, I'd have alerted a friend who, when I think of it, reminds me of you, and who has been living in Zurich for about the last three years. Perhaps I'll still let her know about your show.
Posted by: Chris at April 28, 2005 12:30 PMLeya - How was your trip? I am eager, as I expect others are to hear about it.
Posted by: Mike at May 19, 2005 09:25 PM