Summer of Travel
- Sep 10, 2019
- 3 min read
Since finishing university in May, I’ve barely spent a month at home. This isn’t an entirely unfamiliar situation to find myself in after three years living independently, but it’s definitely unusual to be away for so much of the summer. My bank account may be suffering, but my camera roll is full, and I have amazing memories and experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my life (once I’ve actually finished writing my travel diaries).
It’s difficult to pick out highlights from six fantastic weeks in Europe, but my time in Italy was particularly special. I rowed in the Vogalonga, a boating regatta that takes place every year in Venice to protest the use of power boats and the building erosion they cause in the city. The course is over 30 kilometres long and goes through the canals, out to the islands of Burano and Murano, and back into the city centre. Any non-motorised boat is allowed to participate, and this year I was part of a six-person gig crew coming all the way from Cornwall. We rowed alongside paddle boarders, dragon boats, and many more water craft, 3,000 vessels all united towards one goal. You’d think something terrible was coming as we rowed towards the start line; motor boats fled towards the open sea, the streets were deserted, and there we were, still digesting our cornflakes as we passed underneath the Rialto Bridge and bobbed alongside Doge’s Palace. While we were waiting for the starting cannons, a cruise ship passed through and was met with a chorus of boos that echoed off the very buildings we were all trying to protect, only emphasising the purpose of the event.
The Vogalonga concluded a three week road-trip that had taken us across the English Channel, into Fontainebleau in France, and onwards to Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda, in Italy. On our journey of over 1,000 miles we’d rock climbed in an ancient boulder forest, hurtled down waterslides, had several vehicle breakdowns, and traversed waterfalls on a via ferrata. Little did I know, I was in for even more fun in Annecy and Manigod, returning to France to begin an entirely new journey through Europe by train. This involved fewer mosquitos and much less time in a tent, but far more hostels, card games and late nights. I finished several books and TV shows in the hours we had whilst crossing borders and passing through countries, including Good Omens (which I’d really recommend). Through all of it, not one of us lost our essential documents, despite a near-miss with a wallet left in a train compartment in Prague.
We were fortunate to have good weather in each of the cities we visited, except Munich, where we were pummelled by torrential rain and thunderstorms for both nights. Occasionally, we wished the sun would disappear just for a moment to get some relief from the heat (especially when the air conditioning on the trains stopped working), but for the most part we relished our ability to wear shorts and T-shirts.
Unsurprising to anyone who knows me well, I burnt through another pair of Converse during my travels (although these ones will not join the last two pairs in landfill sites in both the UK and North America—they will be put to one side for the express purpose of getting dirty to save my new ones from the same fate). My Fitbit, and the soles of my shoes, can attest to the many miles I’ve trekked this summer, through cities and airports and train stations across seven different countries and territories. These included France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Holland, and Belgium. There were, of course, also many domestic trips, mostly to London, although I did venture further afield to Guernsey.
And my travelling is not due to slow down any time soon. I’m jetting off to Australia with my family in October, after a trip to London and a long weekend in the Peak District, and currently have a New Year trip to Norway in the works. As someone pointed out recently, the last thing I need is ‘another holiday’—but I don’t really see the trips that I’ve done this summer like that. I think of them more as excursions, adventures that allow me to see the world and explore places I’ve never been before. ‘Holiday’ conjures up images of all-inclusive weeks spent by the pool in a haze of endless buffet food and pina coladas. ‘Adventure’ is rather less…static.
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