In recent weeks as our time away recedes to a very lovely memory its been back to study. Days spent walking the Island of Ortigia with the only concern being where to find a coffee have been replaced with meetings with my Supervisors, the research librarian etc, all part of the early stages of my PhD. Sure I have high levels of motivation but these are matched by even higher levels of anxiety.
Its time to settle down Continue reading
Sitting with a friend over a coffee discussing our recent trip to Italy I started to discuss how we got there
Sure the centre piece of our trip was spending three months in Italy but we had a strategy for getting there. We weren’t going to be hurried. We’d take our time. Fly only during the day and not any long haul.
This meant a stopover in Singapore. We were spoilt for choice for accommodation that fits any budget. We are fans of Tablet a boutique hotel website. We found a nice little hotel reasonably priced and a short walk from the MRT that linked directly to the airport. For my favourite person there was a relaxing bath for me a gym. It also provided us the opportunity for a relaxing evening, nice meal and a sleep in a comfortable bed something that being in a hurry to get there doesn’t allow.
The Bath!
After a relaxing sleep it was an early trip to the airport on the MRT and check-in, where we were surprised to have been given an upgrade for the short flight to Colombo. Silver service and more leg room!
Silver Service!
When you are not in a hurry, why not enjoy the journey. Continue reading
The very nature of Slow Travel is that you can establish a daily routine because there is no need to race to the next new thing.
Over our weeks in Sircausa our daily routine became a leisurely walk through the streets of the Island of Ortigia and its nearby mainland. Siracusa is a place that has seen so much over more than 20 centuries. it was something that we came to appreciate as we walked the streets each and every day.
These shoes are made for walking!
While our daily routine almost always started in search of a coffee and a pastry we were always captivated by Ortigia’s narrow streets that were laid out centuries ago.
Who else has walked through this archway?
These are streets that Plato quite possibly walked. It was amazing to imagine Archimedes having walked the same streets pondering some problem as we sought to solve the difficult problem of where to go for our morning coffee!
Did Archimedes walk down here?
Reading the guides or Jeremy Dummett’s book about Siracusa makes it impossible not to wonder whose footsteps we were retracing as we walked to coffee or just meandered through these narrow streets. In one of these streets Archimedes was murdered. Continue reading
One Love of slow travel is being able to frequent the local market. That means not just a walk through the local market as you take in the sights but the opportunity to visit and revisit a market that overtime becomes your local.
Ortigia Market from the Temple of Apollo
Our time in Sicily gave us the chance to visit the Origia Market on an almost daily basis for nearly 7 weeks. The market is nestled between the Temple of Apollo and the sea. By the Temple of Apollo vendors have stalls selling ceramics, belts and clothes and then a turn to the left and you have a wonderful choice of fruit, vegetables, bread, fish, meat and cheeses.
Day One purchases
On Day One there was no doubt we were “ripped off”. Continue reading
Slow Travel is a state of mind.
As I am writing my Diary of a Slow Traveller as a reflective diary, I have good reason to scan the thousands of photos I took while traveling through Italy. They are definitely snapshots that capture a moment rather than a work of art.
My favourites are the ones that look out over an expanse of water. Sometimes its just looking out to see or across a lake, other times it’s at a lone sailing boat or a lone fishing boat.
Lake Como
Lone Sailor – Ortigia
Lone fisherman – Ortigia
These photos were taken at Lake Como and Ortigia, Siracusa. All were taken at a time when I could immerse myself for perhaps a few seconds or minutes in the scene.
They provided me a “sense of place”. Continue reading