When we planned our trip to Europe I knew I would need to do some research and writing. I was quite looking forward to it. When we’d been away in 2015 I had used the early mornings and afternoon siesta time to write and that was in winter.

This time it’s summer and its hot and humid making the afternoons not that pleasant. As a result, it hasn’t been hard to spend many of our afternoons reading and writing while we have been travelling. My PhD supervisor will be pleased!

One task I have over and above my PhD research is to write a chapter for an academic book due for release next year. My contribution is due about a month after we get back and has been the main focus of my attention while we have been travelling. The topic is aligned to my PhD research which was why I pitched the idea in the first place.

With breakfast done, the day set to be hot and humid and a disappointing but not unexpected loss to my beloved Adelaide Crows out of the way, I sat down to write.

Our Airbnb apartment while excellent does not have a desk so I had to make do. I had asked our Airbnb host if she could print the background notes and chapter framework I’d been working on and they had conveniently arrived with some jam biscuits and fruit from her garden as I settled down to write.

With a freshly made cup of coffee I opened my laptop up and started typing. A thousand words before lunch with only a short break to head out to the local supermarket for some panini, burrata, and prosciutto to go with the homegrown tomatoes our Airbnb provided.

After lunch its back into it. Progress in the afternoon was a little slower but by Apreritivo time I had written more than 2000 words (and this post).

A very solid foundation and well on my way to my 8000 word target.