Still tripping

Do you ever play the game of "If I won the lottery, I'd..."?

If you won the big jackpot (it has to be the big one, 'cause a million bucks doesn't go as far as it used to) what would you do with it?  Let's skip right to the part after you've given money to the charities closest to your heart and the family members you want to help and you've got a big ol' pile of the stuff that doesn't buy happiness but sure would be fun to play with.  Now what?

For sure I'd like to travel, and Italy is right at the top of my list, very closely followed by just about the rest of Europe (I'm not feeling too friendly about Greece just now).  I'd like to travel in a drifting sort of way - no pressure of itineraries, no 'if this is Tuesday I must be in Lichtenschtein' - just the freedom to stay where I like until the customs folks drag me out or I feel like returning home.

Everyone dreams of travelling, don't they?  I'm sure you can all name three places you'd like to see at the drop of a hat. Do you choose the beautiful or do you go for heat and beaches? Maybe you'd make a pilgrimage of it, to visit the sites of your favourite British authors or the Saints of Italy. Perhaps you'd like to explore the Orient, follow the ancient spice route, or traverse the Outback. Do you go by planes, trains, or automobiles? Do you document every moment of your voyage with camera or journal, or do you live every moment and trust the experience to infuse your very being?

Travel is a given. The greatest luxury item I can think of for at home is black-out blinds.  If I had money to play with, I would buy black-out blinds.  Here, on the second stop of The Great Northern Road Trip, my room (most graciously loaned to me by Noah) is kitted out with a very remarkable window covering.  It looks like an ordinary sort of contraption but when it is fully in place, not one beam of light comes through - save for a tiny sliver at the very edge, meaning the room is perfectly... well, womb-like.  Fantastic! No seeping vapours from street lights nor even any stray gleam of stars.  I haven't slept so deeply in a very long time, even though I feel like I'm bobbing on a raft when I roll over in bed.  Not even the threat of motion sickness diminishes the magical power of these blinds.

Having a lovely time; wish you were here.
t.