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Home and abroad thoughts
Jun. 5th, 2005 09:50 pmHome again.
I thought I'd miss this; posting, reading, LJ and indeed the internet in general. I didn't, much - it would have been a real hassle arranging internet access while we were away, and we were doing other stuff and thinking of other things.
And while we were away I thought a lot about what we were doing, and which bits of it I was enjoying, and which I thought we could have done better. This is always the case, that when I'm on holiday everything is so intense and so present that I think "how will I ever answer those 'Did you have a good holiday?' questions, how will I make all these complicated thoughts into an answer to such a simple question?" Then, when it comes to it, someone asks "Did you have a good holiday?", and of course the simple answer is "Yes" Partly because of course I did; and partly because I'm already getting my home head on again, and all that away intensity is slipping away.
Enough abstractions. The walking was good, but we'd been over-ambitious, particularly as the heat rose into the 30s and stayed there; we did maybe two thirds of the distance we'd planned, and I'm reasonably satisfied with that. I would have liked to walk more, but then I'd also have liked to spend more time being a tourist. Some things you have to make your choice.
I loved the Béarn, not a region I'd been particularly aware of before, and thought I would be sorry to leave until we came into the Pays Basque and I remembered how beautiful it is; I loved walking the ridge roads with the snowy Pyrenees in the distance; it was fascinating to be in France during the referendum on the European constitution; we drank some great wines; and we saw a great crowd of vultures circling down the valley. And I hope I'll write more about some of these things, but not tonight.
I thought I'd miss this; posting, reading, LJ and indeed the internet in general. I didn't, much - it would have been a real hassle arranging internet access while we were away, and we were doing other stuff and thinking of other things.
And while we were away I thought a lot about what we were doing, and which bits of it I was enjoying, and which I thought we could have done better. This is always the case, that when I'm on holiday everything is so intense and so present that I think "how will I ever answer those 'Did you have a good holiday?' questions, how will I make all these complicated thoughts into an answer to such a simple question?" Then, when it comes to it, someone asks "Did you have a good holiday?", and of course the simple answer is "Yes" Partly because of course I did; and partly because I'm already getting my home head on again, and all that away intensity is slipping away.
Enough abstractions. The walking was good, but we'd been over-ambitious, particularly as the heat rose into the 30s and stayed there; we did maybe two thirds of the distance we'd planned, and I'm reasonably satisfied with that. I would have liked to walk more, but then I'd also have liked to spend more time being a tourist. Some things you have to make your choice.
I loved the Béarn, not a region I'd been particularly aware of before, and thought I would be sorry to leave until we came into the Pays Basque and I remembered how beautiful it is; I loved walking the ridge roads with the snowy Pyrenees in the distance; it was fascinating to be in France during the referendum on the European constitution; we drank some great wines; and we saw a great crowd of vultures circling down the valley. And I hope I'll write more about some of these things, but not tonight.
