Travelling to happiness. Isn’t that the point of it _ travel I mean. I travel a bit. I’ve been home a week now . It was great. I plan great trips. Now I have jet lag and it is lasting longer than usual. It will pass just like the Adriatic and Aegean Sea passed under me. Like the gigantic Bosphorus passed by ancient Byzantium on my “Byzantine Odyssey”. Istanbul, founded by Greek scouts in 660 BC, beautiful Greek Isles, especially Corfu covered in cypress and olive trees, and the island of Delos , birthplace of Apollo. Precious Venice, vaporettos (water taxi) , a visit to Accademia , Giardini Marina Park, a Commissario Brunnetti novel read where he lives. Add more drama by reading a book that takes place in the city you are visiting. His district is Castello. Ravenna’s marvelous mosaics, a collection eight historic buildings and UNESCO World Heritage site, in Italy. All dreams come true for me . I am lucky, I am happy. But now what? I made a Thai style salad dressing for lunch for excitement. I miss ordering off a menu. I have to challenge myself . It gives me energy until the post trip funk goes away. Yesterday I visited our local farmers market. That was fun. Luscious summer produce made me happy. Reconnecting with my laptop made me happy. I won’t do that again (leave it at home).Lots of down time with airports and flying. Think of all the things you can do coming and going. Next time I’ll be busy having more fun with my laptop. I notice airlines with the best on board amenities and service have happier clients. I was thinking about why so many Americans don’t have passports, don’t travel internationally. It’s clearly because they have only travelled domestically and fear the world is like that. They think everyone wears their oldest clothes while traveling. Maybe it’s to scare people from sitting next to them. It works for me, I know. I try to sit alone when possible. I can find something to be happy about in an airport. I get very emotional, seeing people reunited with their loved ones. Fun to watch the big smiles, hugging ,and kissing.Try to imagine why they are so happy. Are they coming home or are they away from home. Baggage claim is an emotionally charged area ,too. A good place to listen for foreign accents. Just for fun, listen next time you wait for luggage and count the languages you recognize. If none, try to expand your horizons further. Of course things turn when the bags don’t show up. I have never lost my bag for more than three days. Always keep valuables plus a change of clothing in your carry on bag. Always. No excuses. Arriving on the same plane with your luggage is happiness.
