As a woman, my country is the whole world
I came across this quote by Virginia Woolf (abridged quote from Three Guineas) and just had to share:
I love the idea that as women, our country is the whole world. Especially since I love to travel!
I like pretty much all travel—whether we’re talking day trips, weekends away, or longer vacations. I enjoy trips to nearby places, like the Jersey Shore and Philadelphia, mid-range places like Washington DC or Rhinebeck, NY, and farther US places, like Charleston, SC, Sedona, AZ, and San Francisco. And I like—no, LOVE—traveling out of the country, to places like Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and more. (And hopefully A LOT more!)
My most recent trip was at the end of June. My husband Morris and I went to a family wedding in the upstate of South Carolina, near Greenville—it was just a three-day weekend, full of family (and driving) and fun. Before that (at the end of May) we took a six-day getaway to San Francisco. Here are a few pictures from that trip:
You can travel for lots of reasons: to visit friends or family; to attend a specific function (like a work event, a wedding, or a funeral); or for a vacation.
I have to say that of the options, “vacation” is my favorite. When done well, it gives you an opportunity to step away from your usual home obligations and to see new places, engage in new experiences or adventures, and, if you are on vacation with anyone, to get to know that person on a deeper level.
Morris and I have been together for eight years, and we have been going on vacations together for the last 7-1/2 of those years. Not long after we started vacationing together, we started talking about places we each wanted to go—places that we each have on our life list (sorry, I don’t like the term “bucket list”, and don’t like the idea of putting things off or only doing them with a literal deadline).
Some of the items are only on one person’s list—like Macchu Picchu (on my list but not Morris’s)—but many are on both of our lists, and we’ve been doing our best over the past several years to get to many of the places we are interested in visiting—from time in France visiting Normandy (Morris’s choice), Paris (both) and Lyons (mine), to trips to Rome and Venice, and cruises in the western Mediterranean taking us to France and Spain, or to the other side of Italy, where we visited Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey.
We are still working on getting through our list, with plans in place for more travel (and to more life list destinations) later this fall. We go despite physical issues (I have rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, Morris has osteoarthritis in his knees), occasional financial issues (usually mine), and more. But we always find a way because truly, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
What about you? Do you travel? Do you like travel? Do you wish you could travel, even if you don’t.
Join me in coming back to Virginia Woolf’s words: As women, our country is the whole world.
Whether you already have travel plans or you haven’t made any in years, tell me: Where in the world do you want to go? It could be for a short trip or something major. If you’d like some help coming up with your own trip ideas and your life list, get the download below!
P.S.—If you are interested in reading Three Guineas, the lengthy essay from which the quote about women being citizens of the world is taken, I’ve added a link to it, both singly and bundled with her earlier essay, A Room of One’s Own. Both include her thoughts on feminism and on the need to educate and support women, and Three Guineas also includes Woolf’s opposition to war. (It stirred up quite a hornet’s nest on all counts.) Full disclosure: These are both Amazon Affiliate links, which means I will get a pittance from them if you purchase anything using my links.
