*What?*

I'm a-goin' to Europe! End of June...can't wait. I expect to gather a veritable ton of material for writing. More than usual, at the very least. It still hasn't fully hit me that I'm leaving the good ol' continental U.S. for a place of incredible history and cultural significance. It being my first trip out of the country makes it a little more exciting.

Our itinerary is pretty full. We'll start out hanging around London, then head on over to Edinburgh for a few days...I'm really looking forward to seeing Scotland. After that, we're going to fly over to Vienna and see how things are in Austria. After that, Venice ("Ahhh...Venice.") and Rome are next on the list, with Rome being the final location. After that we get to savor that long flight back home (and the ensuing jet lag...which I hear affects different people differently).

Regardless, I can't wait to begin gathering material. Who knows how it might come in handy during future writing projects. I'm contemplating keeping a journal for the trip, writing down everything I find particularly important, unusual, or just plain interesting. We shall see. Now all I have to do is hope and pray the pilot doesn't have a heart attack in the jet stream, halfway across the Atlantic.

(In such a case, I leave my twisted sense of humor to all of you, for which you will probably curse my name and villify my memory until the day you die. Believe it or not, it's one of the most precious possessions I have...after my autographed Wayne Gretzky photo, that is.)

Inkwell
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"The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp."
-Anonymous

[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited May 28, 2005).]

[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited May 28, 2005).]

I'll be spending the month of August abroad. My hubbie is Glaswegian, and we'll devide our time between Glasgow and Edinburgh where his brother lives, and other points of interest around Scotland.

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I expect to gather a veritable ton of material for writing. More than usual, at the very least. It still hasn't fully hit me that I'm leaving the good ol' continental U.S. for a place of incredible history and cultural significance. It being my first trip out of the country makes it a little more exciting.

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Cultural significance, eh? It's only a different culture, and trust me, there is nothing really significant other than being different from what you are used to, which may be all the significance you need for inspiration. Just don't flip anyone the peace sign here in the UK or elsewhere, as this is roughly equivalent to giving someone the middle finger. How's that for cultural signficance? Seriously, it's good that your excited. Keep an open mind and enjoy the differences, because that's the best part about travel. I always get a kick out of people who complain that a foreign country doesn't do things like Americans do. Well, duh, I say to those people. If you wanted something like home, you should have stayed home. Why did you travel abroad in the first place?

Flights: Since I presume you live on the east coast, your flight won't be very long. 6 - 7 hrs there, 7 - 8 hours back, probably. Depends on where you fly out of. It will be like flying to California... Consider this: flying to Australia was 24 hours on an airplane (London to Sydney). That's a long flight.

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Regardless, I can't wait to begin gathering material. Who knows how it might come in handy during future writing projects. I'm contemplating keeping a journal for the trip, writing down everything I find particularly important, unusual, or just plain interesting. We shall see.

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A journal is a good idea. I took notes while in Sydney. I turned those notes into a travel memoir upon my return to home.

I hope you have a great time. Oh, and don't forget to learn the language whilst traveling in the UK. It's English, but different -- especially Scotland.

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* London Walks. They're advertised all over tube stations. I did the one to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral

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I've never seen them advertised -- and I'm surprised my wife hasn't mentioned them. Where did the Stonehenge walk start from? Do you recall? And how many miles or km was it?

Thanks.

Since you are visiting several countries, you might want to get the book for the whole place rather than the ones for each place.

I have used his books when I've gone (to Austria, Venice, London, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany) and they have been wonderful.

He tells you how to vacation in Europe the way the people who live there vacation in it instead of being insulated by all the American touristy things. He also tells you which of the touristy things are worth bothering with, how to do them inexpensively, and great places to stay while you're there.

I ran across this bit from a book I'm reading titled "Write Faster, Write Better" by David A. Fryxell:

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The key to turning travel experiences into story fodder is to be a pack rat. Grab every brochure, flier, handout, map, guidebook, and pamplet you can get your hands on. They're valuable not only for the written facts and figures, dates and names, but for the photographs that can jog your memory and add colorful descriptions to your copy. You can also take photographs of yourself, of course. It doesn't matter whether you're a terrific photographer or not, as long as your pictures are in focus. Always take color snapshots, so you'll know later whether that quaint old inn you're describing is red or blue. Take an extra suitcase if you have to, just for your research goodies, or mail a package back home to yourself. Also tote a notebook to supplement the published materials with insights and observations of your own. Don't count on remembering the details of even the most memorable vacation; you might not use some of this raw material for months or even years. Then, once you get home, devote a file cabinet or box in the closet to all your travel materials--labeled by destination so you can find them when you need them.

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One thing you should absolutely do if you are going to be taking photographs: keep a notebook that tells you what each photograph is showing. Include things like where you took it, when you took it, where you were standing, what direction you were pointing the camera, and so on, so you will know what it is later.

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BTW, we ran into Prince Charles and his new wife in Edinburgh Castle. Eh...that is, we were almost run over by his car as it passed through the castle. Just thought that might amuse some of the more morbid Hatrackers out there.