On the final outing in our ten-day trip, we headed out after lunch, with Alistair at the helm of our bus, on our way to Inverness to catch our boat to Loch Ness. “If you come from Inverness, you’re called an Invernessian,” Alistair told us over the bus microphone. As we drove by a the […]
Virtual Vacation: Loch Ness Read More »
On this ten-day Write, Travel, Transform trip, we alternate a couple of days centered at “home” at Newbold House, with tour days. Today was one of our all-day tour days. Our first stop was Clava Cairns, laughingly described by one of our writers on the bus as “Stonehenge for wee people.” But once we arrived,
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At the end of every retreat I teach, I take notes about how things might be improved the next time around. I notice the things that go well, the things that fall flat, the rhythm of the days and the balance of activity, engagement, adventure and rest. And at the end of each retreat, especially
Virtual Vacation: The Power of Story Read More »
I woke up this morning to another visit from the Scrabble Fairy at my door, though this message, like the others, only makes sense if you’d been here. It would take me a whole blog post to explain why I laughed out loud when I stepped out of my door and saw these tiles: But
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This morning in our second full writing class, we talked about the importance of sensory details and then did one of my favorite exercises, practicing the art of “bare attention,” drawn from Vipassana meditation practice. After some instruction, I sent everyone out with jackets, sweatshirts and hats, a notebook, pen and a plastic chair–into the
Virtual Vacation: The World in One Square Foot Read More »
After celebrating our son Eli’s college graduation in Boston and spending a luscious week with my partner, all three of our kids and both grandkids in Granada, Spain, I said goodbye to my family and set off alone for Scotland to teach my retreat at Newbold House. I arrived back at Newbold House at midnight
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I’m getting ready to go on my first major trip since my mother died, more than ten months ago. I am remembering how I started every travel blog I ever wrote-going to visit my mother to say goodbye. She’d sit there under her wall of masks from her travels all over the world and she’d smile at me,
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It’s my last day in Mexico and we’re heading back to San Miguel. We passed once again through Tzintzantzun. We drove through the wonderful gauntlet of huge statues, past the town market, and there the carnival we’d seem disembodied on the road day after day. Now it was all set up and ready for children:
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Adios Mexico Read More »
I woke up before dawn this morning, quietly dressed, and went out for an early morning walk. The air was bracing and I was glad I’d pulled on my fleece. I headed off, thinking I’d walk as far as I could in a single direction so that I wouldn’t get lost. After a couple of
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As we wandered around Pátzcuaro this morning, doing a little shopping, we came across this storefront. Apparently, even AA obeys the rules of signage in this colonial town: “Once,” Suzy told me as we walked, “I was in Oaxaca and I came across the national headquarters of ‘Neuroticos Anonimos.’ Now that’s a 12-step program we
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Copper, Copper Everywhere Read More »
Breakfast at La Casa Encantada was served at a wide wooden communal table with beautiful place settings, hot coffee or tea, freshly cut fruit salad, three choices of eggs cooked to order, beans and toast. It was a pleasure to get to know some of our fellow guests, the food was delicious, and everywhere I
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I really wanted to sleep in this morning. I was dreaming of ten hours of sleep and not opening my eyes until 9 AM, but at 5:30 I was wide awake. I guess there’s still a lot of adrenaline coursing through my body from being on performance mode at the conference. It was still completely
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At the end of last year’s writer’s conference, I spent one night with my friends Richard and Suzy before flying home, and that night we cooked up the idea of going on a little road trip at the end of this year’s conference. It’s demoralizing to work so hard and be so exhausted only to
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I’m sitting in a big white tent with a floor of green grass, looking out at eight rectangular tables, set in rows, full of 22 of my students. I’m teaching my last class of the conference, on “The Unusual, Quirky Detail.” Right now, they’re in the middle of a writing exercise in which they make
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Last Licks Read More »
Since I was a little girl and my parents took me to the sprawling Collingswood auction and flea market on Sunday afternoons, I’ve always loved outdoor markets. I was particularly fascinated by the auctioneer who spoke so fast I could only understand one if ten words he said. And it was all in English. Ever
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