Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

Travel Brave - by Michelle

The dividing line in Switzerland

February 25th 2008 23:48
It’s been a while.

Even though the blog’s been quiet, I’ve been active and reading the mail from readers, I know that you’ve been beating a path through life too, sometimes with a machete and other times with a smile.

[ Click here to read more ]



45
Vote
   


Another Switzerland

December 28th 2007 00:15
If we are always arriving and departing it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things
- Henry Miller

[ Click here to read more ]
60
Vote
   


Switzerland

December 26th 2007 00:11
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.- Martin Buber

The place of arrival is a mysterious culmination of pleasure and disappointment. We travel to arrive, or so we think and when we do finally set our suitcase down and nestle into the comforts of a lengthy stay, be it weeks or years, we secretly wonder if we did something wrong. Shouldn't it feel like the end of Titanic? Where's the choir, the heated music, the kiss that ends all kisses? Where's the climax?

[ Click here to read more ]
49
Vote
   


Palace of the Prince

November 22nd 2007 21:43
People walk around with frames around their souls. Are we born with it? I don't know, but from an early age we begin to feel the edges of the permissible, the accepted and the traditions into which we now do life. Our frame can shrink and enlarge depending on the company we keep or the view from where we stand.

Travel helps us to look beyond our frame and to look into another's. By the connecting of minds, ideas, a common view, we find that our own frame begins to shift and bend and before, what was an encumbrance has become another perspective. The brave traveller understands this and uses every opportunity to rid himself of the fear that the frame is all there is. The frame is not all there is and it's not who we are.

[ Click here to read more ]
39
Vote
   


Monaco

November 4th 2007 06:03
Living in Sydney, I enjoy walking through the city at night. Surry Hills is a favourite with roads lined with trees, every one a timepiece and every falling leaf is a reminder that all is subject to change. Everything and everyone is in a sense, passing through from one state into another, from one room into the next. It is while traversing the streets of this city that I look into the faces of others as they brush past me...and I think on the loneliness that glistens in their eyes and tightens the line of their mouths. And I wonder if they look at me and see the same.

From Nice we travelled our way to the Principality of Monaco. The train ride took us through picture perfect vistas, a spattering of ocean views and green hills bursting with life and colour. There is a distinctive air of wealth as one arrives into Monaco. Even the train station is a beautified version of public transport found anywhere else in the world. We immediately got lost and had to ask a local standing on the platform for our way out. Once outside, the day ahead of us promised to be one of warmed sophistication


[ Click here to read more ]
72
Vote
   


On the lookout for a new life

October 24th 2007 03:46
When we step outside our doors, we rarely expect the day to bring anything more than what we managed the day before. It takes a series of decisions to force us to seek out the red pill and swallow it whole but some manage it.
And they never look back.


[ Click here to read more ]
41
Vote
   


Changing your life in Nice

October 16th 2007 07:20
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang

The French Riviera is a destination with its name in lights. For as long as we have had brave travellers, we have had the Riviera so it's difficult to write about this destination and yet bring something new to the table. My first trip to this part of France was not to oggle at the sights or sit on the beach but to champion a much more worthy cause - that of a good friend and her husband's endeavours to change their life. From 9 to 5 office jobs to working their way around Europe on super yachts, their dream was to woo their way on board some generous man's boat and work as deckhands. Their story inspired me


[ Click here to read more ]
31
Vote
   


Changing your life in Nice

October 16th 2007 07:15
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang

The French Riviera is a destination with its name in lights. For as long as we have had brave travellers, we have had the Riviera so it's difficult to write about this destination and yet bring something new to the table. My first trip to this part of France was not to oggle at the sights or sit on the beach but to champion a much more worthy cause - that of a good friend and her husband's endeavours to change their life. From 9 to 5 office jobs to working their way around Europe on super yachts, their dream was to woo their way on board some generous man's boat and work as deckhands. Their story inspired me


[ Click here to read more ]
32
Vote
   


Como

October 3rd 2007 05:09
The truth of the matter is that the traveller barely has time to write home to let family know they still live, much less the energy to press pause and attain the silence needed for any type of internal study. Your mission is to remain captivated by the Carnivale of the world, rather than the deep sea exploration of your own inner terrain. But how long before the bubbles of discontent break the surface?

Como is a favourite little spot of mine. It lies across the border from Switzerland and is a small alcove of Italian good humour. The history of this area is quite simple – got rich thanks to the Romans early on, then was destroyed by the Milanese in 1127 and after it was rebuilt, got rich again thanks to Milan. So it’s enjoyed a fair amount of good fortune thanks to various benefactors and it shows. Como has a beautiful walled old city and there are various points from which to enjoy the views over the water. The first view visitors will often enjoy is the one offered from the Piazza Cavour as it is situated right on the water but if you go into the old city and spend time in Piazza San Fedele, there is a view worth spending time to enjoy, behind the San Abbondio. The Baradello Tower sits behind the church and from here is a view that many don't seem to know about yet


[ Click here to read more ]
48
Vote
   


Via dell'Amore

October 1st 2007 07:09
As a brave traveller, we are geared toward the experience. We set out from home and we know that whatever lies ahead, it will be different. And we seek that difference as a bastion to set us apart from everyone else seeking the same experience but what we don’t always set out to accommodate is the fact that experiences often impact on us negatively or that we will one day find ourselves in a situation that may leave us disjointed, bruised or damaged. In the middle of the road trip down Route 66 or that cruise down the Amazon, how do we find the time and the capacity to stop…stop, take stock and heal ourselves?

Via dell’Amore is the famous stretch of walkway between Manarola and Riomaggiore. The best time of day to travel this way is as the sun is setting, passing over the sea, diving into the olive groves of the villages and flattening into their terraces. The walk is paved and will take about 40 minutes to walk it at a leisurely pace but if you are doing the entire walk between the villages, start early in the day otherwise if you plan on doing a pit stop along the way at any of the villages, you may find yourself walking to Monterosso as the sun is going down. In the height of summer, you'll find yourself with plenty of company but keep it in mind if you are doing it in the off peak season


[ Click here to read more ]
50
Vote
   


More Posts
1 Posts
2 Posts
2 Posts
28 Posts dating from August 2007
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:

Michelle's Blogs

I have no other blogs :(
Moderated by Michelle
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]