Weekend Wanderlust

Wanderlust (noun):  A strong desire or impulse to travel.

I spend so much time writing about the French Riviera that I neglect to share other great travel journeys I’ve experienced.

Such as sharing a barbecue lunch on a tropical atoll in Aitutaki, trekking through rice terraces in Bali, scouting for the best coffee in Melbourne, bartering for silk pyjamas in a Chinese airport, bar hopping in Gothenburg, snorkelling with hammerhead sharks in New Caledonia, drinking far too much Chianti at Christmas time in Tuscany….the list goes on….

Our desire to travel is inspired by photographs, videos, stories, blogs, documentaries and more than enough Instagram and Pinterest accounts.  Researchers have also discovered a gene – DRD4-7R – that they say pre-disposes a person to roaming based on DNA studies of prehistoric nomadic cultures.

Whether it comes down to genetics or curiosity, travel broadens our minds, fosters discovery, fulfils our dreams, challenges us and creates relationships.

In light of this, from next month I will be starting a new monthly blog post ‘Weekend Wanderlust‘ where I’ll be sharing insight of somewhere to escape from the French Riviera for 1-3 days.  The criteria for each post:

• Must be reachable via driving or public transport (NO flights allowed!)
• Must be within 5 hours travel time to allow for easier travel for families with kids
• Must appeal to a range of ages
• Must include 3 useful travel tips

France has so many other beautiful regions its high time I give them a shout out.  So, I hope you’ll follow me as I share more travel stories including places to stay, restaurant suggestions, sightseeing advice from beyond this immediate region – some topics I’ll be discussing will be:

• Shopping in Aix-en-Provence
• Street Art in Lyon
• Visiting Nimes & the Pont du Gard
• The Crusaders Path  : Aigues-Mortes & the Camargue
• Road trip to Gorges du Verdon

First up in the New Year, find out more about history, art and monuments in Arles.  To whet your appetite, I’m sharing a video from Arlesian Claude Caneri:

https://youtu.be/uhYEAGcJF1g

See you soon #weekendwanderlust !