There and back again

by Mary Jo

Spending the first week of February in the Caribbean in the honorable pursuit of Vitamin D to tide us through the winter got me to thinking about vacations in general and the history of vacations in particular. 

We had a lovely trip to Virgin Gorda--highs in the mid 80s, lows in the upper 70s, and the turquoise Caribbean rolling in about 20 feet away from our broad, covered patio--what's not to like?  <g>  And having a crowing rooster in the back of the very small plane that took us between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Virgin Gorda just added to the exotic fun. 

From a historical perspective, it’s pretty amazing that we can climb on an airplane, fly a few hours, and vacation in a different climate and time zone.  A journey across the Atlantic which once took months can be done overnight—for a long weekend getaway, if one wishes. 

I think that the desire to see other places is innate, though some people feel it much more strongly than others. (Wave an airline ticket and my sister will follow anyone anywhere.) 

People with a lot of money have always been able to travel, and one of the first great travel destinations was Egypt, with its incredible tombs, temples, and pyramids.  Rich Greeks and Romans visited—and left their graffiti. 

Side note:  Graffiti are an inevitable consequence of travel.  Napoleon’s soldiers left their share of marks on Egyptian monuments, and Byron famously carved his name on the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, Greece: http://ssad.bowdoin.edu:9780/snipsnap/eng242-s05/space/Temple+of+Poseidon

So rich people have always traveled, but from the wonderful Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis, I learned that middle-class Romans were travelers, too.  In fact, they seeme to have invented the package tour.  In the Roman empires, several critical factors allowed tourism to take root: Roman roads and the Pax Romana made travel relatively safe, and there were people with enough money and leisure to take advantage of that.   

The Lindsey Davis book that tipped me off was See Delphi and Die, in which Falco, a tough, smart mouthed Roman informer that Sam Spade would recognize, goes off to Greece to investigate the murders of two Roman girls in Olympus.  I strongly recommend the Falco novels—they’re smart and funny and reflect great research, and they take place all over the Roman empire.  While I don’t advocate using another writer’s fiction as serious research, one can learn a lot about Rome and Roman society from reading Lindsey Davis.  http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/   

Her discussion of Roman package tours got me to a’googling, and I found the delightful site of Tony Perrottet, whose book Route 66 A. D. chronicles his adventures in following the ancient Roman tourist routes with a backpack and his pregnant girlfriend.  This link is to his home page, which describes the background of his book:  http://www.tonyperrottet.com/paganholiday/index.php   while this one is an excerpt from the book describing how Naples was the summer playground of rich Romans. http://www.tonyperrottet.com/paganholiday/excerpt.php  (I think I'm going to have to buy the book.) 

So this sort of thing had been going on for a long time. 

When the Roman Empire collapsed, travel was no longer safe.  People still traveled, of course, but they tended to have compelling reasons and armed guards.  For an average man, the main ways to travel were to become a soldier (always a dicey proposition in terms of returning home), or to take a pilgrimage.

Pilgrimages flourished through out the middle ages, and continue today.  They can take place for many reasons: religious devotion, the desire to pray for a child or a healing, to give thanks, to confess and seek redemption. 

But having a good time and seeing a new place and meeting new people were surely part of the motive for many pilgrims  The Canterbury Tales make it clear that it’s April and a jolly good time to ride out on a pilgrimage:

When in April the sweet showers fall
That pierce March's drought to the root and all
And bathed every vein in liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower
………..
Then folk do long to go on pilgrimage.

Margery Kempe was one of the most famous pilgrims, a middle class married woman and mother with a strong spiritual calling who made many pilgrimages, going as far afield as Rome, Jerusalem, and Spain.  The Book of Margery Kempe tells of her spiritual ponderings and her journeys, and is sometimes considered the first autobiography in vernacular English.  (It was apparently ghost written, but that's a mere detail.)

In the 18th century, the Grand Tour became popular for the sort of rich gentlemen we write about.  They would visit the great capitals of Europe with tutors and servants and perhaps an artist who would draw the sites visited.  (Holiday pictures were labor intensive in the days before cameras. <g>) 

The great age of travel for the average person—people like us, in other words—came in the 19th century, with the invention of better roads, trains and steamships.  The roads came first—in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle take her on a tour and that’s how she sees Darcy’s home, Pemberley. 

But it was the trains that really opened the floodgates.  Thomas Cook was a devout Baptist and temperance advocate who in 1841 got the idea of cutting a deal with a British railroad to transport a group of other temperance workers to a rally, taking them eleven miles for a shilling a head, which included transport and food.  Not a bad deal. 

His idea was successful, and soon he was organizing other tours within England, and then abroad, to the point where the phrase “a Cook’s tour” came into the language. 

Within England, trains made it possible for the working class to take holidays, and like lemmings, they headed to the sea both for day trips and longer holidays.  Seaside towns like Blackpool and Weston-super-Mare flourished.  And if the water was cold and the beach made of shingle rather than sand—there were piers and amusements and new people to meet.  It was a holiday and exciting--a journey the whole family could look forward to all year.

From there, it's been a steady progression to backpackers and Labor Day weekend traffic jams.  I made the student grand tour of Europe myself after my sophomore year in college, traveling with a friend by bike and thumb and train over a good part of Europe.  I'll never forget the excitement of landing at Heathrow for the first time and knowing that finally, finally I was in England.  (I was apparently born an Anglophile. <g>)

So I like to think that we were following an old and honorable tradition by going to Virgin Gorda, where we could admire the other dramatic volcanic islands around the Sir Francis Drake Channel, and we contemplate cruising and diving pelicans.  Of which there were many. (What is the collective noun--a passel of pelicans???) 

A few years ago a friend of long standing called me because her high school senior daughter wanted to spend spring break in London with her boyfriend.  My friend, a happy homebody, was not at all keen on the idea, and it’s to her credit that she called me for input, because she had to have known someone who has traveled as much as I have would say “Let them go!”  Not only were both kids responsible young adults—as I pointed out, London was surely safer than Ft. Lauderdale during spring break.  So her daughter and boyfriend went to London and had a wonderful time, and returned with a broader view of the world.

And that's why we take holidays, isn't it?  To enjoy and learn and get a broader fiew of the world.  So what great trips have you taken?  And what journeys would you like to make?  What’s on your personal list of “places to see before I die?”  I’d love to hear!

Mary Jo, who loves to travel—and loves to come home again.  (Author in the tropics on the left.  And if you wonder why there is no detail--see my blog on introverts. <G>)

Comments

[Virginia]

For those who read German, a series of books is coming out now in regard to the medieval/early modern "Jacobswege," the routes that pilgrims took to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. There are also good web sites in German in regard to the "Goldene Strasse" (Gold Road) from Nuernberg east to Prague, and the "Reichsstrasse" (Imperial Road) that went from Mainz through Frankfurt am Main, Erfurt, and Leipzig to points east.

There are also online maps of the French and imperial (Holy Roman Empire) postal routes. By the 16th century, these were, except in time of active hostilities, fairly safe to travel.

They're interesting. The French routes were government-sponsored and all radiated out from Paris, because the purpose was to take royal orders to provincial administrators. It looks like an airline hub -- it was hard to get from any one spot to another on a decent road without going through Paris.

The imperial routes were laid out by the Thurn und Taxis family, which had the franchise of the post office, and were designed to get things from here to anywhere else as efficiently as possible.

[Maggie Robinson]

Fascinating post! While my love of travel has dimmed some as I grow older, I'll never regret my adventures in the past and the pictures to prove it. I'll never get on a mule again to ride down the Grand Canyon, for example! I had my eyes shut most of the way. *g*

[Kathy Kremer]

Our family did a bareboat cruise in the British Virgin Isalnds in 1995 that was a highlight of our lives. The tides are not too strong or dangerous and since are there no nighttime navigational aids you find your mooring spot about 3PM and settle for a rest, dinner and stargazing. It was quite an adventure. We also went to Israel in 1999 before things got unsettled again and it was a wonderful trip. Other than that we don't get out much.

[Kate]

My dream is to visit Ireland mostly the west coast. I would also love to see Scotland and Wales before I die.
With the farming it may be hard.
Thanks for the journey.

[Maya]

*squeeing fangirl alert*
LOVE your blogtopic! I have long been a rabid fan of the Falco series and haven't a clue why it doesn't get more buzz on this side of the pond. Falco and Helena are an absolutely unique and smart pair. Not to mention funny! I must go find this route 66 book now...

[Kalen Hughes]

I love to travel. Ok, not so much the travel itself, but I love the adventure of being wherever I end up.

I always love getting to England, and New Zealand was a blast, but it's places a bit further afield (linguistically and culturally) that really tempt me.

TURKEY. Can't say enough wonderful things about Turkey. I could live in Istanbul. I ADORE that city. It's filled with wonderful food and amazing history, and the people are warm and outgoing (which is always a nice bonus IMO).

MOROCCO. I don't know what it is about Morocco that just calls to people, but I know it does (and yes, I had Crosby, Stills and Nash's first album on my iPod so I could listen to Marakesh Express as my train rolled down from Casablanca).

BANGLADESH. I'm headed off for my day job at the end of the month and I can't WAIT!!! I have no idea what it will be like, but it's sure to be an adventure (and it's sure to inspire me, all my other trips have).

[Gretchen F]

Alas, my budget has never allowed for travel- last year I took the train from Indianapolis to Chicago for one night- my first "travel" adventure in five years. But I got a brochure in the mail last month for a form of travel that sounds DIVINE- River Cruises. You can get on a luxury boat and cruise down the Danube, or the Nile- you can cruise in China or India, too. Since most of the great historical cities grew up on navigable waterways, you can begin in Antwerp and travel to Vienna and pass by cathedrals, castles, and historical sites without ever having to change hotels, or you can view the pyramids from a deckchair. In England, there are smaller canal boats that offer week-long excursions. I think some are offered in Scotland, too. If I win the lottery, that's what I want to do. I would like to cruise up and down every major river in the world. And I would add all the optional tours-the extra 3 days in Paris, the visit to the Vienna Opera- I think it sounds like the ultimate luxury travel.

[Elaine McCarthy]

There are several magazines and websites where a person can find travel opportunities that include volunteering, or living native, or adventure-type stuff. The options are ever-changing and always enticing.

My own travel dreams include China, Macchu Picchu, a boat trip down the Rhine, a white night in Scandanavia, the Northern Lights in Alaska. Plus I'd love to visit Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Iceland... I could go on and on. If the budget would permit, I'd probably travel three months out of every year.

[Sharon]

I have been most fortunate in being taken on a trip once a year for the past 12 or so years. The first one we took was to British Columbia (and Jo's home of Victoria) and the Canadian Rockies. This past September we spent 2 weeks (not NEARLY long enough) in Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, etc.). In between there have been trips to Ireland and Alaska, as well as different parts of the U.S. Just this past Saturday, I was asked to think about the destination for 2009 -- England, France, Hawaii? We go on a modern-day "package tour" so I'm sure there is much that we miss in terms of "regular" people, but getting to go at all and seeing places that I've read about and seen in pictures is such a great treat that I wouldn't even THINK of complaining. Besides, this way someone else worries about the airline tickets and hotel reservations, etc., and all I have to do is enjoy.

I envy your trip to the Caribbean, Mary Jo (especially with the snow and ice here in Indiana this winter). A cruise was part of our trip to Alaska and I have always wanted to take another one in the Caribbean.

[maryjoputney]

From MJP:

Virginia, thanks for the fascinating information on the Renaissance trade, pilgrimage, and mailing routes. It makes sense that these would be there then--civilization and good transportation go hand in hand.

Maggie--I must admit that taking a donkey down the Grand Canyon is NOT a thing I'm too regretful to have missed!

Kathy, the Virgin Islands are one of the world's great cruising grounds, with peaceful waters and so many beautiful islands to choose from. I'd love to cruise around them someday--but with a crew that knows how to sail, since I don't. :)

Ah, Kate, the Celtic countries! Magical. But having grown up on a farm, I know what you mean about getting away for a long trip. Even overnight is hard.

Maya--I think the Falco books are sold all over the world, but for some reason, they seem to be only moderately successful in the U.S. Maybe someday, like Patrick O'Brian's books, they'll take off.

>>(and yes, I had Crosby, Stills and Nash's first album on my iPod so I could listen to Marakesh Express as my train rolled down from Casablanca). <<

Kalen, thanks for the indelible image!

Gretchen, you're absolutely right about the river boat cruises! I first read about them in a magazine, and promptly fell in love with the concept. And a year and a half, we did a riverboat cruise in Portugal (going into the edge of Spain.) It was wonderful--a traveling hotel with excursions to other interesting things, and amazing views. I blogged about the trip, too. (September or possibly October 2006.) I'd like to do another some day. France or the Danube.

Elaine, interesting about the websites and magazines with travel opportunities. Worth checking out.

Sharon, have fun choosing the next destination! I envy you the trip to Italy--it's on my Someday List.

Mary Jo

[Susan/DC]

Like Kalen, I love being in a different place, but the actual travel part not so much. One way my family has been able to afford travel is by doing home exchanges: We live in someone else's house and they live in ours. It's far more comfortable than a hotel and far less expensive, plus it means you're living in a real neighborhood and not downtown where the hotels are. I highly recommend it, whether for places in the US or abroad.

[Virginia]

For the English-oriented, there's a detailed surviving record of the Grand Tour taken by young William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire, in the 1630s (he was born in 1617).

He was accompanied by his tutor, a then unknown man named Thomas Hobbes.

[Susan Wilbanks]

When I was growing up my parents used to take me on camping trips all around the country. We visited all kinds of national parks and historic sites, and I must've been to 30 of the 50 states before I was 18. (I'm now 40 for 50.)

When I was in my 20's I lived in England for a year. The stipend I was living on was too small for major European trips while I was there, but I did roam around the UK as much as I could. Since I was working in Bristol, I spent a lot of time in places like Bath, Wells, Avebury, and Glastonbury, and I used to go to London for the weekend whenever I could with my then-boyfriend now-husband. We also got over to Ireland for a week at the end of our year.

Just talking about England makes me homesick for my haunts from that year. I'd love to have the opportunity to live there for a few years, *in* a few years, when my daughter is old enough to appreciate it.

Other places on my must-see list: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, India, New Zealand. I'd like to see Israel and Egypt someday. Also Samoa, Japan, Kenya...I know it's an eclectic mix, but all it takes is reading a book that hooks me on a place or hearing a friend talk about his home country or some amazing vacation.

[maryjoputney]

From MJP:

Susan W., I hear you on reading about a place, and then wanting to visit. :) Ever since reading a Phyllis Whitney book set in Capetown, I wanted to go to South Africa. (And I did.)

Alexander McCall Smith and Botswana, anyone? :)

Mary Jo

[talpianna]

I strongly recommend Steven Saylor's novels set in late Republican Rome, featuring Gordianus the Finder, and Lynda S. Robinson's mysteries about Lord Meren, Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh to King Tut.

When I was ten, we went abroad for three years (my father was seconded to the NATO Defense College in Paris and then to HAFSE in Naples) and managed to tour a good hunk of Western Europe. Unfortunately, our trip to the British Isles wound up being just a week in London. I'd love to go back and see Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands, and Wales and Cornwall. Ireland, too, but not as much. I'd also like to visit New Zealand and Antarctica (via one of those luxury cruise ships on which you stay aboard at night and make day trips--not that keen on sleeping with the penguins).

Tropical paradises don't appeal to me much, for some reason; I've always preferred cold to heat. One of the best trips in fiction is the trans-Canada railroad trip in Dick Francis's THE EDGE.

And, Mary Jo, you could always make a day trip to the seaside in a charabanc:
http://tinyurl.com/2hqdka

[MJ Selle]

We've been living in Malaysia for the past 2+ years and have managed to visit Thailand, Singapore and Perth in Western Australia. Malaysia has very flexible visa requirements for anyone who wants to stay long-term. It's a former British colony, so many people speak English. Beautiful beaches, jungles and mountains, good (and sometimes strange) food and a combination of the old and new make for a very interesting time! It's also a good "jumping off" location for Cambodia, Bali, Western Australia etc if you're coming from North America.
I've enjoyed my time here, but I'm truly looking forward to getting back to the U.S.