I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
My Year of Yes in 2018 is translating into lifelong travel dreams come true. Looks like I’m destined to visit the Galápagos Islands in the Fall. Ideas, suggestions, recommendations for my itinerary? Don’t be shy! Come at me!
Last week, I put out a call for help to plan my first international trip of the year—to Ireland. I’m doing research for my next Emerson book and I’ve long been thinking about Dublin because of the stunning Trinity Library and the many treasures it holds. Once I got into researching the city and surrounding area, there were so many reasons why this is the perfect destination for Emerson to travel to in book two. It is, after all, a land of magic, history, and literature. It is, and has been for centuries, a hotbed of science and discovery. From its museums to its castles to its natural phenomenon, Ireland has everything that Emerson needs to make her next daring leaps into her future. And they will be daring.
Here are some of the places I’m planning to visit:
Trinity College & Library
Marsh’s Library
Newgrange
The Little Museum
Birr Castle Gardens
National Museum of Ireland, including the Natural History Museum
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
…and a short stop over in Wistman Woods in England because I really need to see that with my own eyes to believe it’s real.
A huge thank you to Museum Hack and several of its staff members and tour guides who provided great tips and encouragement, tour company Hennessey & Furlong, Jennifer O’Neill, and all the staff of the sites tagged above. All of your advice and the ideas you shared have made me more excited than ever to visit this inspiring country. I can’t wait for spring!
Have you been to Ireland? Are there place you’d recommend I see that inspire wonder? I’d love to hear about them.
My 2018 resolution can be summed up in one word: Yes. My friend, Ria, recently told me about an article she read in which the author explained that when you commit to saying yes, your day ends up in a completely different place than where it started. And I’m all for that. Yes to:
I’m going to make 2018 the best year of my life so far in every way. And I’m going to lift others as I rise. We’re doing this.
Iceland has the most lovely Christmas Eve tradition. There they give books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spend the night reading, usually curled up under a cozy blanket while eating chocolate. This tradition is the reason for the word Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood”. It signifies the time between September and December when the majority of books are sold in Iceland in preparation for Christmas giving. 1:10 Icelanders is an author, and they buy and read more books per capita. What a country!
Now that Emerson Page is out in the world, I’m going to have to figure out how to get her to Iceland, in book two and into Jolabokaflod. I’ll be glad to tag along to see what she finds.
Wishing you a cozy, comfy December 24th filled with books and chocolate.
I’m completely obsessed with the secrets of New York City. It’s haunted in the best possible ways. As I write Emerson Page’s second book, I’m learning that there is so much here she needs to discover. I need to explore these secrets first-hand, and I want you to go with me! Interested? I’m now amassing a list of tours and places that I’ll be poking around in the coming months. Here’s a sampling of what I’m finding:
This city literally breathes. It’s always whispering to us. I’m listening and getting it all down as best I can. I hope you’ll join me in this pursuit.
D.C. friends, keep your eyes open for my book on your morning commute. Books on the Metro has copies of my book and is placing them on the DC metro trains. If you find one, pick it up, read it, and then return it to the metro when you’re done for someone else to read. (And snap a picture if you can!) Happy commuting.
“People who avoid risks are rewarded with their safety. People who take the risks are rewarded with adventures.” ~Andy Crouch, improvisor and Director of Education at the Hideout Theatre
Everyday we have this choice: to stay safe or to have an adventure. My friends often comment to me that my superpower is that I have absolutely no fear of rejection, and therefore have lots of adventures. I think that’s mostly true. Professionally, I have zero fear of rejection. In my personal life, I’ve got a little more trepidation. (I’d do well to start injecting a little more bravery into my personal life. That’s a story for a later post.)
I have been rewarded in my life with many adventures that have had varying degrees of success. I’m grateful for all of them, even for the ones in which I failed magnificently, because they led me to even more adventures. I think that’s really the point of it all: to go out into the world, and I mean as far out there as you can possible get, and see what you find. That’s what I’m doing, and then subsequently what the characters in my books are doing.
Now that my full-time job is squared away and my first book is less than a month from publication, I’m plotting out the adventures that my characters and I will have in this coming year. And it’s going to be one hell of an adventurous year. Stay tuned…
This weekend I started sketching out my second book about Emerson Page and her travels are going to take her to the Land of Fire and Ice—Iceland. Next month, I’m going to take a long weekend to go to Iceland, poke around, take a lot of pictures, and do some writing. I would love to get any recommendations about where to go, what to see, where to stay, and who to meet while I’m there. Cheers and thank you, or rather skál and Þakka þér fyrir!
Someday, I’m going to get on a train, sit in the cafe car, and travel across the country with a random and revolving set of travel partners. I’ll just sit down and see who sits down across from me. I’ll learn about aspects of their life stories in the snippets of the time we have together and then I’ll write about it. My guess is that we have far more that binds us together than separates us from one another. We’re all on Team Human, right?
“The world is full of wonderful things you haven’t seen yet. Don’t ever give up on the chance of seeing them.” ~J.K. Rowling
As we wind down summer and head into fall, I’ve got travel planning on my mind. Every year I take an international trip, and I’ve started thinking about what I might do next year. (I’m open to any and all suggestions so send them to me!) I find that travel always opens my mind and helps me to imagine new possibilities. I love to see how people live in different places. I love to hear about their triumphs and trials and what their greatest hopes are for their future. Travel always makes me grateful for my home and reminds me that we are all so much more alike than we are different. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Christa Avampato 