More Connections (of a different sort)

Aberdeen

I have reached Day 55 of a 56 day trip. I have slept in 12 different beds. demystified 12 different showers, made and changed about 20 rail reservations and managed a wardrobe designed to take me from the end of August to the end of October. Did you know that travel is an especially beneficial activity for older adults because it fosters brain plasticity? I'm not joking. 

In Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life, Dr. Michael Merzenich — known as "the father of brain plasticity" — explains the importance of getting outside our comfort zone and embracing the unfamiliar. People who travel to new places, keep learning languages and continue to experience new things into old age, are far less likely to develop cognitive decay, according to Merzenich's weighty body of research.


 

a new dress in Paris

Learning to navigate unfamiliar places and situations strengthens our problem solving abilities.

When I arrived in London, I found that Sterling money that I had purchased at my credit union was no longer current. It was a Bank Holiday. No chance of remedy! Fortunately, credit cards are preferred in post-Covid times. Vancity will reimburse me. No worries!

September was a peaceful month in La Charité.

My month in La Charité provided me with the opportunity to live a peaceful life in a French town. I had lots of time for reading, walking, speaking French and meeting new people. I gained a new appreciation of healthy cooking when I visited the local market to buy my produce. I also discovered that I am a person of much  energy and curiosity and that sometimes, at home, I get weighed down by other people.

 a few of my Shetland family

One of my goals of this 70th birthday trip was to share our family with my daughter. Many of our Shetland relatives have had the opportunity to visit Vancouver but many have not. Unlike when I first visited 35 years ago, no one has known my grandfather. In Canada, I have no living aunts or uncles and each nuclear family is busy with its own affairs. The Shetland people are extraordinarily friendly and hospitable. I feel very much at home. I believe that Christina will carry on the connection.

Three weeks of togetherness with mother is a lot of connection.

Daughter and I have never travelled for 3 weeks together. Twin hotel rooms and ferry cabins do not provide much alone time. I get anxious on transition days and I don't enjoy being busy all day. 

Today is our last day in London and we have chosen some alone time. She has gone to see the Beatles'

crosswalk at Abbey Road and to visit some vintage markets. I'm spending reading/writing time and having my hair done in Chelsea. We'll meet in the afternoon for our last hours in London. Hopefully, we will visit together another time.

one of my favourite views of the trip