Comments on: ‘The Art of Travel’ http://travelingmcmahans.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/the-art-of-travel/ Ça vaut le voyage Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:09:43 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Tom Burke http://travelingmcmahans.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/the-art-of-travel/#comment-2653 Tom Burke Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:04:13 +0000 http://travelingmcmahans.wordpress.com/?p=409#comment-2653 I've read and enjoyed 'Art of Travel' myself. Alain de Botton had a short series of the same on BBC TV a few years ago in which he developed his thesis that you can make any place into a journey, even without going anywhere - there were many references to 'A Journey around my Bedroom' (Voyage autour de ma chambre), in which the french author described the objects and furnishings of his bedroom as if he was a visitor, a traveller, and these were strange objects to him. I always thought that the best insight he gave was that you never travel alone, you always take yourself; i.e. you take all your normal prejudices, assumptions, likes, dislikes etc with you when you got to new places, and inevitably you perceive these places through them. I’ve read and enjoyed ‘Art of Travel’ myself. Alain de Botton had a short series of the same on BBC TV a few years ago in which he developed his thesis that you can make any place into a journey, even without going anywhere – there were many references to ‘A Journey around my Bedroom’ (Voyage autour de ma chambre), in which the french author described the objects and furnishings of his bedroom as if he was a visitor, a traveller, and these were strange objects to him.

I always thought that the best insight he gave was that you never travel alone, you always take yourself; i.e. you take all your normal prejudices, assumptions, likes, dislikes etc with you when you got to new places, and inevitably you perceive these places through them.

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