A few days ago, a friend planning a European trip asked me to recommend some French hotels and it got me thinking about how much travelling I’ve done.
When I was a kid, there were lots of people “from the old country” who now and then went back to whichever “old country” they were originally from. And they’d come back with amazing stories about people and lifestyles I’d never imagined.
But as much as this sparked my desire to see the world, I also noted that rarely did anybody go someplace they hadn’t already been. It was as if it was preferable to stick the well trodden path.
Around the time my travel bug was hatching, there was a song on the radio by Canadian Country singer Hank Snow entitled “I’ve Been Everywhere” that rattled off place names almost faster than you could hear them.
I loved that song. Partly for how hard it musta been to sing. But also for the suggestion that just about anywhere was worth visiting. The place might be foreign but something about it would still be familiar.
And Hank was right. Wherever you go, a piece of the place stays with you and you leave a piece of yourself behind.
I discovered that Australia, for example, had a spectacular Country Music scene. Instead of songs about pickups and beer, their tunes celebrated Utes and Crownies, but reflected the same story telling spirit of the Country I’d grown up with and in.
I felt at home at the same time that I was about as far away from there as I could be.
While Googling French hotels to make sure they were still around, I came across an Australian version of that song that had first spurred me to travel.
Familiar yet totally different. Although I’ve now been to some of these places too.
Enjoy Your Sunday.
For aged mofo’s, here’s Hank’s original…
And for more of Australia’s Sunny Cowgirls, try this…
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