Wanderlust Cafe

The song reached out to her, and she risked the disapproval of her fellow travelers by delaying long enough to learn its name from the shopkeeper.  And so she carried the music home, where she could replay it at any time.

From thousands of miles away, she closes her eyes and returns to the caravanserai along the Silk Road.  And feels the presence of long-ago travelers lingering in its golden afternoon shadows.

– with love for the journey.

Photograph by Lou Ann Granger, September 2009

Musings on the song Gülümcan, from the album Köprüler.  And the power of music to capture a precious moment from the journey.

I pace upon the battlements and stare
On the foundations of a house, or where
Tree, like a sooty finger, starts from the earth;
And send imagination forth
Under the day’s declining beam, and call
Images and memories
From ruin or from ancient trees,
For I would ask a question of them all.

– William Butler Yeats, The Tower

“Tree, like a sooty finger, starts from the earth.” I recall a perfect moment of quiet and contemplation at Coole Park, Ireland, home of Yeats’ patron, Lady Gregory. A feeling of being one with the earth and those who celebrate it with art and poetry.

– with love for the journey.

Photograph by Lou Ann Granger, September 2010

“On ne découvre pas de terre nouvelle sans consentir à perdre de vue, d’abord et longtemps, tout rivage” (“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore”)

- Andre Gide, Les faux-monnayeurs [The Counterfeiters] (1925)

A  favorite saying, which re-surfaced for no apparent reason the other day.

– with love for the journey.

Mixed Media Journal page by Lou Ann Granger, March 2011

Buenos Aires nights.
She is there. Dancing. Laughing.
Yet I’m not. Why not?
– Lou Ann Granger

Perhaps I am a bit jealous. Others are visiting Buenos Aires on a steamy summer night. Why am I not there, too?

I realize I could be if I wanted to be. There is a longing, but no call yet. What magical alchemical process occurs to change something from a dream to an intention? I’m often surprised to find I am suddenly called to visit a place, perhaps somewhere I had not really considered before. I wonder if that will happen here, if there is such a journey in my future.

I pause to wonder about Buenos Aires. Are there treasures waiting for me?

– – with love for the journey.

Photo by Courtney Granger, post-processing by Lou Ann Granger, December 2010

11-12 September 2010, En Route to Shannon, Ireland
Letters of Transit

Know ye all by these presents that the bearer(s) of this document, Lou Ann, being held in the highest esteem throughout the realm, is hereby authorized to undertake this most auspicious and valued journey and quest, and is to be granted safe passage through all lands, and cross all borders, and is to be granted such assistance as may be required.

And that all who assist her/they shall be most kindly regarded by the issuer of this document, and shall also find reward through such encounter. We thank you.

Executed this date, by the crossroads of the kingdom, by She Who Is Sought, She Who May Be Found, and All the Ones Within.

Armed with my Letters of Transit, I begin my journey to Ireland. I set my intention based on a quote from Phil Cousineau in The Art of Pilgrimage: “Uncover what you long for, and you’ll discover who you are.”

– with love for the journey.

Journal page by Lou Ann Granger, September 2010

I’ve arrived but I’m not quite here yet in Shannon, Ireland. Perched in an airport hotel on the River Shannon, where the great Flying Boats and Pan Am Clippers of another age took off and landed. My thoughts are disjointed and discombulated, and I’m not really ready to open myself and experience the journey quite yet. So, still nervous and trying to figure it out all out.

A quiet interlude in the hotel bar, with a marvelous soup, and especially a half pint of Guinness, and suddenly my intentions start to become clearer. Trying to open my heart, only then can the journey really begin.

– with love for the journey.

Leaving for Ireland in two days, and in that delicious final departure phase, where my world is narrowing and focusing on just the essentials to bring. Nervousness and excitement, too. Of course, picking the ‘right’ Visual Journal to bring, and art supplies is the most stressful yet the best part of this process.

I’m going on tour with Phil Cousineau, author of a favorite book of mine, The Art of Pilgrimage, about making travel meaningful. One of my favorite quotes from the book: “Uncover what you long for and you’ll discover who you are.”. Lots to uncover; anxious and excited. The Grand Adventure awaits!

- with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger on flight to Santa Barbara July 2010, using iPhone, and with unexpected interference effects from rotating propellers.

A small cafe. A quiet oasis in the midst of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

For an instant in time, all the wonderful chaotic energies of the surrounding labyrinth have been focused into one perfect glass of apple tea.

– with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger, Istanbul, September 2009

Last minute preparations on the eve of a trip to Turkey. In that special time of aggravation, wondering why I’m not more ready, how can all this stuff take so much room and weight and I’m not even bringing everything I want?

And this reluctance to commit to what I am ACTUALLY bringing. There’s always this tiny yet delicious moment of uncertainty and terror before setting out. It’s part of the journey. And I treasure this moment .

– with love for the journey.

Old Postcard, Galata Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey