Wanderlust Cafe

“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 [...]

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 [...]

I sift through memories and longings and try to discern my intentions for Turkey. What do I hope to see and do and feel?  Not enough time to fully explore and discover.  I try to send my spirit ahead on this journey so that it will be waiting for me when I arrive. Leander swimming [...]

Uncover what you long for, and you will discover who you are. – Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgimage I don’t know where the wanderlust comes from, just that it has always been part of me.  I believe it comes from the ancestors, who traveled great distances searching for ‘home’.  I search for my own [...]

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, Worshipper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times. Come, yet again, come, come. – Rumi Ah, the wisdom of the Sufi mystic Rumi.  I have much more to say about the love [...]

Somewhere at the crossroads, one finds the Wanderlust Cafe.  A meeting place, a place of respite, a  place to have some exotic tea or a stiff drink, eat fruits and simple food, a place to stow your pack in a safe corner, or lay out a few trade goods for sale.  Listen to foreign tongues, [...]