Observations on Cretan Village Life, or enjoying a bit of ethnographic travel

The people of Crete are proud of their villages, the village way of life, and their traditional customs. The image here of an elderly village couple hangs on the wall at one of Chania’s chicest restaurants. City dwellers return to their villages every chance they get – for the olive harvests, religious celebrations, and their … Read more about Observations on Cretan Village Life, or enjoying a bit of ethnographic travel

The travelling mind-set: mundane journeys and the banality of travel, part 2

There are people out there who enjoy the banalities of travel other than myself. Anne at Prêt à Voyager writes about the joy she gets out of the mundane wherever she goes. She recently discovered a wonderful book called Mundane Journeys which exalts the little things that people pass everyday in their neighbourhoods that they … Read more about The travelling mind-set: mundane journeys and the banality of travel, part 2

The travelling mind-set: mundane journeys and the banality of travel, part 1

Do you take pleasure in the prosaic aspects of everyday life? Do you get just as much of a kick out of the commonplace and the ordinariness of your surroundings as you do the exotic and atmospheric? Alain de Botton writes in The Art of Travel about the travelling mind-set and its main characteristic: receptivity. … Read more about The travelling mind-set: mundane journeys and the banality of travel, part 1