To chose to travel as a woman

When you are a mom with two kids, everyone expects that if you travel, it is either you travel with your kids on vacation or you travel for your job and that you cannot travel for your own pleasure...

This evening as we opened the door and saw two of our neighbors on our way out to the park before I took off for Amsterdam, they immediately asked where we were going because we had a carry on at the door which i was taking with me on my 2 day leisurely trip with a friend of mine. I said i was traveling and my neighbor asked “with the little one?”, pointing out to my 19 month old? And I said no, I am traveling on my own with a friend of mine. My neighbor’s husband said « modern world » and asked my destination, to which I responded Amsterdam which was received with another canny smile... Apparently, they wanted to talk to us about something and I said I am coming back on Tuesday to which the husband then said “ok, back from Amsterdam on Tuesday, operational by Friday”...

Yes, I am a mom of 2 kids and I chose to travel once in a while with a friend of mine and no matter how judgemental everyone is about it, I know that there is absolutely nothing wrong, nor harmful to my kids nor anyone else that I chose to have a good time... I am a strong supporter of the fact that no one has to gibe up their life entirely just because they have kids and this holds true for both the mom and the dad of the kids in question. 

Happy travels to me...

„It is a pity that you don’t live in your beautiful country“

„It is a pity that you don’t live in your beautiful country“

I have heard the above phrase so many times, most recently last weekend. The extremely nice air-bnb host who handed us the keys in our Aosta apartment just said it, after asking which « strange » language we were speaking between each other. Our host and many people think that saying this is a compliment to your country of origin and to also belittle a bit the Western country you live in, in our case Switzerland. 

Some people do not take any offense in these statements, i.e. my husband. I, simply put, do not like it. It is a global job market, our home is where we get the best emloyment opportunity. We are not in Switzerland for its mountains. Why all these emotions on « not being in your country ». Similarly at home, why are people so emotional about « leaving? »

This is also a reflection of the banal anti-immigrant rhetoric that is so well-routed in Europe. This open-minded lady has the right to comment on the place I should live. I am a person who has migrated legally to Europe with a valid work permit before entering the country. But these comments echo the subconscious mainstream mindset in Europe: « Why are all these people coming to Europe? »

There are so many reasons why Turks like me or any other person from any other country live in a different place than they were born. This is a personal decision that unless you have a close relationship with a person, you do not have the right to question. 

If I stayed in my country as our host suggested we should, I would not be able to travel on and off in Europe like I do now and would no way come to Aosta, this quaint Italian town surrounded by Alps. The reason is for each travel I had to apply for a Schengen visa. People in Europe do not even understand what it means to live in a non-Schengen country and apply for a tourist visa when you want to travel in the Schengen zone. Even if you tell them this, they think a visa is something you get at the airport or a few days prior your travel. They do not know that even to make an appointment at a visa centre will cost you money, and you are given a list of documents to provide ranging from bank details to ridiculuous international insurance coverage which has to specifically indicate validity for Liechtenstein... I know this because once my visa application got denied for my insurance letter not specifically stating validity for this small country which happens to be in the Schengen zone. 

I am a migrant who is at ease with the cons and pros of living in another place and I truly respect every individual’s decision to exist whereever they please. I see every migration trajectory as a richness and a step closer to a truly global world which I continue to believe is a good thing. 

On the reasoning of the blog and reflections on Provence - April 2019

Now that I publicly announced my intention to pick up writing, I actually need to write… 

This is both good and bad... Good, because if I haven’t made that promise, I would most probably not write and this would be another item on the list of things that I wanted to do but could not. So making the promise to write, makes you write. It is bad because the creative writing moments come to me almost exclusively when I am not planning to write.

I took the decision two weeks ago to revive my blog and while doing that give it a visual boost with an Instagram account. I created a public Instagram account in addition to my private personal account. The reason is; I do believe some content I share is publicly interesting, though I would like to keep a private account as this is a venue I interact with a close group on my personal life with kids. I am not comfortable with the idea of sharing my kids' pictures from a public account. 

What I want to publicly share is my cultural encounters with my surroundings, my own perception of an event, a destination or a show.  Having moved 5 years ago from Istanbul to Geneva, I really enjoy the experience of understanding a new and previously unknown culture and getting used to surviving within it. And I would like to share this trajectory with whoever is interested in reading. My posts therefore are about my life and what my narrating self makes out of them. 

I am really glad for the feedback on my short blog post and my public account two weeks ago. Obviously I am not selling anything and I am not advertising for anything. This is not a business but only a personal blog. I am interested in finding my voice and believe others' comments enrich what I wrote on, so this is why it is public… 

I also like to have a record of what I write online so I can share it with those instantly, something like a portfolio if you will. People also come to me a lot for travel advice, at least they used to… so hopefully this will also serve as a repository of information on my travels. 

The urge to write

My job involves web writing, coming up with short content to make our online community interested in our publications. I write short content for our website, online communications and social media and I truly enjoy this aspect of my work. When I first started this job, my line manager offered a writing seminar to me and a few other new recruits. In the pre-course questionnaire, she had asked how often we write. This is when I realized that I have so many pieces of writing that I started constructing in my head but never got around to writing them. The theme that struck out in all these ideas that very seldom came to life was my cultural encounters; hence the seeds of this blog endeavor was born.

Traveling and writing

My urge to write triumphs when I travel. And recently I was in Provence and had a lot to reflect on. It was my third time in the region. With the Instagram account, I thought I was going to live post the whole time, but honestly there is no way for me to enjoy traveling with a constant thinking of what to share. I used my phone from time to time to take photos and am now reflecting on this travel since I came back.

Simply put, I love this region, I adore it.. I can go there again and again. I enjoyed all the new places I saw; namely Avignon, Arles, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, les Baux-de-Provence. 

When we booked a few nights in Avignon months ago, I did not think that this would be a trip to follow the footsteps of impressionist painters. I only knew from memory that Cezanne was born in Avignon. Though later on, as I was looking at the map to see what is around Avignon to see, I was appalled at knowing the names of so many places. The names of all these places are familiar to those of us who pay attention to where world famous impressionist paintings were painted. 

In the end, we decided to go to Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence after Avignon, as these were the dominant places in Van Gogh's most productive artistic years. Arles where he wanted to establish an artistic circle and failed which led to such a despair that he ended up in the asylum of the latter.  

There is so much to write about food, cities, the region, the accent, these maybe can be the subject of another post. I would like to say a few words on how this legacy is treated in the region. 

Van Gogh industry

First of all, it is so fortunate that many modern painters lived and created their art here, I mean in France, a country which pays due respect to preservation of cultural heritage. The nature that dominates the impressionist and post-impressionist art is there, intact and painfully beautiful. On a tired evening, I sat in the balcony of the residence we stayed which overlooked the vegetation that we know so well. I could not stop admiring the cypresses. These trees are also so prevalent in the Aegean, the geography in which I have my roots. But in the Aegean, they are mostly planted in a row where as in Provence, they are scattered. Even if one does not plan on seeing any Van Gogh sites in these two places, no issue, the nature that you know so well in these paintings is there and ready to capture you.

What I also appreciated so much was seeing, by pure chance, the actual café that features in Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night. It stands there as it is... Maybe this sounds plausible for the folk who come from places where cultural heritage is well preserved. But to me, it is just an absolute miracle... Apparently, there is a walk in Arles which takes to all the scenes that feature in Van Gogh's paintings. I did not do that and saved it for next time. But it was an amazing experience to spot the actual café...

The important places to see if you follow Van Gogh’s footsteps is not obvious and one has to look for them and be better planned which was not my intention this time. Though I saw more of the Van Gogh popular industry then I imagined in both Arles and Saint-Rémy. Touristic shops were selling all kinds of replicas of the artists’ paintings and motifs especially in Arles. People around me had recommended to see the Carrières de Lumières light exhibition in which you are literally immersed in Van Gogh's painting. I initially thought this was also a trap of the Van Gogh industry. However, it is so beautifully done that it definitely merits more praise then criticism.

Though if we are to weigh the industry, organised tours, ticketed exhibitions all combined with that of the dominance of the nature of the region, the latter would tip all scales. 

Heading to Provence for a 3rd time - following the footsteps of Van Gogh

This must be a good sign, the last time I wrote something on this blog, it was on my summer travels of 2013 of which one weekend was spent in Provence (Aix, Marseille and Eguilles). I am really excited these days as we are about to embark on a 4 day trip to Provence. It is the first time that we will travel as a family of four to another place than home. Though, this is not about kids...

I have enjoyed traveling for as long as i know myself. I would go anywhere and have did my fair share of traveling as a student and later as a young professional. However, there are some special places, which have a meaning for you before you even go there.. Provence is one of them..

I have actually been to the region already twice, as one my closest friends is from there. I went to her family house and experienced how the locals live. This is such a precious memory. We have witnessed the preparation of bouillabaisse, i would not change this with any other bouillabaisse as my friend’s dad cooked it over hours in a wood fire he set up in their garden. How French and Provençal can it get...

Though, this time i am going for the scenery, a scenery which we all know so well from impressionist art.

When I was in Provence first time, 13 years ago, I remember thinking to myself that the places look awfully similar.. we were sipping coffee at a café with my friend and i remember saying to her exactly this “the entire world is imitating Provence”. This region did not only export a lifestyle and aesthetic but also a color palette and an imagery...The impressionist art has a central part on this massive influence.

My interest in impressionist art starts comes mainly from my dad's fascination with the painters of this era, particularly Van Gogh. In an age without internet, I first learnt about this artistic current and its protagonists through the information and visuals my dad had collected over the years. In all my travels to western cities, I have been to museums and the originals of all the paintings that I knew about have been the first things I have searched for. It was probably the reason why I came up with the quote above 13 years ago, though only now I can make the connection. 

This time around, we will stay in Avignon and Saint Rémy de Provence and I have a day trip in mind to Arles. Cezanne was born in Avignon, and Van Gogh spent years in the asylum of Saint Rémy and again a few years in Arles. Arles apparently has a Van Gogh museum which is where I intend to go. There is also an immersive exhibition in Les-Baux-de-Provence which people have recommended but honestly, this would not be my number one thing to do. I would let myself to be immersed by the natural scenery while I am there.. 

I let this be short note here, and hope it will revive my writing. Since 2012 when I dropped my first line on this blog, I have had so many pieces that I started writing in my head but none of them materialized until now. I hope starting with Provence, Van Gogh and impressionism, I will find my voice in describing my cultural encounters.