A Muse Walking
In the A Muse Walking blog, I discuss my inspirations and interests on a range of topics. Travel musings to armchair philosophy will be prominent as these often feed into my fiction writing.
Occitania Part 3: Saints and Heretics and the end of Catharism
A short 30-minute drive west of Carcassonne lies the village of Fanjeaux. Before the Albigensian Crusade in 1209, Fanjeaux and the surrounding area had already been a battleground: not with sword and arrow, but with scripture and debate. The Crusades, then, represented the second prong of attack in a war against heresy. A more subtle combat, one to win hearts and minds, or souls as it were, was in play earlier.
Occitania Part 2: The Cathars in Southern France
There is a certain irony in French Tourism that promotes the Languedoc region of France as Cathar Country. Afterall, there are no Cathars left. Catharism, a Christian religious sect, was eradicated in the South of France in the 13th century by the Kingdom of France and the Catholic Church. Yet, their existence, the story around them, is still enough to draw tourists to the area.
Occitania Part 1: Carcassonne and the fate of Occitania
This year, I ventured to France for good dose of Medievalism. I went there with the thought that that this would be my last trip to the country, having been on various other occasions to Paris, Normandy, the Loire Valley, the Artois region, and of course, the Cote D’Azur. In short, I have seen the cultural icons of French art and architecture, retraced the steps of Canadian soldiers in two World Wars, and took in the famous rays of sun on the beaches of the French Riviera. Almost everything I wanted to see in France, I have seen.
A quick visit to Edinburgh: military tattoos, views, and capitalism
The train arrives at Edinburgh’s Waverly station. As we leave and exit onto Market Street, we have a small dispute on whether to take a cab or walk to the hotel. I insist on walking. It’s a habit from my old backpacking days: it helps me orient the city and figure out main thoroughfares. I win the argument because I am the only one that knows the hotel name. I tell my companions it’s a minor 5- or 10-minute stroll. It will be more like 20 with the luggage, but my mom and wife will realize it too late.
The beauty of graveyards and the conviction of Queen Milli
I don’t precisely know when my fascination with tombs and graves began, but I think it was on my first trip to England in 2000. I remember an overcast day (unsurprising) in the small town of Haworth. I was drawn there because of my admiration for the Bronte Sisters, and walking on the moors as well as touring the Parsonage Museum (the former family home the Brontes) seemed like the right groupie thing to do.
The Romantic Lakes a remedy for eternal angst
I have returned to Keswick in the Lake District on my second trip here. And like the first time, I know before I leave that I will return.
There is something quite distinct about this pocket of England, so different from the London metropolis in the south and the large historic cities that dot the country.
Real fiction in Verona
On a recent work trip to Italy, I was able to reflect on the power of fiction and how it can so strangely morph into a pseudo-reality. With my business done in Milan, instead of flying home, I lingered an extra day and seized the opportunity to visit Verona, a quick one hour and fifteen-minute train ride from Milan.
Magic in the desert: Siwa Oasis
A nine-hour drive west of Cairo, and a mere 50 kilometres from the Libyan border, is Siwa Oasis. Even today, its remoteness makes it a bit of trek to get to, though tour busses are becoming more frequent in the area. This isolation in the great Sand Sea of the Sahara Dessert has been woven into the history of the Oasis and shaped its destiny as much as its inhabitants have.
Venice…a place of romance and dreams with a decadent history…Or an overrated, overcrowded, and overpriced city…
When I talk to friends or fellow travelers about Venice, I tend to get these two extremes. There is either love or disdain for this city that seemingly has such a powerful hold on our imagination and creates great expectations. For even the least travelled person knows it and has an impression of what it is before ever seeing it.