Whether you are a super fan of art and history, or just want to say you've seen the Mona Lisa, a visit to the Louvre is a must-do if you are in Paris. This fortress turned palace turned gallery is now a massive, sprawling, and overwhelming collection of some of the most important pieces of human history.
Read MoreYour Guide To Trekking The Epic West Coast Trail On Vancouver Island
The West Coast Trail will forever hold a special place in my heart.
I embarked on this epic 75 km trek with a group of fellow trekkers that included my dad, my best friend and her dad, and three of our dads' friends. We had no idea, standing at the trail head in Port Renfrew on our first day, the adventures that would befall us, the amount of mud that would be caked on our clothing, how much our hip bones would hurt every morning, and how absolutely unforgettable every moment would be.
Read MoreThe Watch List: Tracks (The Perfect Film to Inspire Adventure)
Sometimes — without even realizing it — I get myself stuck in a rut, overwhelmed by the everyday, and in need of something to inspire, cut through the crap and remind me why I do what I do.
Today, the movie Tracks did just that.
If you are looking for a movie to inspire wanderlust, this is your film.
This incredible true adventure, tells the story of Robyn Davidson, an Australian woman who decided that she was going to walk through the desert from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean — a trip of about 2,000 miles that would take her 6-7 months.
It was the '70s, and sick of the repetitious life in the city and the "self-indulgent negativity" of her generation, Davidson felt this journey was her way of seeking solitude and relating to her father who had once travelled through the desert of Eastern Africa.
“The decision to act was in itself the beginning of the journey... I believe when you are stuck in one spot, it’s best to throw a grenade at where you are standing and jump.”
When asked why she wanted to attempt such a crazy feat that would take her through deserted, waterless wasteland, her response was continuously, "Why not?"
It wasn't until she wrote to National Geographic and requested that they sponsor her trip, that things really got off the ground. They agreed to sponsor her, as long as a photographer would be able to check in with her at various times to document the trip.
So, on April 9, 1977, Robyn Davidson, four camels, and her dog set off walking.
The resulting photos (taken by Rick Smolan) and article written by Davidson are an incredible example of what true adventure photo-journalism was before the advent of the Internet and social media.
Davidson's article was so popular, that she wrote a book expanding on her incredible journey. And now, her spectacular story has been turned into this captivating film.
Mysterious aboriginal culture, outback characters, survival instincts, real-life adventure — what more could you want in a movie?! Check out the preview below. I hope you find as much inspiration in Robyn Davidson's story as I did!
Reads For The Road: A House In The Sky by Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett
I had heard that Amanda Lindhout's story A House In The Sky was a must-read (it has been hailed in Vogue, The Globe and Mail, Outside, The New York Times, and was a part of Oprah's Winter Reading List), but I was not prepared for the incredibly well written, shocking, heart-wrenching test of humanity that I would find within the book's pages.
I don't know if it is because she is from a town only a few hours away from where I grew up, but the way that Amanda writes about travelling (especially travelling solo as a female) feels like she has put into words every unarticulated thought that I have had about my own journeys.
That is until she describes being kidnapped.
“People would say to me all the time, “It must be so hard to travel by yourself as a woman.” But I was finding that it was easier. I was sure about it. If you smiled, if you showed people that you were happy to be there, you were met most often with warmth. The swindlers backed off easily. The tuk-tuk drivers and beggars eased up and became more human, maybe even a bit protective.”
Yup, I said kidnapped.
While working as a struggling freelance journalist, Amanda and her friend Nigel made their way into Somalia. On a trip outside of the capital city to take photos at a refugee camp, they were both kidnapped by a rouge group of men who immediately demanded ransom from their parents and from their countries, neither of whom who had any money to pay.
Kept hostage for OVER A YEAR, this is the story of what she went through, how she stayed alive through horrific abuse, how she managed to retain her humanity, and how she was saved.
A warning though, once you get started, you won't want to put it down.
Travel Tales: Visiting Buckingham Palace in London, England
Though I usually avoid tours at all cost, after some urging from my travel buddy — and since were only going to be in London for a few days — I agreed to take the classic Red Bus Tour. We boarded the double-decker bus first thing and spent the morning being whisked past some of the most iconic buildings and monuments in the city.
By the afternoon, I was only half listening to the tour guide’s non-stop narration of the city scenery when I caught the end of a sentence "…visit the state rooms of Buckingham", as we passed by the iconic symbol of London itself.
“Whoa! What did he say!?” I asked my friend.
“Those white tents over there,” she pointed, “are where you line up to visit Buckingham Palace.”
Visit Buckingham Palace… VISIT BUCKINGHAM PALACE!!!!
How did I not know that a normal person could actually go INSIDE the Queen’s official London home!?
I reached over and yanked hard on the yellow wire, signaling to the driver that I wanted off.
“Hurry!” I yelled at my friend jumping out of my seat, “we gotta go visit the Queen’s house!!”
She looked at me bemused and smiled apologetically at the tour guide who, for the first time all day, had paused his monologue and seemed a bit taken aback by my enthusiasm.
Jumping out of the bus, we practically ran towards the white tents covering a twisting line of tourists patiently waiting for their turn to see how the Royals lived. My friend sighed when she saw the line, but I determinedly took my place at the end of it.
I didn’t care how long I had to stand there, I was getting into that palace.
For a month in the summer, when the Queen and her court head to Balmoral Castle in the Highlands of Scotland (Fun Fact: If the queen is at the palace, the Sovereign’s Standard is flown, if not the Union Jack flaps proudly in the wind), the lavish and historic State Rooms of one of the few working palaces in the world are open to the public.
For those of you that have walked through the halls of the palace in Versailles or the Hapsburg summer palace in Austria, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal.
A palace is a palace right? WRONG
What makes a visit to Buckingham so incredible is that it is actually someone’s home — an incredibly wealthy someone. The rooms are clean, kept, and full of priceless furniture, art, and other treasures. They have not been looted or vandalised by mobs during uprisings (like Versailles) and are painstakingly taken care of by over 450 members of the Royal Household.
No mater what your opinion is of Royalty, there is something amazing about walking through rooms that generations of rulers from all over the world have dined in, danced in, and lived in.
The line moved surprisingly fast and after only about thirty minutes, we entered through the Ambassadors’ entrance, normally reserved for foreign ambassadors, senior government officials, and high ranking members of the armed services.
After walking through a narrow passageway, we stepped into the breathtaking Grand Entrance, all marble, columns, sculpture, and red plush carpeting.
Peeking through the windows, I could see a stone-filled square, called the Quadrangle, where the Queen receives exalted guests, and through that, the inside of the gates that, until that moment, I had seen only from the other side.
The Grand Staircase, Buckingham Palace
After walking up the stunning grand staircase literally made out of marble and gold, we entered the rooms on the first floor.
My mouth gaped open stupidly from that moment on, as we slowly wandered from room to room taking in the elaborate curtains, patterned walls, gilt mirrors, painted murals, and master works of art (the frames alone could have kept me travelling for years).
We passed through Drawing Rooms, The State Dining Room, The Ballroom, and The Throne Room — I could have stayed in there forever (seriously, I tried to keep my eye out for a place to hide).
Oh, the photos I would have taken if only I was permitted to! There is no taking photos in the Queen's house. (The interior photos used in this post are photos-I-took-of-photos found in the ‘Official Souvenir Guide’ by Derry Moore).
It took a lot, but (after a few hours) my VERY patient travel companion finally managed to drag me out of the palace and into the fresh air of the royal backyard. The 40-acre garden stretched out in front of me as I stood for a moment enjoying the Queen’s patio.
My mind instantly flashed to a picture that I had seen when I was younger of Princess Diana, Prince Charles, a young Prince William, and an even younger Prince Harry sitting on the grass together smiling.
The sides of my own lips turned up at the enchanting memory, which was broken as my friend tugged me down the stairs towards a path that led through the garden and ultimately back to the other "normal" side of Buckingham’s walls.
(Insert exaggerated sigh here)
What. A. Day.
