The Hastings Tapestry of Bayeux is a most detailed and radically preserved record of the Norman invasion of October 14, 1066 into England, also known as The Battle of Hastings. An artistic masterpiece in itself, the illustrative images balanced by simple descriptive Latin text of the tapestry stands to be one of the most factual pieces of information about the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England beyond biased, undocumented or jingoistic accounts (battle1066.com). The beginning of the tapestry gives background to the cause of the Battle, beginning with the first scene where King Edward the Confessor sends Earl Harold to travel to Normandy to inform Duke William that he shall be the King of England upon his death. The remainder of the tapestry goes on to document how Harold violates the oath made unto William, crowning himself King and thus instigating the grand invasion of England. In the last scene 35, depicts Harold’s death and the English fleeing, as Duke William is now deemed William the Conqueror and the rightful King of England (hastings1066.com).
Although the Bayeux Tapestry documents such an important historical event, it is also a document of time by the means of travel; from Harold’s journey to Normandy to the invasion of England by William. Each frame portrays movement and a passing of time leading to the culminating event of William’s conquer. In a sense, I took on the same idea through a different means in the form of a modern day travel writer. I think that the most obvious reason to make a record of my travels is for remembrance sake; not only for my future self, separated from the place of travel, but in an attempt to bring home my experiences to family and friends who were unable to make the journey with me. My goals for documenting my travel experience is to immerse myself in the broad-based word of culture; all including language, food, fashion, everyday lifestyle and literature through the HON 366 International France and HON 394 Culture of Decadence courses.
I decided to keep a blog, www.faitesimplechristina.blogspot.com. The original idea to keep a blog was in effort to continually update my friends and family on what I was doing on a simultaneous basis while abroad with the added benefit of writing practice. I’ll be honest to say that I came up with the idea for the phrase faite simple, meaning “keep it simple,” from the assigned French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I did this an abbreviated personal reminder to slow down and take in the wonderful experiences that awaited me, and to take care to try and relive them through careful writing. My travel goals relayed through blogging were to immerse myself in the broad-based word that is culture while in France, all including the observance of language, food, fashion, lifestyle and the appliance of my studies of International France (HON 366) and Culture of Decadence (HON 394) to the culture reality at hand before me in everyday Parisian life.
Upon arriving in Paris I seemingly encountered only one question of pent-up enthusiasm on a constant basis from my family and friends: “What do you expect it (Paris) to be like?!” My first thoughts on this immediately went to classic pictures of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe and the movies Amelie and Paris J’taime. In the end, my final response was “I honestly have no idea.” Initially this realization of having no sense of ground of where I would be traveling scared me, but then I realized that this wonderment, “no idea” is what traveling is all about: experience. So I saved myself the mental energy and time and put guessing aside of what Paris would be like and just let it be.
Phase 2:
Bayeux Tapestry ticket stub, front
Bayeux Tapestry ticket stub, back
Intersection of streets; first arriving in Paris and trying to find the FIAP and getting lost.
Amazing food. Unique "torpedo" strawberries (Chambord). I also bought a bar of homemade vegetable soap, which smells amazing.
Coffee vending machine?! Awesome.
Shadow of the Eiffel Tower over the city.
Through my blog, I have tried to create an organized space where I can record and write about my daily experiences while abroad. Beyond just listing factual things of what I had seen/done each day, I aim to provide personal commentary, giving myself leeway to reflect and interpret my experiences through words. I always wanted to express my perceptual emotions through writing at the very moment I felt them but never had the chance to do so (or maybe just lacked the little push of over-the-cliff motivation). Never the less, it was my chance to do so along the Barrett France trip, as I carried around my Moleskine and made thoughtful notes immediately after the catalytic instance went by. When I returned back to the apartment later, I would transcribe my notes from the day into narrative form on the computer for my blog.
Our preoccupation as humans is to make an organizational sense of our surroundings whether we consciously realize it or not through processing our thoughts by translating them into words in order to describe and define experiences. This is what I, taking on the role of travel writer, subconsciously set out to do from the get go. The opportunity of a unique personal expression through written words gives off a more strong and accurate effect of what the travel writer wishes to convey rather than simply relaying his/her experiences through base vocal communication. When writing, one is given the leisure to reflect and decide on the perfect words to paint the picture of the surrounding ideas. Discovering another culture with its different tastes, smells and rhythms of being is its own discovery in itself of the variety of ways of being human.
I believe that travelers write because of the immense power of the written word. When we read the stories of travel writers, novelists and authors, we live within their worlds, becoming the worlds themselves in which we read about. Our other senses of vision, touch, hearing and smell are not constricted; through the sensory acumen of sight, what we read and how we interpret it is all within the extent of the imaginative mind. Recording the remarkable sights of everyday life and the personal perceptions of one’s surroundings is all in the grand effort to explain a new finding of self that one did not know existed before, but evidently harbored within one’s being.
In my writing I attempted to note and thoroughly explain each scheduled activity noted on the syllabi, my perceptions and personal commentary on each. I also made the attempt to talk about my experiences outside of the classroom; whether it was purchasing groceries at the Sunday market or taking a journey to London on the Chunnel. By bracing my writing with photos that I took that day, I aimed to give my readers a visual support of what I was trying to accurately depict through words. Hopefully with the combination of photo/descriptive text I can transport the reader to a separate sphere of what I perceived. The implication of my words is to freeze time in the effort to craft a permanent record. Within written words, the past is constant, with a continuous, lasting effect, transcending all barriers of time and place.
At times during the trip I would wonder why I take pictures and whip out my Moleskine while on the road. “Isn’t this defeating the purpose of fully enjoying a onetime experience naturally?” I’d ask myself. Not in the least, for with documenting and writing it stands to only ferment one’s perceptions, emotionally captured on a written page. This, in fact, is the plight of the writing traveler.
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