Bowing To Elephants Podcast: 008 - Travel Becomes Story

008 - Travel Becomes Story

Jul 27, 2021

Are you hoping to turn your travel adventures into captivating stories? Wondering how mindfulness relates to being a writer? In this episode, writer and editor, Lavinia Spalding, joins me as we explore these intriguing questions.

Lavinia and I have a lot in common, least of all our name. Mag is actually a nickname, while my real name is Lavinia Dimond. The two of us are also both world travelers, diehard foodies, and avid journalers. I see my fellow namesake, Lavinia, as a guide to navigating the world of the mysterious and the unknown.

What You Hear/Learn

[00: 24] Guest Introduction

[02:32] Mag and Lavinia talk about having an exotic name and how they felt about their name growing up.

[09:54] Lavinia shares her thoughts on keeping a journal while travelling, how it’s a form of meditation, and how it helps her remember all of the details about her travels.

[12:53] Lavinia answers the question, “What is the most unusual thing you've learned about yourself by journaling?”

[18:03] Lavinia shares her thoughts on what it takes to write a compelling travel writing piece.

[22:00] Mag and Lavinia talk about curiosity and how it relates to travel writing.

[30:40] Mag and Lavinia discuss writing about food and the people who have influenced them and their writing.

[38: 49] Lavinia shares how the pandemic affected her reading.

[40:53] Lavinia answers the question, “When did you know you’d be a traveler?”

[47:00] Lavinia talks about her podcast, There She Goes.

Quotes

“I think that having a journal with me when I travel and making a commitment to keeping it up is a way of giving deeper attention to a place. And, it goes much deeper than just taking photos. I feel like it's sort of a way for me to really slow down and have kind of a different relationship with the place in which I'm traveling.”

“When I taught writing, I always tried to remind students that you don't have to tell these big, epic things. You can just start small, because in the small is the wonderful, the rich, and everything else.”

“I feel like if this time of isolation has taught us anything, it's how important it is to feel connected. And, podcasts are a way to feel connected.”