I’ve been home for 4 weeks and it feels good!
RTatW Update
OK, actually, a bit less than 4 weeks but that’s such an achievement that I’ll say 4 weeks anyway!
It may sound weird to you that a ‘travel blogger’ would admit that she’s been home for a whole month, without traveling?! Why in the World would you say this? Aren’t you supposed to be on the road all the time?!
Well first, if you’ve been around here before, you already know I’m not a full-time traveler. I have a home and most of RTatW content, including my maps and mini guides are created from home. They take lots of time to draw and I don’t have time for that, when traveling.
I also love to hibernate in winter, so that’s that!!
And second, the end of 2018 was pretty hard on me so I needed time to rest, take care of myself, cross things from my to do list and recompose.
That’s why I’m so happy to have had 4 weeks at home, not traveling!
But now I’m ready and have itchy feet again!
What’s new on RTatW?
Having been at home allowed me to focus on things that had been piling up. Mostly little things but things that took up a bunch of space in my head and sometimes in my living room!
I didn’t publish that many articles in the last 4 weeks, but the ones I did were things that I had in mind for quite a while.
Like this How to road trip solo piece or this piece about off season travel pros & cons. Also this piece about hiking in France (Yeah, I’m annoyed!).
I also tried to add a bit of romance to your next camping trip!
These may not seem like much but somehow, it felt liberating to finally get these, out there.
These last 4 weeks have been like this, getting things crossed from a way-too-long to do list, one small item at a time! Still not done and still too long! 😉
What’s coming on RTatW?
My to do list isn’t empty yet, so it might take me a bit of time to get to the 2 below listed items. But these are my priorities!
New destination spotlight and a new map!
In one of my previous RTatW update, I had mentioned that I wanted to focus on France for a while. I’m French and I had pretty much no French content!
Well… I’m done focusing on France!
Not that I won’t publish anything anymore about France, but for a while I’m going to focus on another destination… This will lead to a new road trip map!
A new map? Yes, finally! I know it’s been a while.
I have the itinerary in my mind, I just need to draw it! 😉 piece of cake!? Yeah a whole huge cake probably, lots of tea and a good number of drawing hours!
What about the extended Roman architecture guide?
My extended Roman architecture guide is still a priority. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out my Roman mini architecture guide to get clues:
There is another extended guide I have in mind. And something else I stared over a year ago. Time just flies by and things don’t magically happen. That’s too bad really!
Other news
There are 2 more things I want to share with you, just so you know.
Thanks Gutenberg…
A couple months back, WordPress rolled out Gutenberg, their new editor. Gutenberg is somehow great. There is a learning curve to finding all the functionalities but so far, so good…. Except for a few things, including for existing articles!
It’s a pain really.
Somme old articles are fine. Some are a hot mess! Gutenberg wasn’t supposed to affect whatever was already online. It did. I don’t know how or why. But the formatting on some of my articles is just completely gone.
A year or so ago, I got a ssl certificate for RTatW (https:// rather than http:// so you know you’re safe here) and I still haven’t managed to update all my internal links. Now I also have to potentially reformat hundreds of articles.
I’m overwhelmed!
RTatW revamp
Despite being overwhelmed by the tasks ahead, I decided to revamp RTatW and got a new theme. It’s not up and running yet but, at one point or another, I’m going to have to focus on that and push the publish button!
Why am I telling you this? Because you should expect things to look weird sometimes!!
Any planned travel?
Yes! I can’t stay at home longer! I’m leaving today to see my dad and work on his Indian. Got to see if my fringe straightener worked! And dad received some new parts for the carburetor so this time, it might all get better … fingers crossed!
Then I’m heading to Paris, and a bit later to Berlin… hopefully. I will not cancel my Berlin trip this time! I refuse!! It’s important and I really want to go back to the Berlin City Palace and see the reconstruction progresses.
That’s it for now!
oh, wait…
To wrap things up and circle back to something I wrote at the beginning, I want to say something to you:
Start a blog if you feel like it!
If you are thinking of starting a blog, do it!
Some believe there is already too much information available. That people can’t consume this much, that adding to the pile is useless.
I don’t think so. I think the World needs more. People need more.
Despite what I wrote above about all the work it can represent, I love what RTatW is becoming. Is it frustrating sometimes? Yes. Is it hard to keep up? Does it take a lot of time? Definitively yes & yes!
So is it worth it? Absolutely!
Not talking about money here. I’m not a famous blogger, not trying to be one. I mostly refuse to write about the “10 things to do in..” or the “3 mistakes…” so it won’t happen! I also know I won’t go viral with an in depth article about the Bourges Cathedral gothic architecture! And that’s ok with me!
Do I still find blogging valuable for myself? Yes. I’ve learned so much writing in depth articles about places I visited. I’ve learned so much about myself as well. I’m a bit of a nerd so the tech part is also interesting to me.
So if anything, do start a blog for yourself. Write for yourself. Your experience is valuable. Writing a blog can be liberating!
There is a risk that pretty much no one will read your blog. But even if only one person finds your content and your experience valuable, then it is worth it.
*****
Well, I’de better go & finish packing. I have to hit the road…
All the best!
Pssss…. there is something I didn’t tell you yet! I’ve worked on something that will come out soon, but it won’t be published here… You should follow RTatW on Facebook because I won’t resit bragging about it there, when it comes out! Aaaaahhh!! So excited! And a little proud!
