Australian Gourmet Traveller - (08)August 2020 (1)

The art of travel

The art of...

rediscovery

Thisisa time

torediscover

forgottenclassics,

tocelebratewhat

wehaveonour

doorstep.

A

s learningexperiences

go,it turnsoutthere

is nothingquitelike

a globalpandemicthat

confinesusallindoorsformonths,

testsourpersonalrelationships

totheextreme,andreconfigures

dailylifeasweknowit.I can’tbe

theonlyonewhofeelslikeI’ve

chalkedupabouta decade’sworth

oflifeexperienceandpersonal

developmentinrecentweeks.

Duringthefirstfewweeksof

lockdown,I couldpracticallyhear

theclunkinginmysoulasmy

prioritiesreshuffled;asI realised

whomyrealfriendswere(thewise,

thecompassionate,thehilarious),

whatreallymatteredtome

professionally(thepurejoyof

communication,nothinginvolving

Instagram),whatI neededinmy

dailyroutinetofeelcontent

(a barefootwalkonthebeach,

somethinghotforlunch,

a heartfeltchatwitha friend).

Thepandemicchangedmy

tasteinmusic,TV,booksand

films,withmuchofmyusualpop

cultureintakesuddenlybecoming

hopelesslyirrelevantorunbearably

depressing.Almostovernight,

I stoppedbeingremotelyattracted

tomopey,misunderstoodmusician

types,andrealisedtheonlymen

I wasinterestedinaretheones

workinginwards,delivering

food,orbuildingchickencoops

intheirgardens.Andofcourse,

inrecentweeks,asI began

tentativelydaydreamingabout

travel,I realisedmytasteshave

turnedradicallyretro.

I thinkwe’veallacceptedthat

thetravellandscapeis goingto

lookfairlydifferentforthenext

few months, but this really doesn’t

needtobea pictureofbleakness.

If youcanjustapplya sepiatint

tothefuture,it alllookspretty

charming.Becauseit looksrather

likethepast.

Travelin 2020 willinevitably

bea simpler,stripped-backaffair,

withbig,lavishinternational

breaksoffthemenu.Travelin

2020 willalmostcertainlybemore

nature-oriented,withglamp-sites

andremotelodges

currentlylooking

a lotmoresafeand

sanethanjam-

packedresortsor

busycityfestivals.

Travelin 2020

willbea more

intimateaffair,with

smallergatherings

ofclosefriendsand

families.Andtravelin 2020 will

bemuchmoreregional,a year

ofstaycationsandbackyard

explorations,whichweshould

celebrate,becausetheregional

retailandhospitalityindustries

desperatelyneedoursupport.

Rightnow,we’renotbeing

distractedbydazzlingdiscount

flightstocitiesacrosstheworld,

or“unmissable”offerstoexotic

beachspas.Instead,wehavethe

opportunitytorememberforgotten

traveldaydreams.It’sa timeto

reassesswhatwereallycravefrom

a holiday,andrethinkhowfar

weneedtotraveltosatisfythis

craving.It’sa chancetorevisitthat

childhoodholidayspot,orreturn

tothathoneymoonhotel,orfinally

makethatpilgrimagetothewine

regionwe’vebeensupporting,

bottlebybottle,foryears.

I’mnotsayingthatwewon’t

see any innovation this year. Far

fromit.Thetravelandhospitality

sectoris goingtohavetohustle

likeneverbefore,adaptingto

a newbusinessmodeland

attractingnewcustomers.But

asconsumers,thisis thetime

torediscoverforgottenclassics,

tocelebratewhatwehaveon

ourdoorstep,andtomakesure

wesupportandrebuildthesort

oftravellandscapewewant

toinhabit.

Cometothinkofit,mostof

mylockdownlessonsaren’texactly

epiphanies;forthemostpart,I’ve

rememberedthingsaboutmyself

I’dforgottenI knew.Inmy

frenetically-pacedpre-Covidlife,

I wasindanger

offorgettingwhat

I loved,whatreally

mattered,what

mademecontent.

Duringlockdown,

I fellbackinlove

with1960sFrench

cinemaand1970s

soulmusic.

I rememberedthe

satisfactionofmakingIrishstew.

I rediscoveredthejoysoflong,

solobikerides.Phonecallsto

familymembersbecamemore

importantthanworkcalls.

Sure,someofushaveshiny

newhabitsthankstothelockdown;

a newyogaobsession,aninfallible

bananabreadrecipe,a fewwords

ofcolloquialSpanish.Butfor

manyofus,themainlegacyof

thistimewillbethatwebecame

reacquaintedwithourselves,

withalldistractionsremoved.

Astravellers,thismeanswe’re

takinga breakfromchasingthe

“new”,andinsteadcelebratingand

supportingwhatwehaveinfront

ofus– theclassichotels,restaurants

andregionaldestinationsthatwere

squeezedoffourtravelagendaby

glitzierinternationalofferings.

We’reembarkingupona collective

voyageofdiscovery,andit’sgoing

to be quite the adventure.●

Annais a travel

andlifestyle

journalist,and

authorofthe

travelmemoir

Departures.

@annadothart

GOURMET TRAVELLER 117

ILLUSTRATIONS GETTY IMAGES.