for & against the romance of travel.

a love letter about class, tourism, bed bugs, & global anarchy.<3

A note for context/newer readers: P and I are in the midst of a two week trip, split between Catalunya and Ireland. P lived in Catalunya for 16 years, so when I got accepted to a conference in Dublin (with funding support from the college where I work), we decided to also spend some time at the home he left officially—to be in the States with me— just over one year ago. This is really more of a travel diary, with reflections on the trip alongside themes of class, international anarchist movements, health, and the environment. I’m keeping it to the smaller subscriber list today because it gets a bit personal about relationship & money stuff. Remember, through the end of summer, it’s just $30 to subscribe. Thanks for being here either way! <3 

I want so badly to begin this story with the color of the sky through the airplane window at five in the morning, in the atmosphere above the clouds. It was the kind of purple you’d think was only in crayon boxes and imaginations if you hadn’t also seen it on flower petals. Deep and bright and rich; a purple that reminds us: everything is full of gods. Or maybe I could tell you about how everything in Manresa is sepia-toned, like stone and nostalgia, like of course so many people have written sad and beautiful songs about this part of this world...

But unfortunately what’s more salient is this beginning: one about money and scarcity and bed bugs and class straddling. (But then later - anarchy, and friends, and cats!) So here we go: