Leaving the traveller versus tourist debate aside, what kind of tourist/traveller are you? Would you consider yourself to be a 'casual tourist'? Or a 'casual traveller' if you object to being called a tourist at all? While my husband Terry was cooking dinner one evening in the big country kitchen my uncle and aunt have here in Bendigo, Australia, where we're staying while we write some books, we were dissecting a couple of trips they recently did to Spain last year and Mexico a couple of months ago. I'd asked Uncle George if they went to the Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico City as I'd suggested. They have a gorgeous garden here - a wild wonderful garden that's a cross between a romantic 'English cottage'-inspired gardens and something you'd see at a Russian dacha in a Tarkovsky film (there's a mini Birch forest) - plus my uncle's an artist and my aunt's very creative when it comes to interior design so I thought they might appreciate Frida Kahlo's garden and house. But they didn't go. In fact they didn't go to a lot of places I'd recommended. But they assured me they still had a great time. Flabbergasted, I asked: "But what did you actually *do*?" "Well, we just walked," my uncle replied, with a shrug of his shoulders and roll of his eyes, "We did a bit of this, a bit of that... we like to walk." I'm guessing the look on my face must have been one of dismay, but still somewhat enquiring, because then he declared - after swallowing a glass of wine (not that I'm suggesting he needed guts to tell me this - but maybe he did!) - "I think I'm a casual tourist..." "Uh-hah!" and I quickly splashed some more wine in my own glass. And so, over a bottle of wine, and Terry's preparation of another very fine meal, we developed a theory... my uncle's idea of travel can be described as 'casual tourism'. The way he likes to travel is very low key and laidback. He likes to explore, but he doesn't like to do much planning or preparation, and certainly doesn't want his day crammed with sightseeing. In fact, when he arrives he doesn't like to *do* much at all. But he's not the kind to lie on a beach and do completely nothing. He wants to experience a place, and the more atmospheric it is the better. For instance, Jerusalem is a favorite. But he and my aunt like to wander around a bit, see a sight perhaps, maybe do a short tour, eat some lunch some place, but it doesn't have to be very spectacular at all - they certainly don't feel obliged to base their choice on reviews. Then they'll do some more walking, perhaps browse in a shop, stop for a drink and a nibble at a cafe... and so it goes. They don't have tremendous expectations, and so they're not terribly disappointed either. They just seem to appreciate a place for what it is. Wandering around, walking the streets, taking in the vibe... that's their idea of a good time. And actually, when I'm not working on a travel book, that's mine too. Oh, except the bit about the restaurants of course. So, what do you think? Are you a casual tourist? Or casual traveller?

I did stop to smell the roses today in my uncle and aunt's garden. There are roses just outside the French doors to the library, which has become our office for the time that we're holed up here writing, so I have no excuse for not taking a sniff more often. And the roses are smelling especially fragrant at the moment. There's been rain this week and the garden is in full bloom despite it being the beginning of autumn (or fall, for my North American friends). But as I inhaled the scent, I did think 'Damn, I don't do this enough!' And I was reminded of a friend I used to work with who called me a robot and who frequently told me I needed to stop and smell the roses more often. So as I was looking for a photo today - no time for reminiscing, I simply had to identify a building in a city in Italy we wrote about which I'd become confused about (and that's what you get for travelling as much as we do) - I spotted this photo I'd taken in Bologna last summer. And while I've looked at the photo several times - mainly so I could describe the fountain for a book I was writing - I'd never really stopped to look at the photo properly. Because I had never noticed the kids sitting on the steps of the fountain before. All I had seen was the photo. Which led me to think about how many times I've passed fountains on our travels, especially in Europe (we spend a lot of time in Europe), and noticed locals and travellers alike sitting on the steps of fountains, eating their lunch, drinking whatever, reading books, or just fooling around, and how many times I've been rushing past going somewhere, doing something (always working), and thinking how nice it would be to be able to stop and sit on the steps of a fountain sometime... to be on holidays, or just to be taking life more slowly. Just to be living the kind of life that allows one to stop and sit on the steps of a fountain. Because it's not that I don't have the opportunities. I probably see more fountains in piazzas than most people. I definitely see more fountains than roses when I travel. So 'sitting on the steps of a fountain' is going to be my 'stopping to smell the roses'. My way of measuring the pace of my life, of keeping my work-life balance in check. Because now... well, it's a little out of whack. So, how often do you take time out to sit on the steps of a fountain when you travel?