Who am I ?
Audrey, a frequent flyer, a former University of Letters student and graduate of the cultural and tourism sectors. Which is good, since I approach the journey as a book : of History, of adventures, of emotions. It's also for me a manual of life, an immersion in a new reality. Going somewhere else isn’t just checking boxes, filling out an Instagram account, and getting some sun. It's also and above all to question his relationship to others, to otherness. Every journey has taught me something, has sometimes changed my prejudices and my vision to make it more contrasted, and has taught me the history that is not in the books.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.
Mark Twain.
I would add that it's fatal to boredom and the feeling of going around in circles. And even more, a real window of freedom and escape, both valve to the anxiety of our present world and one of the best ways to understand it better. To come back different, to take another look at our daily life, our culture, our little troubles, to relativize. I don't know any great traveller who hasn't become more tolerant, more alive, more curious after returning home. Travel is that wealth there too.
It’s also adding beauty to your life, embellishing your personal picture.
Why "La Carte et le Territoire" ?
Each of us as his own journey, his own experience.
Like the philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski, I consider that the map should be separated from the territory. Our vision of things is subjective: it's illuminated by our past, our state of mind, our education.We don’t all translate what we see the same way. If the maps are common to everyone, the vision of a territory is not. Since there are many ways to read a map, there are many ways to feel a trip.
History illuminates the present … and the traveller.
Approaching the journey through the prism of history.
Just as we appreciate a work of art more accurately if we know more about the context or the author, I think we are more able to appreciate a country if we know a minimum about its history, its culture, its geography, its people. This context makes the discovery more tasty and meaningful. My professional knowledge of touristic geography and History has enabled me to acquire these keys that I suggest you to discover, by destination.
For whom?
More for the Traveler than the Tourist.
My blog is aimed at any traveler who is interested in composing an exploration similar to himself, on the sidelines of tourism marketing.
But not everyone has the luxury of spending hours on the web searching for as much information as possible before leaving. My hope is to guide you the best I can in your quest for new destinations, in your desires for the unknown, for experiences and for safety, and to bring you the keys of understanding to approach a country, a city in its historical and contemporary context.
