Day 13
Drinking whilst travelling throws a shroud over the experience.
Unlucky for some, but not for me.
I made it to another day of No Booze Abroad. Back to waking early, so went to find coffee and pastry as Paris wakes up. The city is beautiful in the morning.
Whilst I have travelled extensively, I find travelling really difficult. I’ve used alcohol to cope with that stress and have alcationed around the world! I can go from timid Edwardian Lady to Indiana Jones in the space of one beer! This has led to some dangerous situations, particularly in my younger years - luckily nothing truly bad happened.
Yesterday was spent at the Pompidou and the Cimematiere du Père Lachaise - which was magnificent. I booked to see a film early evening to avoid the witching hour - as a strategy this worked brilliantly! My addicted soul was resting today - it didn’t come out to growl, or send up any pangs of loss. However, I was visited by the ghosts of trips past when wandering around the graves. I remembered how tired and grumpy I usually feel when sightseeing. How some part of my brain was always wanting the museum visit to be over so I could get to the drinking bit.
Yesterday felt different, like a shroud had been lifted. There were no barriers between me and the experience of being at the gallery or Cemetery. No part of my brain that wanted to be elsewhere. And I realised that I know this feeling - it’s the wonder of childhood. So amongst the anxiety and the stress that is still very much here, I am feeling lucky. Lucky to have had the kind of childhood where this sense of wonder was available to me. Lucky to have the kind of adult life that I am exposed to wonder-inducing experiences. Lucky to have twelve days of not drinking under my belt so that I can have this realisation.
Today’s challenge will be the arrival of the “red wine and cheese” friends, and the obstacle course of going into a bar. I’ve avoided this so far. I’m going to plan ahead so that I pick somewhere I am comfortable with, and have an exit plan ready for when they move from fun drunk to boring drunk!
Interesting that I have shifted from being ambivalent about not drinking to now actively not wanting to drink. I feel unstoppable right now, but can’t afford to let my guard down! I know these things turn on a sixpence! Failure to plan, plan to fail and all that.
Photo by Spenser Sembrat on Unsplash