Thought for the day

Merleau-Ponty, the French philosopher, said , 'You cannot see what you don't look at.' That's a pretty useful idea for someone embarking on a long trip. I'll try and stick to it.

Why 'a Grand Tour?'

The idea is straightforward. The gentry used to do the Grand Tour in the 17th and 18th centuries. They went off to improve their minds by studying clasiscal antiquity and the Renaissance and have the chance to mix with the foreign gentry abroad before coming back to rule. They got as far as Venice, Rome and beyond and generally had a good time. My Grand Tour will mainly have a musical and history theme. I plan to wander down through Germany via Cologne, Bonn, Heidelberg, and Munich aiming for Vienna and Salzburg. Then head off to Venice via Trento, Bologna and Ravenna.  In the past they took years perhaps; I'm planning just two months this time. It may be a lot to fit in. We'll see.

The main focus will be the classical composers from Mozart and Haydn onwards - where they lived, where they worked, and their music.

The blog is just a diary really.  I'll combine it with a scrapbook and lots of photos.

The intention is to add to it whenever the wifi is working. No wifi, no blog.