Will Travel

Well, in a little over 24 hours I will be hitting the road again.  This time we're heading south to Lisbon, Portugal, then a brief stop in Madrid, Spain, a few days in Toulouse, France, and another short stop in La Rochelle.

Here are two songs that I have stuck in my head, pretty good traveling songs, the two of them:
"Have Love, Will Travel" is originally by Richard Berry ("Louie, Louie" anecdote: when I was a very very small child I looooved the song "Louie, Louie."  So much so, in fact, that I called the record player the "Ooey-Ooey.")
This version is by the Black Keys and is also fabulous:
Have Love, Will Travel
"Silver Stallion" was originally by the Highwaymen (wikipedia refers to them as the American country supergroup).  The version of "Silver Stallion" stuck in my head is also a cover, but I found the video of the Country Supergroup playing it, and it is a requirement that you watch it too:
Supergroup's Silver Stallion The best part is Jenning's little dance at around 1:45.
The cover that, I must admit, I heard before the original is by Cat Power.  Much more mellow, but excellent nonetheless:
Cat Power's Silver Stallion

Yay for traveling music!

I'm really excited about this trip, especially Lisbon because 1. it will be my first time in Portugal and 2. there is supposed to be really good, really cheap food in Portugal.
But, even though this vacation will begin at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon when I leave Marcel Pagnol, I've found myself more fervently counting down the weeks and days until April.  Why?

My parents are supposed to visit.  No tickets have been purchased yet (Mom, get on it!!), but it's pretty much decided.  And I can't wait.  Recently I've been thinking how nice it would be to take a weekend trip home, which, unfortunately, is totally impossible.  It's not like I'm ready to move home -- or anywhere else, for that matter -- but the familiarity of home is much missed.  Seeing my parents is as close as I'll get to Memphis until sometime in July.  And as much of my life as I've wished to be away from Memphis, I always catch myself being insanely nostalgic for it when away.  I had a conversation with a girl I met from Vancouver.  Someone asked if she missed it (vancouver, in particular, i think, because it's supposed to be a nice place to live), and she said "well, it's usually the people isn't it? not the place."  I guess that is a given, but it's a great way to look at it.

For now, however, I do love living here.

All of this is probably compounded by the fact that I'm anxiously awaiting grad school decisions, which will determine where I live for the next two to three years.  I guess this is good as a place as any to announce that Memphis accepted me into their MFA program.  One of my professors sent me a very nice email that said I was accepted with a unanimous "yes."  It was a nice way to kick off the week.

Anywho, blog readers, if you're there, I'm again traveling sans computer, so I'll be in touch when I return from the vacances!
À bientôt!

(my will-travel picture)