Happy Birthday to me?
Well, no – I’m not actually turning five. (That happened, uh, rather a long time ago…) But it was five years ago that I embarked on a journey like none I’d taken before – I started Tesserology!
Now, given that I can’t even keep a house plant alive for five years, this is a major accomplishment for me! So I thought I’d celebrate with a little look back at some earlier posts, places – and occasional plights – that have stuck with me over these years.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin!
THE BIT ABOUT VIKING SCOREBOARD (2013)
L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland!
Awww – my very first travel post! Each entry is supposed to be like a “tessera” – a piece of the mosaic of experiences that make up my life. And I initially figured I’d extend that theme to using pieces of a single photo throughout the post, then revealing the entire picture at the end. But since that approach turned out to be about as dynamic as my dry explanation of it now, I abandoned the practice pretty quickly.
Reproductions of Viking goods – more useful, after all, reproduced in their entirety…
Blog history aside, I traveled to Newfoundland to do my own research into North American history and who discovered this land – or, you know, who first arrived thousands of years after people had already been hanging out here. Because, contrary to the jingle burned into my brain as a child (not the Boston zip code for sending things to Zoom – the other one), no candidate’s name on the possible discoverer list ends anymore in “Columbus”. Then who (as far as I’ve learned) among the Chinese, the Phoenicians, the Vikings and let’s not forget Ireland’s Brendan the Navigator, has the best current claim to discovery scoreboard? The evidence is up in L’Anse aux Meadows and it points to the Vikings!
VOLCANO AT MY SHOULDER: THE DEATH AND TAXIS BIT (2015)
Pompeii Amphitheater.
Well, I just finished some last-minute grappling with one of life’s certainties – that would be my taxes…
In this post, I come face to face – quite literally in the case of Pompeii – with another certainty as I journey through the long and chilling shadow of several famous volcanoes!
THE “INTO EACH LIFE” BIT (2016)
View through Venice’s Bridge of Sighs.
Venice! The City of Canals! The City of Bridges! The City of Love! Um, how about the Soggy City? Or the City of…of…Waterlogged-ness..?
On an amazing Mediterranean cruise with the folks, I’d arranged ahead of time to send Mum and Dad off on a romantic sunset ride in a Venetian gondola! Little did I know that on our blustery day in Venice, all sunset rides would be cancelled because we could have used a gondola to get across the flooded Piazza San Marco…
Venice in the rain.
The Not-So-Much-Floating City? The City of Disappointment? Nah. More a reminder that when life hands you a meteorological lemon, just make Limoncello!
THE STROLLING “IN” MEMORY LANE BIT (2016)
London’s St. James Park.
London – my favorite city in the world!
Seems like there’s history in every inch! But while searching with my friend Judy for the one-time residence of Benjamin Franklin, I had to dig deep into my own history to find it.
That’s one of the beauties of travel that goes beyond discovering new places – it’s also often about discovering (or, in this case, rediscovering) oneself!
THE ZIP WHINING BIT (2013)
The Casino on Catalina Island.
For me, some lasting lessons have come from traveling bumpy and sometimes unflattering roads – but they’re treasured experiences and make for some of my favorite posts!
Like when I had a challenge to face while taking part in a weekend of wedding festivities on California’s Catalina Island. Would I go with my first instinct and take a pass on zip lining with the adventurous bride and groom? Or would I go ahead and take a leap of faith..?
THE ZEN AT THE ATM BIT (2014)
Beddgelert, Wales.
Even though Elsa’s circumstances in Frozen were different from mine, I think she was onto something when she belted out that tune, “Let it Go”! But I wasn’t sure I was up to heeding that advice and making the best of things when I lost my credit card at the start of a trip around Wales…
THE FLUID STATE OF GRACE BIT (2016)
Athabasca Glacier.
In sorting through photos for my previous post on Alaska, I was lamenting the fact that I didn’t have a higher powered lens to record the fantastic scenery and wildlife. But I’ve had reminders too, like in such breathtakingly beautiful places as the province of Alberta, that it’s as important to set all the equipment aside now and then in favor of just being present.
THE MEMENTO MOTORI BIT (2016)
Ready to hit the road!
Maybe more than any other post, this one brings together all the reasons why I blog. I hope to entertain and inform about the wonderful travels I’ve been lucky to take, but I also love having a place to catalog memories of where my yen for travel began – with my family. And I’m especially pleased when readers are inspired to share their own experiences as trip-taking kids and parents!
Blogging has proved to be a truly special kind of journey for me. Maybe not the perfect, most polished or (at about one post a month…) the most prolific of endeavors – but immensely satisfying without a doubt!
My deepest thanks to those who’ve journeyed with me through life as well as through these last five years of postings!
Cheers to y’all – and to all the travels to come!
TESSEROLOGY 
What a wonderful whistle stop tour! Keep bloging and travelling, reading your adventures is great fun!
Thanks very much!
Happy blog birthday!
Many thanks!
Congratulations on five years. That’s quite an accomplishment!
Thank you – it certainly is for me!
Happy Postversary!! I continue to be a huge admireror of your travel adventures and family memories– all captured with warmth and humor! Keep on writing, Beautiful Friend! The insights you share are the perfect refreshing cocktail at the end of a long day 🙂
Thank you, Ms. Cara – that just means so much! Always wishing you well on your journeys too!
Oh and P.S. – love and hugs to you, dear friend, from my Mum too!
Happy fifth year blogging and many more to come
Thanks so much!
Happy blog anniversary!
Thank you thank you!
Glad London is your favourite city. You can enjoy a great day, but even a lifetime is not enough to see it all.
I totally agree!
Lovely bit of travelogue and memoir, Amy!
Thank you very much!
Carry on & best wishes!
Thanks so much!
So happy to be a part of your life
Happy birthday and much love to you and your wonderful mom
Kathleen
Thanks so much, dear Kathleen! And love and all good wishes from Mum and me!
Congratulations on five years. Quite an accomplishment since most blogs don’t make the first year. I have enjoyed following and look forward to the next five years to come. All the best!
Thanks very much – and I’ll look forward to seeing more of your views of the world
Happy blogiversary, Amy! I so enjoy your posts, and it was great catching up with some of the “tessera” that I’d missed over the years!
Thanks very much – and looking forward to finding out where you and the Beasties are off to next!
Thanks, Amy! I spy a bit about Devon on the horizon, and some local Dublin adventures too! Stay tuned! 😀
Congrats on your fifth blogging anniversary! Looks like we started blogging at around the same time – my blog just turned five at the end of March!
Well then, thanks and big congrats back to you!
What an amazing blogging journey & traveling one too Amy!
Remember you’re always welcome to drop by for a cuppa!
Jennifer
Thanks very much – I’ve been very lucky to get to take quite a few incredible trips! (Although it’s never enough!). And thanks for the invite to tea!
You must have the travel bug! My daughter & granddaughter have the same bug! Lol!
It was lovely having you drop by Amy, we had such a delightful tea together!
Aw, the pleasure was mine!
Good to see you’ve stuck with it for 5 years. Love the old family album shots. I’d like to go to Pompeii some time. Did you ever read Pompeii by Richard Harris? Well worth trying if you haven’t read it.
No, I haven’t read that – will have to give it a try. Thanks for the tip and for reading!
What a wonderful tour You presented to us! I love Your photos. Thank You showing them. Have a good day!
Thank you so much for checking them out – and you have s good day too!
Amy: You are rightly proud of your blog. “Sharing is caring,” as they say to the preschoolers. You’ve done just that for all of us lucky readers (preschoolers at heart). Thank you!
My goodness, thank YOU for being a kind reader!
Five and a bit! 😉
Indeed!
(But only a bit!)
Yep… only a bit bit… 😉
That was a lot of fun. Keep up the good work, and the travels.
Many thanks!
Great post. Congratulations on 5 years.
Many thanks!
My blog turned also 5 at spring…but my blog haven’t been as successful as yours…just wishing it will be…Happy anniversary!
Kiitos! Congratulations to you – and you have a great blog!
By the way, time flies. Can’t believe it’s already 5 years when I started my blog. That summer was my first time at traditional gymnastic happening which was then at Lahti. What a great trip it was! Lovely memories!!
Yes, it goes fast! I was in Lahti over 20 years ago – I loved seeing the view from the ski jump’
☺👍