I haven't done much travelling with anyone other than my Kobo in recent years. I've usually been the first to point out the advantages of travelling solo, but during my trip to London last week, I was reminded of how brilliant it can be when travel with someone else. There's a catch, though: your travel companion has to be a good one. Certain criteria have to be met.
Apart from the obvious - they should be cheerful individuals and not be prone to either excessive whining or psychokiller rampages - good travel companions must show a proper appreciation for the important things in life. These include but are not limited to the following:
Musicals involving witches. Because obviously.
Nerd bookstores, particularly those with a plentiful supply of Doctor Who toys and hard-to-find fantasy books.
Apart from the obvious - they should be cheerful individuals and not be prone to either excessive whining or psychokiller rampages - good travel companions must show a proper appreciation for the important things in life. These include but are not limited to the following:
Musicals involving witches. Because obviously.
Nerd bookstores, particularly those with a plentiful supply of Doctor Who toys and hard-to-find fantasy books.
The loot: Neil Gaiman, Roger Zelazny, Magic cards, and all the Doctor Who toys. What did the hotel cleaners think, I wonder?
Indian food, ice cream, and blueberry pancakes. The former is non-negotiable when travelling to a country such as England, and the latter is of particular importance when your trip overlaps with that ingenious but tragically under-practiced holiday, Pancake Day. Ice cream is, of course, always critical.
Pub pancake breakfast.
The Rosetta Stone. Regarding the lady we passed at the British Museum, not three meters from the stone itself, who told her child that it was "some famous rock; I don't know why" - apart from being a disgrace to humankind and their capacity for learning and reason, she is now officially unworthy of being anyone's travel companion ever.
Dead people. Good travel companions will eagerly spend hours strolling amidst the bones of such as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, George F. Handel, Henry Purcell, and Charles Dickens. They will also agree to a thorough inspection of the Egyptian mummies, even if that is the most crowded room in the entire British Museum.
Dead people. Good travel companions will eagerly spend hours strolling amidst the bones of such as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, George F. Handel, Henry Purcell, and Charles Dickens. They will also agree to a thorough inspection of the Egyptian mummies, even if that is the most crowded room in the entire British Museum.
No photos of the graves allowed in Westminster Abbey, unfortunately. Pretty walls and windows, though.
A good travel companion knows that the best shopping in London is done at secret night markets and will acknowledge the probability that you are sharing your subway car with people you can't see.
It's perhaps a little non-obvious, but the best travel companions have relatively little sense of direction. Excellent sightseeing can be done when you strike out in one direction or another (neither of you knows which), with no particular destination in mind and no knowledge of how to return to your starting point.
And of course - particularly when visiting London - a good travel companion should have a healthy respect for blue police boxes, combined with an understanding of when and where it is appropriate to use a sonic screwdriver. That is, all the time and everywhere.
It's perhaps a little non-obvious, but the best travel companions have relatively little sense of direction. Excellent sightseeing can be done when you strike out in one direction or another (neither of you knows which), with no particular destination in mind and no knowledge of how to return to your starting point.
And of course - particularly when visiting London - a good travel companion should have a healthy respect for blue police boxes, combined with an understanding of when and where it is appropriate to use a sonic screwdriver. That is, all the time and everywhere.
We tried knocking, sonicing the lock, and wishing really hard, but the Doctor wasn't in. Maybe next time.
It was an amazing trip. Can you tell?