My third journal is a very cool 4¼ x 6 inch blank spiral notebook with a snap-on flap. I bought this beautiful book in Paris when I was there for the weekend before heading to Romania. Although it is my largest journal, it was the sturdiest. I could keep large papers in it without worrying about them being damaged.

.

From the beginning of my trip, I would reserve a page for every country where I would list "Interesting Things About...". The left page is about Romania.

I love the triangle rubber stamp I got in the Brasov gara (here).

.

One of my major goals on my European Pilgrimage was to locate the ruins of the castle once owned by Vlad Tepes (Dracula). With the help of the internet, Brasov locals, Romanian books, atlases and friends, I found the incredible castle and visited it. The page on the right includes some of the facts about the infamous Romanian ruler. I drew the image of Vlad in the corner of the page.

On my journey across Romania in a car on November 2nd, we stopped at a farm owned by the driver's grandparents. To help me remember all of the intericate details, I drew a map of it.

.

Speaking of maps, I spent an hour studying my atlas of Romania I purchased in Brasov in order to sketch out this regional map (right). It shows the path I took in a car through seven of the fourty regions.

.

C o n t e n t s :

  M y   r e a l
........J o u r n a l s :

Although I do not write in a journal regularily, I am a huge believer in journal writing on journeys. They are a way of capturing the thoughts, feelings and moments of the trip - many that you will surprisingly forget about otherwise.

I bought my first journal in Paris, France - but I did not expect to use it as a journal. I bought the book so I could keep track of what places I went to, transportation I took, people I met, etc. It wasn't very much - maybe a page or two of notes per day.

But in a period of a few days, my scribbles became sentences, my lists became paragraphs. Pretty soon, I couldn't stop writing. Rather than start each entry with just the date, I included the time as well. I was completely addicted.

And, yes, I do like to write small.

Journal 1
Journal 2
Journal 3

Tips 1
Tips 2
Tips 3

Home