Eighteen

Mafalda

Happy birthday, Mafalda. I’m glad you asked me to come.

Keep going

Coimbra must feel huge right now. University, a new city, days that are yours.

You know already I was your age when I started traveling on my own. A start like that sent me out into the world.

Make the life you want.

I wish you the courage to go and see things for yourself.

I want to give you a weekend away with whoever you like, sometime in the next twelve months. Trains or flights, and a place to sleep, are mine to sort. You can plan everything else yourself. If you want ideas, I can also recommend what to see and do. WhatsApp me when you want to, and we will take it from there.

Alex

Until then, here is an idea for inspiration. Refresh the page and you may get another.

A bright red British telephone box, seen straight on, with trees behind it.
London

I went to London for my first full-time job, just after my master’s. I had worked before, but this was the start of working for real. It is a huge city, full of people with a lot of energy, all wanting to do something with their lives. That energy is London, for me.

The Champs-Élysées at dusk, wet with traffic, the Ferris wheel at the end of the avenue.
Paris

I know Paris as a tourist, for work, for conferences, and through friends. The first time I was there for work, I joined the Friday night rollerblades, thousands of people going down the big avenues. That became my way in: less what everyone says about Paris, more what you find there yourself.

Photo by IRRphotography, CC BY-NC-ND

The indoor pool at Gellért Baths, under a glass roof and a row of columns.
Budapest

I worked in Budapest for almost a year. The language is nothing like the ones around it, and it is a little bit Eastern Europe, which is interesting if that is new to you. I remember it as the Belle Époque: castles, bridges, and baths.

Photo by Truus, Bob & Jan too!, CC BY-NC

A dim pub bar in Temple Bar, with bottles, glasses, and round white lamps.
Dublin

The first time I flew into Dublin, a huge Guinness banner over the road from the airport welcomed you as if you were coming home. I don’t remember anything else from the weekend. That is what weekends in Ireland are for me.

Photo by kunst.ftf, CC BY

A narrow canal with moored boats and coloured houses reflected in the water.
Venice

I went to Venice near the start of a long relationship, with someone very special to me. We spent a few romantic days doing the things people in love are expected to do there. It was the right place for that.

Photo by diana_robinson, CC BY-NC-ND

When you want to go, tell me who with.

Trains or flights, and a place to sleep, are mine to sort. Sometime in the next twelve months.