The Joy of the Travel Journal, and How to Start Your Own
Travelling can be a gorgeous, glorious blur. That meal you swear you’ll never forget mingles and mixes with that wine bar you promised to remember, all of them slowly dissolving on the tip of your tongue, just like those pastries you tucked into in the sun at that bakery down the lane – what was the name of it again?
Travel journalling forces you to crystallise your experiences, take a beat to jot down names, places and other sensory details (smells, sounds, funny expressions) that a camera could never capture.
If you’re curious to get started, it’s easier than you think, says Claire Ann Quigley, owner of Galway’s online stationery store, nóta póca. “I focus on collecting pieces and photos as I go,” she says.
Left: Travelers Notebook in camel, coffeewerkandpress.com Middle: Claire Ann Quigley Right: The Long Walk washi tape, notapoca.com
“I will usually have an A6 notebook and my favourite pen with me, and if the mood strikes, I will add to it, but most of the time I will put it all together properly when I get home.”
She recommends a small pouch for collecting all those ephemeral bits and pieces while you travel – receipts, tags, cute packaging.
After, add a few rolls of washi tape, some stickers, a glue stick, a mini pair of mini scissors and your favourite pen to bring it all together.
Don’t feel you need to write essays, either. “Some of my favourite travel journal pages are mostly scraps with a date and a few words. You don’t need to document everything – just the bits that meant something to you.”
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