870 Miles
How far would you go for a croissant? On July 12, 2022 Albert Van Limbergen arrived at Boulangerie Roy Le Capitole after cycling 870 miles across two countries. In CNN Travel, Chrissie McClatchie shares his story of planning and executing his adventure, all for the special lavender croissants found in the bakery in France. When I heard this story, what intrigued me was not the 870 miles, but it was how the dream was born.
One day Albert was sitting on his couch flicking through the television channels when he stumbled upon a News segment about a bakery in Nice and their lavender croissants. Albert's reaction? "I'd realized I found a reason to go to France."
On more than one occasion Albert had made a large trip like this to visit something related to lavender: “If I had a few days off from work, I’d sometimes drive to the Ardèche in France to eat lavender ice cream at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc." It was not that he had an odd obsession with the plant, but rather that it gave him a reason to visit a new place or try a challenge like a long bike ride. I'm sure there are many people that would find something like that odd. Why would you do all that bike riding for one croissant?For me, I totally get it.
Yesterday, I spent a wonderful morning and afternoon on Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland. The destination we were seeking out was a seabird sanctuary on the far edge of the island. To get there we took a 5 minute walk, a 30 minute ferry, a 15 minute walk, and then biked about 5 miles up and down the large hills. While the bird sanctuary was our destination, we were not interested in the faster route there which would have been taking "The Puffin Bus" as soon as we stepped off the ferry. It would have been faster and far easier.
For us though, while the sanctuary was the technical destination, it was all about the journey as a whole. We didn't want to get there fast, and we didn't feel the need to spend more than 15 minutes when we arrived. At the same time, I don't think I would have enjoyed a bike ride as much without the reason to do it. The older I get, the more I realize things like this about myself that I didn't know when I was younger.
The last time I traveled in Ireland I was 20 years old. I didn't know the right journeys to map out to maximize my enjoyment. I forced myself to go to the destinations others wanted to see and do the things they wanted to do. I didn't know the boundaries I needed to set to make sure I was getting the right amount of time to recharge between excursions. I didn't have enough confidence about who I was in this world to be okay with doing things a little differently. In other words, when I was 20 I would have taken the train like everyone else instead of having courage like Albert to bike the 870 miles.
I have learned a lot in a few decades of traveling and living, and I look forward to seeing what I learn in the next few. Maybe next time I come back to Ireland, I'll want to take the Puffin Bus, and that will be okay too.
