So What's This Site All About?
About The Geographical Cure
Life has a way of becoming a murky cocktail of exhaustion and indifference. Jobs, responsibilities, distractions, and the sheer busyness of modern life can leave you running on autopilot.
The Geographical Cure began as my antidote.
Travel has always appealed to my hardwired sense of adventure and curiosity. A trip on the horizon brings excitement and possibility. A change of scenery can reset your perspective and jolt you out of a rut. I’ve never subscribed to the idea that “the geographical cure” is a myth. I think travel can be restorative, energizing, and sometimes exactly what you need.
I created this space to share my love of travel, history, art, and culture with people who, like me, are curious about the world and always looking for something more to see, learn, and experience.
About Me
I’m Leslie Livingston. I studied government and art history at Dartmouth and earned a law degree from Northwestern. I’ve spent decades studying and admiring art and have a special fondness for Greco-Roman, Renaissance, and early Modernist works. I’ve lived in both London and Florence and have long used Europe as my preferred form of geographical therapy.
My first career was as a corporate lawyer at Morrison & Foerster in Washington, D.C. After years of trying to combine law and motherhood, not always gracefully, I had a nagging sense that I needed a change. So I quit and made a beeline back to the pool.
My next chapter began as a Masters swimmer. With my usual obsessive tendencies, I launched the most popular blog on the United States Masters Swimming website and eventually became a Masters world record holder.
Then life intervened. I was diagnosed with blood clots and a rare condition caused by swimming — bilateral venous thoracic outlet syndrome — and the surgeries commenced.
Unexpected setbacks have a way of forcing reinvention. Though I still swim, my days of total enslavement to the natatorium are over. People are more than one thing in life. I’m also a passionate traveler, museum addict, and amateur art historian.
People are more than one thing in life. I’m also a passionate traveler, museum addict, and amateur art historian. During a difficult stretch, I turned to travel once again. As it always had, travel gave me perspective, a reset button, and something to look forward to.
I’m a committed Europhile and return to Europe whenever I can. Italy is my great travel obsession, but I also adore Paris, London, and the strange little museums, historic sites, and overlooked corners that often end up becoming the most memorable parts of a trip.
I prefer to travel independently, either on foot or by car. I love road trips, rabbit holes, and building the perfect itinerary. I’m happiest wandering through a small museum, standing in front of a painting far too long, or detouring for some obscure historical site that most people drive right past.
I only write about places I’ve personally visited and things I’ve actually seen. After decades of travel, that’s quite a lot. I write everything on this site myself. I don’t accept sponsored trips, guest posts, sponsored links, or link swaps.
What you’ll find here is my own experience, my own opinions, and the most useful guide I can give you.
About My Next Trip
In June, I’m headed to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and on a hiking tour of the Italian Lake District.
Leslie
Contact Me:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/191876035@N02/51718433200/in/photostream/
Hi Leslie. Many thanks for your geographical cure. It works!
I hope you do not mind… I have included a link on my Flickr account… attached to a series of photos of Palais Garnier. [Let me know, and I can of course remove it].
Keep writing!
Phil Brandon Hunter [philbhu.com]
Beautiful photos!
Thanks for that.
Please call in when you reach England…make it soon.
Hi. The date on the Monet is 100 years out. It says 1972, and it should be 1872. This on the site that details 15 art works that shocked societies. Loved the site!
Thanks! I’ll fix it
Hi Leslie,
I stumbled here looking for Louise Bourgeois…ha!…and found something that totally made my day. Your writing is really great. I enjoy how you craft your stories about your travel experiences. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Thank you so much!
Great site & thanks for sharing your story. Very inspiring & motivational!
Loved your quote, “I travel not just to escape the daily grind of life, but for life not to escape me.”
Thanks so much CJ!
I too find travel necessary to re-set myself and add interest to they sometimes daily grind of “real” life. I find your site to be exceedingly inspiring and informative. I am headed off to my 17th visit to Italy tomorrow and look forward to checking out some of your off the beaten path suggestions. I will be back here frequently to spend time lost in your stories.
Thank you too much Rosan! Where are you off to in Italy? I am heading back for a long visit in May and am very excited. You can never get enough of Italy.
I enjoyed this survey of European classical art at its best. But was curious why you didn’t seem to travel much within the U.S. it seemed. Besides Warhol, weren’t there any American artists’ works over the last 100 years that were worth seeing in museums? BTW, your self-photos are inspiring!
Al G.
I am grateful to you for publishing the Southern France Itinerary. My wife and I followed it to the letter and were lucky enough to be in Arles for the Feria de Ris along with the bull running which ran right in front of the Jules Caesar Resort you recommended. We did all including optional though could not park easily at Aix La Chapele. We did add however, a wonderful Bouillabaise lunch in Marseilles at Le Miramar. And we added to the trip a wonderful stay at Chateau Hospitalet in Narbonne. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Thank you so much Fred. It sounds like you had an amazing vacation!! Southern France is the best.
I’m planning a trip to Toledo to see the El Greco’s, my favorite painter. Thank you for your article. One of my favorite authors is Charles G. Finney who was a lawyer turned evangelist. His autobiography is really a must read.
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Great article on Umbria but one of the photos labelled as a cityscape of Perugia is actually Todi.
Duh, thanks, don’t know how I messed that up. I have the same photo where it should be later. You can obviously tell that it’s not Perugia because of Santa Maria della Consolazione, one of Todi’s most recognizable Renaissance landmarks.