So What's This Site All About?
About The Geographical Cure
The Geographical Cure is a mix of curated content showcasing my love of cultural and historical travel. It began as a response to the passion sapping nature of 21st century life — distractions, children, jobs, stress — all of which can result in a murky cocktail of exhaustion and indifference.
Extricating oneself from a rut is rarely easily done, when complacency and trepidation mix together like dual ingredients in gunky glue. But life is frighteningly short. I needed a felicitous way to do battle against oblivion.
The lure of travel was an antidote. Travel appealed to my hardwired sense of adventure. It provided an opportunity to forge a stronger spirit, a chance for cultural escapism, and psychological euphoria.
Many denounce “the geographical cure” as a fantasy. I find that a temporary vacation is absolutely regenerative and has a blissful effect on the soul. Having a vacation on the horizon also provides a delightful frisson of excitement and is a tincture against thorny daily issues.
I created this space to share my passion for travel and culture and to provide a continuing stream of wanderlust inspiration for those, like me, who might need to reframe or recalibrate their spirit or who, in their next act, simple yearn to know and experience more.
About Me
I’m Leslie Livingston. I have a degree in government and art history from Dartmouth and 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 artworks. I’ve lived in London and Florence and go to Europe for geographical cures at least four times a year.
My first incarnation was as a corporate lawyer at Morrison & Forester in Washington DC. After combining law and motherhood for some time, not always to good effect, I had a more than nagging sense that I needed a change. I quit my job and made a beeline back to the pool.
My next life chapter as a masters swimmer began. With my usual fervor and obsessive nature, I launched the most popular blog on the United States Masters Swimming website, and transformed myself into a masters world record holder.
You can be devastated when something unexpected and stressful happens in life. On the other hand, if after a spasm of self pity, you redirect your energy and challenge yourself with something new, you became a stronger person because of it. For me, though I still swim, my enslavement in the natatorium has ended.
People are more than one thing in life; I am also a passionate traveler and amateur art historian. And so, while waiting for my old self to re-materialize, tip toeing the balance between life and loss, I turned to travel. As it always has done, travel provided the requisite boost to the psychic bin.
Now, resilience intact and fairly well restored, I plan and embark on travel and cultural adventures whenever I can. To date, I’ve been to 45 countries and counting. As the saying goes, I travel not just to escape the daily grind of life, but for life not to escape me.
I’m a real Europhile. It’s my favorite place to travel. I have a special focus on Italy and adore Paris, London, and all the secret hidden gems scattered throughout Europe.
I prefer to travel independently by foot or by car on my geographical cures. I adore road trips and crafting the perfect itinerary.
I am also a culture vulture who flourishes on a steady diet of beauty, history, culture, art, and food — and I’m on a quest to consume as much as possible. I especially like quirky offbeat historical destinations, not just the typical tourist sites.
I only write about places I’ve chosen to travel to and things I’ve seen personally. Which is quite a lot, after many decades. I do all the writing on my blog myself. I don’t accept sponsored links, don’t do link swaps, don’t accept guest posts, and don’t do any sponsored trips or press trips. I don’t recommend any products either. What you get is my personal opinion and the best and most useful description I can give you of the places I’ve been.
About My Next Trip
In the next 10 months, I have trips planned to Belgium, Holland, and France (Burgundy, Champagne, and Alsace regions).
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 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.