Not traveling is a skill. It is acquired slowly, usually by traveling.

When you are not traveling, you are simply living. Although, you are simply living in a place that is not where you have ever lived, not where you worked, not where you raised your family.

Most often, it is a place that is totally new to you.

You are not rushing to see The Sights, to eat at The Best Places, to shop at The In Spots.

Right now, I am not traveling in Lisbon, Portugal. I am waking at 10:00, drinking coffee until 12:00 in an apartment on the third floor above a French bakery.

I am right across the street from the Museum of Antiquities. Though I have been here for 10 days, I have not yet been to this museum. In part, that is because I am not travelling. Instead, I am grocery shopping, doing my laundry, napping, reading and living in this apartment.

I am living. Not traveling.

Sometimes living can be tedious. Not traveling is rarely tedious.

This is because even the simple things, the grocery shopping, the laundry are adventures.

“How do I buy cheese here?” The cheese is all room temperature, displayed on the counter and it smells like Ron’s socks after tennis.
“How do I do laundry here?” The machine is so different, the loads so small.
“How do I cook dinner?” The pots are so large, the burner is so hot, the spices left for me in this cabinet are so fragrant.

When you are not traveling, it is best to take your cue from the locals. If the shops and restaurants close at 3:30 and reopen at 8:00, it is best for you to head on home at 3:30, take your nap, do your reading and writing and then come back out into the city center at 8:00.

Don’t try buying sunscreen at 4:00.

The only way you can enjoy not traveling, is to stay in a place for not less that two weeks. If you stay less than this amount of time, you will feel the pressure to SEE ALL THOSE sights. You may forget the importance of napping (this is an important skill).

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And you may feel pressure and stress. This is bad. The best thing about not traveling is that there is very little pressure or stress. You have plenty of time.

Time to read, time to stare, time to think.

Next to reading, thinking and staring are my favorite things. It was the gift of not traveling that taught me to take a pillow and stool on to my tiny balcony and stare out on the plaza for an hour.

I have no schedule, no place to be, no plans.

After a lifetime of planning – career, financial, familial – having no daily plans is the best part of not traveling.

I want to see Sintra. I want to go the the beach in the fall. I’m not sure when these things will happen. Or if they will happen. Most likely they will, but if they do not it is OK.

I am not traveling. I am living.