a week at heathrow

alain de botton's "a week at the airport"

“there is no one, however lonely or isolated, however pessimistic about the human race, however preoccupied with the payroll, who does not in the end expect that someone significant will come to say hello at arrivals.”

we are told to never judge a book by its cover, but it is hard not to do so with alain de botton’s ‘a week at the airport,’ which has a crisp photograph of heathrow airport in london at night and from a distance, the airport at which de botton was allowed to spend one week carte blanche.  the book is short, separated in sections of departures, airside, and arrivals, peppered throughout with photographs of his experiences from photographer richard baker.

i purchased the book in brooklyn after being immediately arrested with the cover and the idea.  to spend an entire week in an airport seemed at once exhausting but also intoxicating.  we so often hurry through airports rushing towards our flight, exhausted on arriving after a red-eye, frustrated at canceled trips due to dubious weather changes.  terminals see all range of emotions, eloquently described by de botton with his stories of both the anguish over a traveler’s missed flight when the aircraft was still parked fifty feet away, and the homecoming triumph of a father hugging his young son who he hadn’t seen in months.

chaos at the airport in buenos aires after cancelled flighs, angry passengers, and flight crews who discussed the flight status in front of me, not knowing i understand spanish.

chaos at the airport in buenos aires after cancelled flighs, angry passengers, and flight crews who discussed the flight status in front of me, not knowing i understand spanish.

when flying home, i always look for familiar faces at the gate as i deplane, expecting friends and family to randomly be boarding the next flight (since we live in the same city) rather than the more probable line of people connecting to a flight from another location.  i rarely eat at the nicer restaurants, preferring an egg mcmuffin to the finer establishments lining the halls with the perhaps surprisingly stunning front-row views of people outside of their element, mostly alone, forced to find their way in an often unfamiliar and confusing landscape.  what a gold mine!

de botton’s week at the airport provides not only insightful observations of the goings-on at an airport – coupled with photos that bring the writing to life – but also creates in the reader a yearning to go back to these airports with a different view.  we expect so much from our travels (is it too much to ask for a trip to change our lives?) and our time at the airport  – which bookends our travel – can reflect our expectations in surprising ways.

do you have any great airport stories?

my jaunts: brooklyn, los angeles, oh my!

a beautiful day in brooklyn spent walking along the east river

a beautiful day in brooklyn spent walking along the east river

apologies for the delay in posting – there are just too many things going on! i haven’t had a chance to upload anything substantial these past couple of weeks, but there are so many places i’ve gone and things i’ve seen that i want to share. with trips to manhattan, brooklyn, and los angeles in the past several weeks, i have too much to write and not enough time to do it. in the meantime, a few things i came across during my travels that i just adore:

  • the sketchbook project in brooklyn – this is a library based in williamsburg that also roves across the country and encourages artists, writers, even YOU to sketch in a notebook, tag with themes, send back to the project, and then allow others to check out your work. you are notified each time someone checks out your book, and you can check out others’ books through random selection or by searching with key words for themes people have associated to books. so hipster, so fun.
the sketchbook project library in williamsburg, brooklyn

the sketchbook project library in williamsburg, brooklyn

  • my new book – one of my favorite things to do in new cities is check out their independent bookstores. my friend, matt, took me to powerHouse books in DUMBO (Distict Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass…seriously), brooklyn, and i purchased a copy of “a week at the airport” by alain de botton. basically, he was given access to an airport for a week, and he writes about what he saw, his adventures, and who he met. there are photos. i cannot wait to read it. problem: i still need to finish infinite jest, and i only recently made it to the halfway mark circa page 600.
powerHouse books in dumbo, brooklyn, where i purchased "a week at the airport" by alain de botton

powerHouse books in dumbo, brooklyn, where i purchased “a week at the airport” by alain de botton

  • the magic castle – when i lived in la, i thought this elusive magic castle was dumb. basically, it’s this old castle-like house where a bunch of magicians go each night and perform tricks and illusions for members (and their guests!) who adhere to a strict dress code and pay a lot for dinner. except then i heard that neil patrick harris was the president. so off we went, underdressed in business casual but overamazed at the ridiculous amount of times i kept saying “no really, how did you do that??” no photos were allowed inside, but suffice it to say that the three stories worth of narrow hallways lined with pictures to the ceiling, a piano with a ghost that plays any song you request, and tricks performed up close and even in your hand will leave you amazed…and full from the delicious meal, as well. i shall return.
red carpet at the magic castle (like my work badge?)

red carpet at the magic castle (like my work badge?)

i hope you have been just as busy and exploring new places on your own. let me know if you’ve found any i should check out! i’m looking forward to being back in town for a few weeks to have some adventures around dallas.