Four years ago I published the first post on this blog. It was about how it all started, the travelling thing. It goes back almost fifteen years when I studied in Milan. Little I knew but judging from my current perspective this was the first big breakthrough of my adult life. Suddenly the map of my world grew and showed many blank places that I wanted to explore.
I was lucky to work as an academic for almost ten years. I feel privileged that my job brought me to the remote location of this globe. I travelled the world and participated in a variety of scientific conferences. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see.
Wherever I go I always visit the immigration museums. New York, USA.
At the same time, my passion for the travel literature grew and I started a transformation of my home office into a library. I discovered the best travel book ever written. It is The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier. It still is my favourite book, even though I travelled around the world, followed his footsteps in Ireland and Japan, and turned into a philosopher of travelling.
Eventually, the urge to explore the world became overwhelming. I used the end of my research contract at the University of Nottingham as an excuse for focusing on travelling per se. The travelling became my job, hobby and the way of life. I never turned it into an obsession or a mindless collection of places, national parks or countries. My travels were always slow, focused on meetings with people, reading books, or just hanging around, visiting the same place more than once, often in different seasons. Off the beaten track I went. The big question of why and how people travel always intrigued me.
The big questions always follow you, no matter where you go. Tatry Mountains, Poland.
Naturally, my research brought me to a point when I wanted sharing my experiences with others. Thus, here is the big news: the first publication of my book called “Podróżując” (On Travelling) will be soon available in Polish. I wrote it to share my philosophy of travelling. By telling a story of the journey around the world, I explained many aspects related to anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics and social relations. Above all, thanks to my Polish language teacher, I spent countless hours on raising my linguistic competencies to make sure this book is simply beautiful, clear and easy to understand.
For a while, I considered publishing it with an ordinary publishing house but then I realised that this book is not only about the thoughts, not only about the content. I thought that it should be published by myself to influence the whole process, decide on every small detail so it became a beautiful object. Instead of colourful pictures, you’ll find there a series of sketches by my artist friend Natalia. The cover designed by Jarek tells you a story about the journey that turns into the way of life. I devoted to this book almost two years of my life to make sure it meets the highest standards. In order to do so, I did not submit it to any random publishing house.
The time has come. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the second big news:
I established a publishing house. Yeah! Hurray! Together with my beloved husband, we created an enterprise called Null&Full. The company we have owned for a couple of years promotes conscious travelling. Under one umbrella it offers guided tours in Ferrara, runs this blog and finally, publishes travel literature. Our aim is to raise awareness and promote discussion about the modern travels. In our recently established publishing house, we shall focus all our efforts on finding the best pieces ever written, pick up sketches and illustrations, work on a layout, choose the right colours, and publish them as works of art. As for now, we publish our books in Polish but we shall do our best to publish the book “On Travelling” in English too. We will keep you informed regarding the process of translation and about the date of publication. We strongly believe this is another wonderful journey that we shall share with you.
We are the best team ever. Matera, Italy.
Keep your fingers crossed!
