There’s a building in a town near me. Every time, I take a visitor past it they comment in a favourable manner. They ask if it’s the Town Hall, or maybe a museum. I barely notice it. It’s just some offices.
That’s the joy of visiting somewhere new. When you go on holiday you’re looking around for things to excite and interest you. You have an expectation that there will be fascinating and novel things.
Yet when faced with the same surrounding everyday we stop noticing the things around us. In part, it’s because we think they will stay the same. This clearly isn’t true. Even in the depths of a city, you can observe seasonal and human changes.
And if you’re willing to get a holidaymaker mindset in place then you can start spotting the things you’ve never noticed before. Look up and see the carving around windows. Peer between the brambles and realise there’s a bit of a river. Google the people on the blue plaques. Take photos of the street or shop names ( like Green Queen above) that would consider wonderful if you didn’t see them daily. One day you won’t, do admire while you can.
I’ll be adding my not-on-holiday photos to Instagram with the tag #notonholiday over the next few weeks because you don’t have to travel far to find novelty and hidden delights. Does anyone else want to rediscover their surroundings?