For some reason there’s something about sitting on the ground in a foreign place that  just allows you to soak up the place (it’s best not to think about the logistics of that).  Two moments in Italy in particular stick out for me –

1) Sitting under a tree on a small patch of grass in Verona, a few blocks from “Julliet’s” tomb, downloading an album on my ipod (my friends say this image should be an ipod touch/iphone commercial), soaking up the sun and picking tiny wild flowers.

2) St Mark’s Square Venice.  Completely knackered at the end of a long day of walking around Venice, I just parked myself against a pillar and waited for the rest of the gang to show up.

Just sitting in these places, sitting on the ground, as if I was part of the buildings and the stone and the grass, was brilliant.

I don’t have as strong moments like this from Ireland.  Maybe because I always sat on steps or the like, never truly on the ground. Probably because I wasn’t alone as much as I was in Italy.

But I highly reccommend sitting on the ground when you travel.

It sucks being on training and not really knowing when your next real free time will be.