What's in a name?

It’s an age old question. Does a name, personal or otherwise, matter? It’s a question addressed most famously by Shakespeare in his oft-quoted sonnet, and many new parents would emphatically argue that the choice of name for their new baby is vitally important. After all, there aren’t many Adolphs, Neros or Caligulas these days. And I don’t imagine that Voldemort will appear any time soon on a list of top 10 baby names.

So yes, it is important that the name given to something, even as ephemeral as a travel blog sends the desired message. And Mike’s choice of “A doddle round the Med” to describe our 2 month trip to Europe this spring just didn’t feel right.  I would like to categorically state that I have never doddled. I have perhaps dawdled, I may have meandered, I have traipsed and strolled, but not doddled. The word conjures up images of grey nomads on a bus tour, with frequent stops for refreshment, and dinner each evening at the local RSL. It implies purpled permed hair. It implies hearing aids and walking sticks. Even Pip commented that she imagined a tour bus full of octogenarians with walking frames.

The quest was on for an alternative name.  “Tripping round the Med” was suggested, but it made us sound like ageing hippies on some sort of drug induced feel good tour. As we were travelling in April/May, I briefly considered calling the blog “A Mediterranean Spring”, but recent political events in the middle east persuaded me otherwise. Imagine the headlines “Two baby boomer Aussies spread riot and revolution in the Mediterranean”.

I decided to investigate some well known phrases for inspiration. “See Rome and… “ hmm, maybe not,  perhaps a bit too final.  “All roads lead to Rome” was better, but as we were starting in Rome, not finishing there, it wasn’t quite appropriate.  I suggested something with a bit of Italian flair – “Andiamo al mare Med” sounded good I thought, but M said that no one would know what on earth it meant.

So, when, after two weeks of debate, M suddenly said “When in Rome …”  (it was on my list of suggestions), the name was finally decided.

Phew.  Hope the decisions about what we do each day while we are actually travelling aren’t so fraught.

Now on to the much more straight forward topic of what to take backpacking round the Med. Hmm, I wonder if M will mind if I take all those library books?