About Margo

Belles on their toes

Welcome to my travel magazine for women. My name is Margo Millure and until I was 16, I used to dance around in toe shoes and dream of someday being a ballerina. More recently, my background is in freelance writing and editing, magazine publishing and the film industry.

There is not a “t” at the end of my name, and I was never a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet. I did not write this quote, but I love it:

Life forms illogical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?

Dame Margot Fonteyn (May 1919 – February 1991)

I think there’s a calm sense of living like there is no tomorrow in this quote. Margot does not panic. I imagine her pirouetting in perfect time to whatever music is  playing, her head snapping around to see this and that and stopping occasionally to pick up a long stemmed rose that has been tossed at her feet.  Even though she wonders about whether she will ever see the things she may have missed while she was busy dancing around her sphere, she seems to know that the supply of beautiful things is endless. As long as she keeps looking for them they will be found. This is how I try to approach both life and travel.

I became travel obsessed  in the early 90s when my family had the opportunity to live in Holland and France for several years. Many years later I’ve realized that I’m permanently in that pesky phase called “re-entry.” Even though I like to think I’m always awake to all the beautiful, amazing and awe-inspiring things in life, I admit that when I stay at home for too long, I eventually forget to even look. Travel is what always re-opens my eyes. I don’t always have to go far, and I don’t always have to go for very long. But the gift of it is I always get to bring my new reopened eyes home with me.

Now I find myself living in a house where the word “potty” hasn’t been used in a while, and I think the time has come to escape my perky suburb a little more often. What exactly are these “beauties” I’m out to capture? They can be a perfectly chilled glass of wine on a rooftop, one exquisite piece of dark chocolate, or a certain slant of light across a landscape; a child’s laughter, a perfect pouffy cloud or an historic tale of unrequited love told by a passionate tour guide. They can be the calm before the storm, the light in darkness.  They can be people, place or mineral; literal or metaphorical. They can be and are many different things to different people.  Although agreement on what these things are is fine and well, I also like hanging around people who see different things flying by than I do.

There is not a doubt in my mind that the perspective and comfort that come with venturing off our personal dots on the map -  meeting people unlike ourselves, absorbing art and architecture, experiencing new foods, sights, smells and sounds – make us curious, open-minded and happier.

In spite of growing families and tight budgets, if you’ve ever dreamed of traveling the world “someday,” it is my hope that together here on The Travel Belles, we can make this “someday” happen sooner rather than later.

When I can’t be a frequent flier, I enjoy being a frequent Tweeter and can be found  on Twitter: @travelbelles or @gomarwrites.

I also invite you to join me over on the The Travel Belles Facebook Page.

Or send me a message via our Contact page. I love mail from real live people and would love to hear from you! I promise to write you back too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Margo