TRAVEL (for disasters click here)
| Travelling is learning.
This phrase was used by some German people we befriended in Cyprus. What
an apt phrase it is for us.
Our travelling has brought us many amazing experiences and coincidences ~ far too many to mention them all. It has brought us in contact with many celebrities, including the Royal families of the UK, Luxembourg and Thailand, Yasser Arafat in Paris and Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. |
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Yasser Arafat |
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We enjoy getting off the tourist 'beaten track' and this has often resulted in surprises. In Luxembourg we were walking along some minor side streets and we came across a little bridge over the river. On the bridge we bumped in to Luxembourg's Royal Family. There was the Crown Prince, his wife, their children and their dog. They stopped and chatted to us! | |
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The Luxembourg Royal Family |
| We found ourselves in
the right place at the right time in Bangkok and became two of the few
people who have managed to see the King of Thailand (on his birthday).
We were privileged to see the Pope at the Vatican.
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The King of Thailand |
| Whilst walking one of the long distance footpaths in the UK, we met some charity walkers and invited them to call in to our house for tea (as we live on the route). They explained that they were behind schedule and so might not have the time. We thought no more of it. About three days later we were at home and there was a knock at our door. It was an Australian couple who said "We met some people the other day and they said there would be a cup of tea going........." We invited them in and got chatting. They explained they were from Sydney. About three months later we found ourselves in Sydney and called round at their house for a cup of their tea. It is strange how new friendships can come about. | ||
| Although our bigger trips need more planning, we often opt for last minute deals. If we find ourselves with a few days to spare we try to match last minute flights with accommodation by e-mailing or faxing a Youth Hostel. If we can match up the two, then off we go. It is fun not knowing which country we will be in a few days later. The last minute trips have tended to be capitals and our list of capitals visited over the last few years is constantly growing. During the last few years our visits have included the following: |
| Florence Cyprus Paris Wales Berlin Madrid Rome Sicily Jeju Rhine Valley Los Angeles Tokyo Tenerife Riga Belfast Honolulu Queenstown El Paso Beijing Barcelona |
New York
Brussels Bangkok Edinburgh Copenhagen Sweden Vatican City Dublin Malta Vilnius Bruges Lyttelton Saint Lucia Athens Sydney Amsterdam Santa Cruz Armidale Tallin Fukuoka |
Prague
Washington Fiji San Francisco Toledo Guernsey Luxembourg Hilo Austria Oslo Gozo Barbados Auckland Corinth Antwerp Melbourne Juarez Nagasaki Otago
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Travelling does not always mean leaving mainland UK and we have had lots of walking holidays - the Thames Path, Macmillan Way, the London Marathon, The Monopoly Board, Yorkshire Moors, Snowdonia, Lundy, the Isle of Wight, the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District and East Anglia to name just a few. We have completed a number of sponsored walks in aid of our charity 'Children of Fiji'. In 2003 we walked the Thames from source to mouth, in 2004 we walked from Clifton Suspension Bridge to Tower Bridge and in 2005 we did a 250 mile walk around the perimeter of Norfolk. Please check our Children of Fiji section for more details of the charity and its work. Since 2007, with two visits to Fiji each year we have done a number of smaller sponsored walks We have made friends with people from all over the world and keep in touch with them. Our e-mail list gets longer and longer and we never know who is going to turn up out of the blue. Travelling really is learning and we look forward to doing a lot more learning in the future!! |
