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Hi there! Welcome to the first installment of our travel blog, written at the end of the U.S. part of our adventure on the lush, tropical north shore of Kauai, the northernmost of the main islands of Hawaii. We have to start by saying this is an idyllic, privileged place to be, and we feel very fortunate for all of the good times we're having. One aspect of high volume, high velocity travel, as we're doing, is that you get to see a lot of people living in a lot of different places in a short space of time; some are beautiful and glamourous, some are rough and down and out. We don't have any answers to any of that, just wanted to let you know we're not taking this 3 1/2 months of wonder for granted.
How did we get here? Not so long ago we shared a dream to travel the world for a period of months, visiting whole regions we wanted to either see for the first time, or get to know better. After we'd decided to act on it we found out how differently even close partners can view the concept of a round the world trip once it comes to putting some flesh on the bones of a plan. Ie Geoff thought we'd just book the basic flights of a round the world ticket, fling on our backpacks, and wing it, finding budget accommodation and transport along the way; while Gisela started with a twenty column spreadsheet into which the details of each pre-booked, high quality hotel, flight and rental car would be carefully inserted before any bags were to be packed. Naturally there was a clash of visions vitriolic enough to test the most watertight of couples. Naturally Gisela won. So flash packing it is! And Geoff has to admit he is loving it, with particular thanks to some friendly exchange rates.
The pictures do tell the story of our travels so far, except to say the Chilean volcano decided to erupt the day of our first flight from Sydney, to Sao Paulo, causing around eight hours of flight delays, but also arousing the sympathies of checkin people enough that they waived our excess baggage fees, which would have been big enough to make Geoff cry and Gisela regret some of the things she'd felt were really 'necessary'. Let's say the highs and lows of travel came as early as day one. Thanks also to Kerry and Anna for a great stay in New York, thanks to Chris and Graham for being lots of fun to hang out with there too, thanks to the Grand Canyon for counterbalancing the excesses of Las Vegas, thanks to Andy and Anna for a fun night in San Fran, thanks to the Mustang for five days of blissful driving around Napa Valley and the Pacific Coast Highway, and thanks to Margie and Neville for sponsoring the accommodation here on Kauai. All of you made our time so much more enjoyable. Oh, that reminds us, we're looking forward to catching up with several more friends along the way, which is one of the real joys of this journey, that we get to check in with a bunch of friends living O/s and see how they're living in various interesting parts of the world.
Tomorrow we leave the US and start the Asia part of our trip. So here are our thoughts on the State of the Union : the USA gets firkin hot in summer, except San Francisco which seems confused enough to think summer is winter. American media outlets can focus on an issue a la the debt ceiling drama like no other media - the words obsessive compulsive and get a life come to mind. Seriously, who ever thought a deal wouldn't be done? Shopping in America is unreal. But the gap between rich and poor here ain't getting any smaller. Healthy food outlets, however, are becoming easier to find. So Geoff has no-one to blame for his expanding waistline than himself. Suffice to say some photos had to be omitted. Wine in the Napa Valley per the GeoffandGi measure is the most expensive of anywhere they've been, so it's lucky the Napa Valley compensates by being a beautiful region. Hawaii really does look like the postcard; but the North Shore doesn't have any swell right now…And travel has dispelled cliches once again - we have met many quiet and gentle Americans, as well as a few of the Sarah Palin kind, one of whom tried convincing Geoff at the luau of the righteousness of war - when Geoff asked why the topic, a woman next to him, smiling, said: "Because you're from somewhere else!"
Oh, a couple of other things to mention: Geoff published his book on Amazon Kindle before we left - you can find it here if you want http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CLODLO If you like it please send on the link to your friends and help us make it a moderate seller! Also, we managed to lease our flat after a month of uncertainty, which is a big relief, phew!
Next we're heading to Japan. You can follow the locations of our trip so far on the map which is posted at the bottom of this blog as we go. Until next we post…
- comments
Luke Grace Hey guys. Great to hear you are having such a great time. Very jealous, especially of the Mustang. Bru, I don't have a kindle, but I want to read your book. How me do it? Also, are you coming to the UK as part of your travels? More than welcome to crash at mine, obviously, if you do. Take care of yourselves. xx
Ruth Adorei a ideia do blog. A viagem de vocês é tão longa que não conseguiriam lembrar em detalhes depois, a gente ia perder muitos detalhes. E vendo fotos aos poucos dá pra curtir bem mais. É mesmo uma viagem de sonhos. Só não vão esquecer do remédio de malária!!!
Pam Essing Hey Geoff & Gisela - Great to hear from you and about your travels. Have printed this out and will take it for Nana to read while she is in respite for a few more days. Keep enjoying life on the go- and remember - life is beautiful!!!
Hellena Lovely. Fico feliz em saber que o Geoff também leva seu ponto de vista único a outros países. I found it very hard to solve the sum...
Anna Great to hear from you guys!! Lots of love from hot and steamy BK! xoxox
Rowena I was hoping you'd put your blog up soon. Glad to hear you are having a good trip. You will love Japan. Row xx
Geoff Norman hi luke, think you can still download to an iPad or other newfangled thing like a computer as long as you have an amazon account. not coming to uk (too chicken!) or europe at all, only continent we're not spending any time in this time round. thx tho for the offer, will be there for the olymppics and wil make contact then for sure. am sure cameron and boris will have sorted things by then :) g
Geoff Norman hi all, thanks for your comments, good to know this is getting out on the airwaves, will be blogging again soon, having a great time in japan, cheers g ps seems the sum is always the same which should leleia
Alicia Raftis Brilliant guys. Love the blog and photos. You look so god dam happy in every single smiling teeth shot! How nice to share such an adventure. Look forward to the next instalment. Leash x
kerry warwicker Ah Hawaii - I'm mad jealous but those pictures are bringing back many a happy memory. So great to catch-up with you guys in NY and not to wish your trip away but we're looking forward to seeing more of you once you settle in Sao Paulo. Enough from me - back to the trip of a lifetime guys.. we'll be watching!