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''But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned I don't know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are a 5 year old again, you can't read anything, you only have the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross the street without endangerig your life. Your whole existance becomes a series of interesting guesses'' - Bill Bryson
As Jackie and I meander towards the completion of the year and the end of our trip it has made me reflect on what we have both achieved during that period which, to say the least, has disappeared so quickly.
When we left England on 21 January 2016 we both knew that there were a number of challenges ahead which were hidden amongst the excitement of seeing the wealth of new places we were to visit. I have to admit now that I was also a little bit scared by the enormity of the exercise but as the song (Sunscreen - Baz Luhrmann) says 'do something everyday that scares you'. We planned the whole trip around new places to supplement the previous trips we have made together including the exciting long haul trips we made with Jonathan and Hannah as they were growing up. The European leg was to see France and Italy in greater depth and to add on some peripheral visits to new places, and we have achieved this.
Unless you have an endless purse, which we clearly didn't have, you can only start by estimating a target budget but this is a difficult exercise when you are going to so many new places where you have no knowledge of local living costs. It is also an act of stupidity to think that all estimates are good and not to allow some 'slack in the system' to cover unforeseen circumstances or events. Without being too smug I think we have generally achieved the budget whilst using the slack and, believe me, there have been some challenges along the way. I think that we have achieved this by being able to compromise, being adaptable and sometimes just being plain B..... mean!!
Challenges come in all shapes and sizes but to give you some ideas of those we faced, they include arriving in airports to to be told by the Car Hire Co that an original hire charge of £125 was actually £425 due to small print, arriving in remote places in late afternoon to find all supermarkets, bars and restaurants closed and therefore having to find anything that we could eat that was palatable. Others include surviving long Public Holidays where all shops close and which you are unaware of, the normal exercise of keeping on calender and arranging forward bookings. I have to say that Jackie has been amazing on the latter. Less important challeges include finding the right door when you get an urgent 'call of nature' in the night, and that applies to both of us. In the same situation finding the right light switch and finally, working out which shower buttons to pull, turn or push to stop getting a freezing slug of water on your head in the shower. You will find out later how many different places we have stayed in!!
Jackie has already alluded to the wonderful support we have had from friends and family along the way and also for the company of new and more distant friends that we have spent time with in the past year. Without mentioning names, and forgive me if I miss any events out we have met up with the family of a neighbour of ours in NZ, had an amazing day with then distant friends in Melbourne and later with joint friends in Sorrento. In Perth WA we met with friends of our neighbour and had a wonderful meal and later meeting with them, and in Mandura had a very well lubricated evening and boat trip to a waterside Thai restaurant for my slightly drunken birthday celebration. We met with local family friends in Hong Kong and had all manner of experiences there and in HCMC we went on a tour of street food stalls on scooters driven by local University students. Later we met with friends from home and had amazing experiences in Sri Lanka and Dubai. Whilst in Europe we have had wonderful periods of time with our family in Annecy, with long standing friends in Tuscany, in Sorrento and in Ostuni in Perugia, Italy. Finally, a surprise meeting and dinner with other great friends who were coincidentally in Rome when we were close by. All these experiences have been amazing and I hope that everybody involved recognises their input. Lastly, our thanks to Jonathan, Hannah, Alexandra and Matt for all their help along the way and for their wonderful company in Annecy. Thanks also to them for their enthusiasm and support in what we have done and finally to J and A for looking after the ' old place'!
Now for a summary of the stats of the last year:
- including the brief time we were at home in August we will have spent 300 days on the road
- we have visited 16 different countries
- we have slept in 105 different beds and found light switches and doors at urgent moments
- we have taken 20 differents flights excluding the Shuttle and some quite frightening bridges
- we have used 11 different vehicles excluding cabs and tuk tuks
- we have flown between 28 and 30000 miles
- we have used 10 different airlines
- we will have driven about 13500 miles excluding cabs
- we have been up 128 floors for a drink
- the highest temperature we experienced was 53 degreesC in India
- we have spent about £1050 on fuel and about £260 on tolls and thats just in Europe
It has to be said that to carry out such a trip needs teamwork and compromise and I can certainly say that I have learnt to be a lot more flexible. We have been on our own for a lot of the trip and whilst I can't say there hasn't been a few words exchanged in that time but we have only had to walk in opposite directions for a few hours on two occasions. What seems to naturally happen is that each of you falls into roles that they are best at and can do in the quickest time. Where a task is difficult for both of you it is a case of sitting down and dealing with it together. Not much has beaten us, we have always had a bed, we have always got to our destination and only on a few occasions have we been hungry or in need of a drink!!
This trip was never planned as a holiday, It was to provide us with time that we have never had in the 35years that we have been together. It was that time that allowed us to understand the people and the cultures in the differents countries that we visited and that was why we stayed so long in them. I think that we have learnt that there are good and bad people all over the World and many of the bad are driven that way by influences beyond their control. Conversely, some people have amazingly happy and friendly dispositions despite having survived terrible wars and political repression but still strive for advanced education and progress. Many nations accept the hardship of poverty imposed on them by the privileged few and politicians and it is generally the males that submit leaving the women to try to support that survival. Also, there are a number of wealthy and influential nations that due to their remote location take little interest in the events in other parts of the World. Their communications systems are generally insular and localised. Fundamentally the UK is, I think, one of the most industrious places in the World and has great enthusiasm for events going on in other corners of the World. It is that which makes it GREAT!
Enough of the stats and observations! Our final days through France were purposely planned and what it has revealed is that we still love the place! Admittedly, we have tried to get the best of the weather and as we left Italy and crossed into France at Menton it looked as if it had failed us but we were wrong. From Menton we have travelled through Monaco, Nice, Saint Tropez, Cavalaire, Provence, Montpelier, South of Toulouse to Bayonne, San Sebastian in Spain, Ile de Re and the sun has always been there. The countryside as ever has been stunning also. Our route home is via Normandy, Honfleur up to Le Touquet and finally Calais. We have been to places that we have previously loved and with more time to consider them there has been an element of disappointment. But for the most part there are places never visited before or only visited briefly that have totally enthralled us this time. As ever, the food, drink and general countryside dominate and that combined with the great weather has allowed us to to fall in love with the place even more. The seafood, vegetables, cheese, red wine, white and especially the rose have been a delight and I am looking forward to drinking lots more of it for years to come!!
As ever I hope that you are all well and thanks again for taking an interest in all of our adventures all over the World. See you very soon and take care.
- comments
Steve Thanks for all your blog entries . I have enjoyed reading them all. A fantastic trip, well done! What's next?
Kate Great blog in appreciation of a good year. What next we ask? looking forward to having you home. x