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Travels so far

My first trip abroad was back in 1984, when I finally persuaded my parents to be a bit more adventurous with the family holiday than going to East Anglia again.

Until relatively recently my travels have mainly been in Europe (I have visited most countries except for the Baltic and Scandinavia) and North Africa, apart from a trip to Pakistan for a friend's wedding, but in 2007 I took a trip along the Silk Road from China to Uzbekistan, via Kyrgyzstan and in January 2009 I visited the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela. Last summer I travelled via the Trans-Siberian Railway to Tomsk and I have just returned from southern Japan.

I have also been exploring parts of the UK that I had not visited before, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Swansea, Cambridge, Liverpool, Bristol and Halesworth. There are lots of places that are not thought of as tourist destinations as such, where there are still things worth seeing. Even Wolverhampton has its points.

My favourite country for a holiday is Italy, but my best ever trip was a tour of Albania.

My kind of travel

Cafe-crawling in York

I travel for two reasons:

1. Travelling to see as much of a new part of the world as I can; or

2. Going somewhere on a holiday to relax. I prefer pottering around or doing a tea-shop or cafe crawl to lying on a beach.

I love Italy because it is a great place for combining the two. You can stay somewhere like Taormina or Sorrento, which are excellent pottering places, and combine it with sightseeing in Syracuse or Pompeii.

Top Places for Pottering

Hay-on-Wye

My top pottering places are currently:

1. Taormina, Sicily
2. Hay-on-Wye, Wales
3. Rhodes Town, Island of Rhodes (see my new travelogue).
4. Bourton-on-the Water, England
5. Sorrento, Italy
6. Whitby, England
7. Bratislava, Slovakia
8. Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto

Travelling Problems

Sunset over the river Orinoco

I'm not actually good traveller. I don't mean that I suffer from travel sickness, but I hate the preparation and packing, and the hassle at the airport. I usually arrive at my destination swearing that I will never venture more than 30 miles from home ever again. A good meal usually sorts this out when I arrive at my destination, and I thoroughly enjoy myself.

Returning home, I usually find I am exhausted and unable to function properly for a day or two, irrespective of the length of the journey.

Somehow I forget all that once the magazines and brochures start flooding in and I start planning my next trip....

The Womble Project

With Bungo Womble at Bungo Bridge, Kitakiyushu

Over the past few years, we have been visiting places which provided names for Wombles. [For non UK readers, Wombles are small furry creatures that live on Wimbledon Common and pick up litter, making good use of the things that they find, that everyday folks leave behind. They originally appeared in books by Elisabeth Beresford, and later as an animated children's TV series]. When young Wombles are old enough to go out on litter duty, they choose a name from the world atlas.

Hence we have been to: Bulgaria (Great Uncle Bulgaria, the senior Womble), Cholet (Madame Cholet, the Womble chef), Tobermory (the handman Womble), Tomsk (the intellectually-challenged but sporty Womble), Venezuela (for Orinoco, the fat and lazy Womble), southern Japan (Bungo, the bossy Womble) and Wellington (the brainy Womble). Sadly we only made it to Wellington in Shropshire and Wellington in Somerset, but the latter is apparently the Wellington the Womble was named after.

Intro Updated Apr 14, 2012
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Comments (41)

KShezz May 7, 2012 at 10:51 AM Report Abuse

Always good to hear views on Manchester hotels for the next Christmas market meet.....K.
suvanki Apr 30, 2012 at 12:43 PM Report Abuse

Hi Sally! Looking forward to meeting you at Rich's London meeting on the 14th May.
toonsarah Apr 9, 2012 at 2:50 AM Report Abuse

I see you've signed up for Rich's London meeting - looking forward to meeting you :-)
cachaseiro Apr 9, 2012 at 12:09 AM Report Abuse

Nice member photo you have with that japanese bridge.
sanukseeker Jan 19, 2012 at 7:10 AM Report Abuse

Hi Sally, I enjoyed reading your personal take on the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
joiwatani Nov 30, 2011 at 8:25 AM Report Abuse

Nice pages on Kyoto! Glad you went there and supported Japan despite the earthquakes!
7_seconds Aug 16, 2010 at 12:26 PM Report Abuse

i like your hp! :)
angiebabe Jul 30, 2010 at 2:54 PM Report Abuse

have enjoyed a visit to your HP here and your recommended places to potter!
DominiqueBrunet Jul 14, 2010 at 8:57 AM Report Abuse

Thanks Sally for the reply.Could you help further by explaining the difference between Canterbury East and West? How much is the train fare from St Pancras to Canterbury? Thank you once again?
imranthetrekker Jul 2, 2010 at 1:03 PM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday my friend..