"From South to North to East" jo104's Profile

24 July 2010 marked a whole chapter change in my life. Unsuspecting lil old me opened the door to Fernando who came to a bbq (braai) at Torrington Manor and it turned out he had the key to my heart. Three months later we were engaged, six montha after that we got married in Sri Lanka.

In 2012 the fun really starts we are moving to Trincomalee in Sri Lanka to inject vibe and charisma into the family run hotel. Everyday I will wake up with the sun on my face, the murmer of the waves gently crashing and the sand between my toes, and of course my gorgeous husband.

I have made so may lovely friends on vt and I am hoping to be a beacon for tourism in Sri Lanka. I will gradually be creating and updating pages to spread the magic of this wonderful country. I am hoping you will all be tempted to visit me and already I am planning a meeting perhaps one of my famous treasure hunts!

Happy Flowers

I have been living in London for some time but my heart still belongs to my birth country South Africa. My folks are British but have been living in Cape Town for many years & my siblings & I were born there. So many people have asked me how I could possibly leave such a beautiful country, but for me Cape Town had its limitations. With free passage on a UK passport I decided to venture out to the Northern Hemisphere on a road to discovery.

Being based in London it is so convenient to nip off to the continent & I love indulging in other countries culture and enviroment. So far I have only travelled in Europe & South Africa so there is so much more to do but hey have passport - will travel. Stumbling across VT has been such a wonderful thing, not only have I been able to share my travel experiences but I have also met & liased with others who are passionate about travel.

As Samuel Johnson said "when a man tires of London he tires of life" - London is an incredibly exciting place to live, I love to discover its hidden treasures & the history & culture that lies within.

My favourite European city is Amsterdam, perhaps its because I have a friend living there that is like family to me & am I'm so familiar with it. The architecture, the tilt of the buildings, the reflection on the watery canals takes my breath away every visit

Cape Town is an amazing place definetly a must before you pass this life!! Seeing Table Mountain with its table cloth, cloud covering is spectacular. Awesome drives, beautiful beaches, great food .... what more can I say. The best thing is I can always come back to the mother city.

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I am looking forward to meeting VT'ers & being able to show them what I find so special about London.

I work in the city and commute to work which takes me about 45min door to door. This picture of the Swiss Re Tower, commonly known as the Gherkin was taken from Gary Rhodes restaurant 24 which is in Tower 42 (previously known as Natwest Tower) which is just slightly taller then the Gerkin with great views.

I have done several walking tours in London, discovering some of London't secret & hidden treasures. London open house weekend which happens mid September is well worth a visit
London Open House I have been to Lambeth Palace, St Pancras Chambers, Custom House, Foreign Office .... to name a few places.

1. Amsterdam is my favourite city I feel like a local and have visited more times then trips back to home.
2. Cape Town, South Africa will always be home for me as long as my parents are still living there.
3. I enjoy a good glass of wine, red, white, pink, bubbly you name it I'll drink it. My favourite drink has to still be southern comfort & orange juice order that & watch the bar staff turn their heads.
4. Always enjoy the company of good friends
5. I love to travel with a purpose and try to do my research before I depart hence vt being the perfect find.
6. I can speak 3 languages and soon to learn another 2 but chance is a fine thing if they aid me in my career path.
7. Sunflowers are my favourite happy flowers always turning their heads towards the sun, but I do not want a room painted that colour ;-)
8. I'm not 104 years old!!
9. I will soon have residency in 3 countries in the world
10. I hate people using virtual tourist as a dating site so just don't do it!

My Wedding in Sri Lanka

UPCOMING TRAVEL PLANS FOR 2010

May 2010 Euromeeting 2010 Krakow

March 2010 A paddywagon tour of Northern Ireland starting in Dublin

2009 TRAVELS

December 2009 a trip to Rome and a chance to meet Carol (icunme) tips delayed due to theft of laptop

August 2009 back to Amsterdam a trip to the Dolphinarium & Utrechtrecently updated

July 2009 London Treasure Hunt Click here to see who joined in on the treasure hunt I organised.

31 May to 8 June 2009 The long awaited Chicagotrip meeting up with Dabs and friends - more tips to follow

May 2009 A wild flanders meeting Kortrijk Belgium I met some old friends and made some new friends & I will post my tales soon

February 2009 Taking a few days off to show an American the best London has to offer with a trip to visit Liz in Windsor - tips to follow

COMPLETED MONTHS OF 2006 / 2007 / 2008

Summer Weeks trip to New York page is now finished

Day trip to Oxford with dutch friend Superhanny

Easter wknd MarchOff to Jersey with a couple of girls for a relaxing break.

Dec 2007 - Jan 2008 Back home to Cape Town for some sunshine and to see my niece start her first day of school.

December 2007 In Amsterdam to celebrate Sinterklaas birthday, Han said if I'm a bad girl Sinterklaas will put me in his sack & take me back to Spain.

October 2007 trip to Krakow including visit to AuschwitzThose that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" George Santayana

July 2007 Dutch legend Superhanny is over at Chez Jo for a week, we will be visiting Brighton and taking in various musicals / plays. MONKEY is joining us on these trips he is very eager to see SH again.
Kew Gardens page recently updated with Monkey's new adventures with Jo104 & Han click here to view Kew Gardens

June 2007 Bath trip with the girls to try out the new thermespa click here to find out more Bath

May 2007 Cambridge with Dabs, Balfor, Acifa & Gioiacapetown, My birthday celebrations & Brownie pack holiday - whilst other vt'ers are in Santorini. A very interesting trip indeed find out more by clicking here Cambridge

April 2007 Another trip to the Netherlands this time to see South Holland, visit De Efteling, Den Bos, Amsterdam and incl day trip to Cologne. On this trip I am joined by my work Mascot Monkey

March 2007 Going down to Calais for the weekend visiting Nhcram

Natalie & me taking over London

December 2006 Back home to Cape Town to spend Christmas & New Year with the folks

October 2006 Booked on Rhineroll's wineroll in Bonn

August 2006 bank holiday I will enjoy an extended bank holiday weekend in Amsterdamand the tiny village of Madurodam also to see Utrecht & some Dutch Vt'ers

July 2006 Donna (Acirfa) and I are back from our trip to Copenhagen

March 2006 I visited Prague in very icy conditions, feel free to have a look Prague. I was able to spend meet up with Dutchie VT'er Roggeveen(Walter) for a great meal & snowball fight.

January 2006 - big VT meeting organised by Jenniflower Well I had a fantastic VT Meeting thanks to Jenniflower (stunner Jen) & Keida84 (Princess Kat) for organising. Please click here to view the pics on my london page London page

My visit back home to Cape Townin December 2005 was great, I spent a lot of time with my family & niece. I also managed to escape to Knysna for a few nights. Cape Town was warm but very windy something to bear in mind whilst planning a December trip.

My latest bit of interesting news 2007 - I had to have suprise surgery to remove a piece of wood from my ankle that has been there for 8 years now. The moral of the story is make sure you pick up the orange stick after manicuring your nails lest you step on it like I did. I am so grateful to the NHS for the expert way they cured the problem