I turn 30 tomorrow so it must be a good time to reflect. I've touched on where my love of traveling comes from and my favourite city but summing up my twenties seems relevant for the purposes of this blog, with regards to travel. Let's backtrack...
I turned 20 on a ferry. On July 9th, 2003 I left Rome for Ancona. I used my Eurorail pass, paid the 26euro supplement fee, bought some very random food (focaccia bread and gummy worms were there, I don't remember what else) and batteries for my discman (hello 2003!), and I boarded my overnight ferry. Given that I chose to stay out on the deck, I wound up sleeping first on the hard bench of a table, and later underneath the table - most people were doing this. I woke up around 3am and realised that I was in fact 20. Once in Patras, Greece I napped in my hostel for an hour or so before an Australia girl came barreling in and woke me up. We wound up drinking cheap wine and eating corn by the water.
In between 20 and 30, I saw a few places. My trip is 2003 took me to Paris, Rome, Patras, Athens, Ios, Santorini and Corinth. I stopped in London for 3 nights in 2004 en route to Athens en route to Ios. Upon returning to London, I met my now husband. We went to Paris in August, 2004. I took him to Canada in Feb 2005. We went to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, then Bin Tan Island, Indonesia and Singapore in April 2005. We visited Bath in June 2005. We went to Rome with our then 8-week old firstborn in January 2006. We went to New York City, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod and Boston in June 2006. We drove up to North Wales in October 2006. We moved to Toronto in September 2007.
I then had a very quiet period. Outside of one visit to Ottawa, a trip to Niagara Falls and a Christmas spent in Lethbridge, Alberta, I stayed put. To do so much travel, and then virtually nothing for 2 years was interesting. That "travel itch" people talk about? It's true. It's wanderlust.
Fast-forward to August 2009. A friend and I met up in Rome, then visited Pompeii as a day trip (that was one long, hot, very dirty day!). We flew to Athens and from there visited Sounion, Corinth, Delphi and the Piraeus (yes, there's more than ferries to the islands there). We spent 2 nights in Malia and then 2 in Heraklion in Crete. One night in Santorini. 2 in Nafplion in order to see Epidauros and Mycenae. Another couple nights in Athens, which included a trip out to Aegina. Returning to real life was hard. (obviously if you're here via facebook, you know what I did my degree in; if not, I did Classical Civ and Art History - hence the crazy ancient site trip.)
In 2010, Josh and I used up some airmiles by flying to San Francisco and heading 3 hours south to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. We then spent 3 days in SF - our boys thought the boat out to Alcatraz was amazing. Later in the summer, and it was an utterly disastrous summer, I used up the rest of those airmiles in order to fly to Raleigh, North Carolina. I drove from Raleigh to just outside Fort Bragg to meet a friend, to Charleston to meet another friend, to Savannah because, well, Savannah should be on everyone's bucket-list.
Once I landed in the UK, where Josh and the boys already were, we decided to test out the Eurotunnel and take a trip to Northern France. We met up with my brother, sister-in-law and niece in Brussels, Belgium in November. In Feb 2011, we met my dad, step-mom and sister in Grand Cayman, our first trip to the Caribbean. We went to Dubai in April 2011, where Josh's parents used to live. We went to Paris in June. Josh and I went to The Algarve in Portugal, unknowingly pregnant with our 3rd child having recently given up trying. We drove from the UK to Luxembourg and back (via Leuven, Bastonge and Bruges) in 36 hours in October.
Because my husband, who loves travel as much as I do, loves me, he indulged my desire to drive down to Spain via Andorra in August 2012 despite how far out of the way it was. We spent a week in Spain with 2 lively boys and our 3 month old baby girl. We drove back via Bordeaux, St Malo and Mont St Michael. We went to Vancouver 4 weeks after my appendectomy for a family reunion in November.
Lastly, due to the UKBA's incompetence, I did NOT go back to Grand Cayman with Josh and the kids in February of this year. I was stuck waiting for a Visa with no ability to travel. We changed my plane ticket to fly in and out of Venice in May. I chose to leave Italy for half the week and made my way to Lake Bled and Ljubljana, Slovenia via Villach, Austria. I then spent 3 days in Venice, with a day-trip to Verona.
That was the last decade of my life. I also married the love of my life, had the three most amazing children ever, finished the university degree that a lot of people didn't think I would finish, moved internationally a few times and settled into a fantastic small city in Kent where we adore our life.
I'm excited to find out what my thirties have in store. I'm not sure anything can top this past decade, but I guess that's just a wait and see game.
I turned 20 on a ferry. On July 9th, 2003 I left Rome for Ancona. I used my Eurorail pass, paid the 26euro supplement fee, bought some very random food (focaccia bread and gummy worms were there, I don't remember what else) and batteries for my discman (hello 2003!), and I boarded my overnight ferry. Given that I chose to stay out on the deck, I wound up sleeping first on the hard bench of a table, and later underneath the table - most people were doing this. I woke up around 3am and realised that I was in fact 20. Once in Patras, Greece I napped in my hostel for an hour or so before an Australia girl came barreling in and woke me up. We wound up drinking cheap wine and eating corn by the water.
In between 20 and 30, I saw a few places. My trip is 2003 took me to Paris, Rome, Patras, Athens, Ios, Santorini and Corinth. I stopped in London for 3 nights in 2004 en route to Athens en route to Ios. Upon returning to London, I met my now husband. We went to Paris in August, 2004. I took him to Canada in Feb 2005. We went to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, then Bin Tan Island, Indonesia and Singapore in April 2005. We visited Bath in June 2005. We went to Rome with our then 8-week old firstborn in January 2006. We went to New York City, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod and Boston in June 2006. We drove up to North Wales in October 2006. We moved to Toronto in September 2007.
I then had a very quiet period. Outside of one visit to Ottawa, a trip to Niagara Falls and a Christmas spent in Lethbridge, Alberta, I stayed put. To do so much travel, and then virtually nothing for 2 years was interesting. That "travel itch" people talk about? It's true. It's wanderlust.
Fast-forward to August 2009. A friend and I met up in Rome, then visited Pompeii as a day trip (that was one long, hot, very dirty day!). We flew to Athens and from there visited Sounion, Corinth, Delphi and the Piraeus (yes, there's more than ferries to the islands there). We spent 2 nights in Malia and then 2 in Heraklion in Crete. One night in Santorini. 2 in Nafplion in order to see Epidauros and Mycenae. Another couple nights in Athens, which included a trip out to Aegina. Returning to real life was hard. (obviously if you're here via facebook, you know what I did my degree in; if not, I did Classical Civ and Art History - hence the crazy ancient site trip.)
In 2010, Josh and I used up some airmiles by flying to San Francisco and heading 3 hours south to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. We then spent 3 days in SF - our boys thought the boat out to Alcatraz was amazing. Later in the summer, and it was an utterly disastrous summer, I used up the rest of those airmiles in order to fly to Raleigh, North Carolina. I drove from Raleigh to just outside Fort Bragg to meet a friend, to Charleston to meet another friend, to Savannah because, well, Savannah should be on everyone's bucket-list.
Once I landed in the UK, where Josh and the boys already were, we decided to test out the Eurotunnel and take a trip to Northern France. We met up with my brother, sister-in-law and niece in Brussels, Belgium in November. In Feb 2011, we met my dad, step-mom and sister in Grand Cayman, our first trip to the Caribbean. We went to Dubai in April 2011, where Josh's parents used to live. We went to Paris in June. Josh and I went to The Algarve in Portugal, unknowingly pregnant with our 3rd child having recently given up trying. We drove from the UK to Luxembourg and back (via Leuven, Bastonge and Bruges) in 36 hours in October.
Because my husband, who loves travel as much as I do, loves me, he indulged my desire to drive down to Spain via Andorra in August 2012 despite how far out of the way it was. We spent a week in Spain with 2 lively boys and our 3 month old baby girl. We drove back via Bordeaux, St Malo and Mont St Michael. We went to Vancouver 4 weeks after my appendectomy for a family reunion in November.
Lastly, due to the UKBA's incompetence, I did NOT go back to Grand Cayman with Josh and the kids in February of this year. I was stuck waiting for a Visa with no ability to travel. We changed my plane ticket to fly in and out of Venice in May. I chose to leave Italy for half the week and made my way to Lake Bled and Ljubljana, Slovenia via Villach, Austria. I then spent 3 days in Venice, with a day-trip to Verona.
That was the last decade of my life. I also married the love of my life, had the three most amazing children ever, finished the university degree that a lot of people didn't think I would finish, moved internationally a few times and settled into a fantastic small city in Kent where we adore our life.
I'm excited to find out what my thirties have in store. I'm not sure anything can top this past decade, but I guess that's just a wait and see game.
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