My A-Z of Travel

I still ride my bike around the city and travel with it when I can.

Once again I’ve been challenged to write a post within very specific parameters.

This time it came from Gray of Solo Friendly (here’s her A-Z post) and the challenge is to answer twenty-six questions about my travels. The reason: so that you can better know who I am and how I travel. Some of these questions are not easy but, here I go…

A: Age you went on your first trip.

I was 15. When I was 14 and in grade nine, I learned of a month-long cycling tour of England. I asked my parents if I could go and they said yes, IF, I had the money. They, of course, didn’t expect me to save up that much money and, as parents do, they underestimated me. The whole trip, including buying a second-hand bike, cost about $700 in 1972. I went and was so taken with the experience that I didn’t travel with my family of origin again until my mother turned 80 and the whole family – grandchildren and great-grandchildren – went to Cuba for a week.

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where.

Unless it’s a really hot day, I’m not a beer drinker but it seems to me that the beer I had in Prague was exceptional – or was it the fact that I was drinking it in Prague. Hmmm. Likely the latter. There’s great beer in many countries.

C: Cuisine (favorite).

I have to say French. I know. It’s not that exotic but, truly, I could eat it all the time. I would miss not having Thai, Indian and Italian but I couldn’t live without French cooking.

D: Destination (favorite and least favorite).

Oh my… this is a painful exercise. How do I choose? My favorite is always the last place I visited. But again, I love France – in the south. I feel at home there. I love the language. I love trying to speak it. I love the light and the history. And yet, I haven’t been for ten years because there are so many other places to visit.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow.”

The parades in Europe. The Fête des Vendanges celebration in Neuchatel, Switzerland where they shoot confetti at you out of canons and Vilanova i la Geltru in Spain where they throw candy at kids in the street in celebration of Mardi Gras.  Read “Love #6″ in 18 Loves of Long Term Travel and Carnival and Candies.

F: Favorite mode of transportation.

Train. No question. I love the train. Read Travel Solo Across Canada by Train and meet some of the wonderful people I met along the way.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling.

The exhilarating feeling of being capable. Traveling solo puts me in the position where everything relies on my ability to navigate new places and negotiate new experiences. My success fuels my feeling of confidence and helps me understand myself differently. That’s a great feeling!

HIking in Patagonia made me feel very capable.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to.

New Orleans. It’s the humidity, of course, that makes the heat such a challenge. When I was in Jordan it was May so it wasn’t that hot at the time. It was actually very comfortable. Ask me again when I return from India. February is a temperate time to go but, maybe I’ll soon be saying that it is the hottest place.

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where.

The Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh, Scotland. I’ve had great service many places but there the service was also personal. The person at the desk showed me to my room as if they were my personal hostess. It was really quite a different experience. Read When Fashion Designers Create a Hotel.

J: Journey that took the longest.

From central Canada? Sidney, Australia is the farthest I’ve traveled. Fortunately, I was going for business and I went business class. What a treat that was!

K: Keepsake from your travels.

After my photos, my favorite keepsakes are my carpets. I have three. I bought two in Morocco when I was there with my husband and two of my boys. I bought another when I was in Jordan in May of 2011. I have a weakness for textiles. Read Shopping in Jordan: Souvenirs & My Wish List.

L: Letdown site and where.

Valparaiso, Chile. It is some people’s favorite place in Chile and it is beautiful. It has colorful houses and the outdoor museum but it wasn’t really that fascinating for me. Maybe it was the day I was there. Maybe I wasn’t there long enough. I’m not sure but it wasn’t that great for me.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel.

I fell in love with travel before ever going traveling. My mother inadvertently turned me into a traveler by telling me about cycling through the Easter Townships in Quebec and staying at hostels when she was a teenager. I’m not sure how she phrased it but it sounded romantic to me (in the purest sense of the word) and I got it in my mind that I wanted to travel.

I still stay at hostels on occasion.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed at.

Here’s an unlikely place for you: Jackson, Mississippi. I stayed in the The Fairview Inn where I stayed in the Spanish Suite – absolutely amazing!

O: Obsession. What are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?

My feet. I know, it’s a bit weird but I like noting all the places where my feet have walked.

P: Passport stamps. How many and from where?

Now for this I would have to go back through all my passports. So far, I’ve traveled to 20 countries – there are so many more to go. My current passport has six stamps in it from Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Chile, Germany. Tomorrow it will have its seventh, India.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where.

I think it’s still the Wawa Goose. I haven’t seen it for a while, since the last trip across Canada, but it’s still there and still a mid-Canada road side attraction.

R: Recommended site, event or experience.

The Great Barrier Reef. It was the most amazing experience ever. I don’t scuba dive. I went snorkeling. But when I was down there I couldn’t believe it. When it was time to surface again, I had trouble pulling my head out of the water. It was as if it was being sucked down I was so taken by the experience.

S: Splurge. Something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling.

I don’t tend to splurge because, by traveling frugally, I can travel more. I often come back through customs declaring $0. Once I had a declaration of $3 because I bought a second-hand book. If I do splurge it’s on textiles. Yes, I love those carpets and textile art for my walls.

I bought this carpet in Petra Jordan. It is of a size that could also be a throw on the back of my couch or a wall hanging.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done.

I took the kids to Disneyland in LA. Truth be told, they were happier at the beach.

U: Unforgettable travel memory.

When I was almost caught in a con game. If I had lost, I would likely have ended upon the white slave market. You can read about it here.

V: Visa. How many and for where.

Only four that I can remember: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Chile and India.

W: Wine. Best glass of wine while traveling and where?

I love Spanish wine.

X: eXcellent view and from where.

The view of the Towers in Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile. It was so well earned. After a day of hiking, they are just reward.

Y: Years spent traveling.

Oh please. Really!!! Thirty-nine if you don’t count road trips when I was a kid. Longest time on the road at one time is 10 monthsl

Z: Zealous sports fans and where.

Hockey fans in Vancouver. Fortunately, I was amidst the crowd the night they won. The following game was a disaster on the ice and a disgrace on the streets of Vancouver.

It seems that quite a few bloggers have already done their A-Z. If you haven’t and would like to, just let me know and I’ll add a link to you here.

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