The first time I travelled outside the UK was in 1980 on a business trip to the USA I was absolutely terrified of flying but once we had taken off I was more at ease and at the end of the trip I was hooked. There were about 40 people in the party and the Company we went with arranged some sightseeing as well as the business side of the trip.
We started the trip in Atlanta, Georgia where we had an exhibition to attend but there was time to see the area, birthplace of Margaret Mitchell author of Gone with the Wind and the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jnr where a flame still burns in his memory. We also visited Stone Mountain Park and the surrounding area seeing some of the beautiful old buildings and plantations. We then went on to Boston staying in a place outside the city called Stourbridge the Hotel was in a beautiful setting having its own lake and hunting lodge. From there we went to Buffalo visiting Niagara Falls on the Canadian side we actually went under the falls it was quite an experience. In the evening we had a meal at the Skylon Tower overlooking the falls it was a revolving restaurant at the top of the Tower and we had some spectacular views with the falls all lit up. We ended the trip in New York doing some sightseeing it’s quite an experience going to the top of the Empire State Building a weird sensation when you are there and the building moves.
I had several business trips to Trade Show’s in Germany, where we managed to get in some sightseeing.
My next big adventure was going to Australia I went there three times in all staying a month at a time, when you land at Sydney Airport you get a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. I stayed with relatives although based in a small town North Parramatta outside Sydney I managed to see quite a bit of the Country during my visits.
Once we took a coach trip from Sydney to Melbourne via Canberra staying over in the Snowy Mountains and seeing some wonderful places on the way, like a Vineyard sampling some of the produce <hic> and a Sheep Ranch watching them sheer the sheep. At the time when I visited Canberra the new Parliament House was under construction, however I did see the old one also the War Memorial and Museum. We also went to a Watch Tower overlooking the city where we had some magnificent views of Canberra.
When I was in Melbourne I hired a car and went to the usual tourist places, old mining towns of Bendigo and Ballarat but also managed to see places that were not on the normal tourist trips like a wild life preserve way off the beaten track where the native animals roamed freely, got my photo took with a Kangaroo.
I went into Sydney several times as there is so much to see the Opera House of course and The Rock’s area where there are lots of shops and restaurants. Then there was the time we went on a ferry to Manly Beach with it’s vast expanses of beautiful golden sand. We also went on a Captain Cook’s boat trip around the Harbour seeing the Opera House and Bridge from a different perspective. We also did a trip to the Blue Mountains and a boat trip on the Hawkesbury river.
After that I started cruising mainly on the Canberra I did go on the Sea Princess (now the Victoria) and also my dream was to go on the QE2 this was a disappointment the ship was not as good as I thought it would be, however part of that cruise was three days stop over in New York and flying back to the UK on Concorde, now that was an experience. I also did the maiden voyage on the Oriana that was something very special I met a lot of people that I had met on previous cruises and we had a wonderful time.
One of the best things about cruising is that you get to see lots of places giving you a taste of what it is like in different countries. The one cruise I really enjoyed so much that I did it twice was to the Norwegian Fjords the views were spectacular and the Scandinavian countries visited were very interesting.
Some of the other places I visited whilst cruising include Egypt, Israel, Russia, Brazil, The Canary Islands, Madeira, Majorca, Barcelona, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Istanbul and many many more.
A few year ago I spent six weeks touring Europe with a friend, we stayed in Germany at a little place on the Rhine called Bingen, we then drove through Austria and on to Italy, staying at Lake Como that was a very picturesque place. From there we went on to Switzerland staying in a Hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne it was all very beautiful. Then back driving through some wonderful countryside to Germany staying again in Bingen as we liked it so much.
In the same year I visited the States again, this time going to Seattle staying just outside on Camano Island with a friend, apart from seeing the surrounding area we took a trip up to Vancouver Island on the Ferry through Puget Sound spending the day in Victoria a very pleasant trip.
At the time I was going to the States my Son announced that he was getting married that Christmas he decided that he was going to Barbados to do it in style and would I go, to be there with him. Of course not missing the opportunity of doing something different I booked up staying at the same Hotel. The wedding was wonderful in such a beautiful setting, just off the beach it all went off very well. We had a great time, the sun the sea and not forgetting the ‘Rum Punch’..<hic>. My Son organised a day trip flying to the Islands on an eight seater Cessna aircraft then taking a trip on a Catamaran just sailing in the lovely blue waters, dropping anchor at one of the Islands, where we could swim with the fish and generally have a good time, it was a day to remember.
1996 I spent six weeks in the States part of that time was spent meeting up with CB Chat friends I had made, we met up in a place called Lombard just outside Chicago. There were just over 20 of us and one night we had a party at the Hotel it was a great success. I did get the chance to see Chicago the name it’s got being the ‘Windy’ city is very apt but apart from that it is much like any other big City. From there I went to Seattle again staying for a short time just outside the city again meeting with a couple of CBers. Then on to Camano Island again staying there for three weeks, relaxing and generally having a good time. The last week of the trip was spent in White Plains just outside New York again meeting up with Cbers it was a very successful trip. Flying back to the UK on Concorde yet another exhilarating experience.
Since then I have made several trips to Malta with my boyfriend Tony, we enjoy it so much we kept going back and have made some very good friends over there. Malta is a small Island in the Mediterranean and is steeped in History, there are quite a lot of places of interest to visit on the Island. The people are very friendly and it has not really been spoilt by tourism most of the new buildings are in keeping with the Island’s tradition. If you would like to know more about Malta there is a link on my places of interest page.
An update to my time spent in Malta I have now taken a 5 year lease on an apartment in Qawra, Malta. It's in a small Court of 36 apartments, has it's own swimming pool and my apartment overlooks the pool and the Bay. I think somehow I will be spending quite a lot of time over there in the future, and of course I will have a computer there so I will be able to keep in touch with all my friends on the Net.
Summer 2002...my 16 year old granddaughter Rachael spent a week with me in Malta...to 'chill out' as she put it after finishing her exams. I thought she might get bored...but she had a wonderful time...swimming and lazing, she didn't want to do any sightseeing. I took her somewhere different to eat every night and then on to the Tourist Bar where they have nightly entertainment, she thoroughly enjoyed herself.