Our Previous Travels - 2

When?

Where?

What?

February 2000

Australia

Victoria had an extra month in Oz but was forced to put enjoyment on the back burner and get stuck into the wedding planning. My job was to pick up the suits, have stag nights and generally get to Brisbane with best man and groomsman. A fair trade. The wedding went smoothly, despite my profuse sweating, and was the best day of our lives.

Before and after the wedding we had the chance to do touristy things with the other Brits, such as see the animals at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, visit the Big Pineapple and go to Dreamworld to go on the white-knucklers.

February 2000

Japan

From Australia we went to Japan for our honeymoon. We landed in Tokyo and had bought bullet train passes before arriving so the plan was do a do a bit of travelling internally.

Our first stop after Tokyo was Kyoto, home to many thousands of temples. We visited quite a few of them and had our first experience of Japanese gardens, which we found really peaceful places to be.

Our next stop was Himeji Jo, a traditional Japanese castle and former stronghold. Our English speaking guide taught us many things about its design and really brought the place to life.

Himeji was just a detour on the way up the coast. We arrived at Hiroshima a bit unsure what to expect but we both found it a really uplifting place to be. The overwhelming feeling was not one of sadness over what has happened but a determination to learn from history and move forward.

A day trip to Miya Jima, largely to see the Tori Gate and the monkeys, was a good day out before we moved on to Nagano. It being February, Vic was treated to the then novel experience of snow. The branch line train had steamed up windows and from our standing positions in the aisle we could only see outside when we stopped at stations. Each opening of the door revealed deeper and deeper snow until 2 feet greeted us at Nagano. The couple of days here were fantastic, especially the outdoor hot springs with the confusing sensation of steaming hot water and snow.

See our Top 5 places for more.

July 2000

Bangkok, Thailand

This was a bit of a wedding party reunion as Vic and I flew out with our mate's HiG (best man) and Spencer (groomsman) to see Cath (bridesmaid) in Thailand.

We were there for a week and spent all but a day in Bangkok. We did the touristy things like Ayutthaya, the Grand Palace and shopping, shopping, shopping. We bought all sorts of things while out there from tailor made suits to a fake Middlesbrough football shirt which was the wrong colour.

A lot of people find Bangkok too much but we had a really good time there. The worst part was coming back to England thinking you could haggle for Mars Bars at the corner shop.

September 2000

Scandinavia

In Autumn 2000 we drove the white whale to Harwich and got the ferry to Esbjerg to start a 3 week tour of Scandinavia. The countryside of Denmark is quite similar to that of England and we spent about a week heading north before catching the ferry to Oslo.

Oslo is one of my favourite places but not for any one thing. The statue filled park is beautiful and the scenery rugged but there's something else that makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. From Oslo we crossed the Telemark to Bergen and then continued up the coast. If you're out there and get the chance to go on the Norway In A Nutshell tour then take it. This day trip takes you up and down mountains and through fjords by train, bus and boat and provides some of the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen.

From Norway we headed west to Sweden where the terrain changed from rugged mountains to misty pine forests. Like most of Scandinavia Sweden has a passion for miniature golf which is something I can relate to. Every campsite has a course and I usually had them to myself which got me a lot of admiring(?) looks from passers-by.

By the time we left Sweden for Denmark and home the weather was starting to turn chilly and we had to spend a few nights sleeping fully clothed in the tent.

See our Top 5 places for more.

Christmas 2000

Canada/New York

We spent Christmas and New Year 2000-2001 in Sarnia visiting my brother Lloyd, his wife Yvonne and their kids Laura, Amy and Rich. There was plenty of snow when we got there and the locals were pretty sick of it but we thought it was great and couldn't get enough. We just didn't understand their attitude.

We hired a car between Xmas and New Year and went to do some sightseeing in Toronto and Niagara Falls. Toronto is a very laid-back place for a big city and it's definitely somewhere we could see ourselves living. Niagara in winter is an incredible sight. The falls hadn't frozen but there was ice down the Niagara river and the mist which was thrown up froze almost instantaneously giving everything a surreal quality. Lamposts and trees had thick layers of ice and even our car on clothes were soon coated.

There was heavy snow overnight on our last day in Niagara and Victoria had to drive us back to Sarnia before the ploughs had cleared the roads. Driving was a nightmare but we steadily picked our way back to my Brother's place. We now understood why the locals see the snow as more hassle that it's worth.

The second leg of our trip was New York City. I'd never been but Vic loves the place and I can see why. We did the usual tourist things of Empire State, Staten Island Ferry, MSG to see the Knicks play, the UN building and Central Park but the best thing was the city itself. The snow and mist made every walk seem magical and cinematic with steam coming through the grates adding to the effect.

The couple of days there would have been perfect if I'd known the difference between 'muffins' and 'English muffins'...

See our Top 5 places for more.

February 2001

Barcelona, Spain

We decided to head to Barcelona to celebrate our first anniversary. Once again Victoria had previous experience here and we spent an enjoyable weekend seeing the sights.

We got 'hop on, hop off' bus tickets and this allowed us to whizz around to Parc Guell, the Gaudi house, Sagrada Familia and the Spanish Village. Any or all of those places are worth a look but I guess the Gaudi inspired places typify the city, none moreso than the house he designed with barely a straight line or right angle to be seen. (I helped build a house in Cananda which matched that description but that's another story...)

Barcelona's the kind of place where you don't need to clash around seeing the many notable places to have a good time - it's great to just hang out with the beautiful people at the Ramblas.

Easter 2001

Italy

We decided to spend Easter 2001 by flying to Rome, travelling south to Sicily and Sardinia before flying back from Alghero.

Rome is a city that has so much to see and all the big sights (Colliseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps) are well worth a visit but for us the pleasure came from just wandering around. It seems every little piazza contains a beautiful statue and every bus route takes you through Roman ruins.

Naples and Pompeii were next on the itinerary; the former only worth visiting for its proximity to the latter. Naples (at least the parts we saw) was pretty seedy but Pompeii was fantastic. I've always loved castles, ruins and ancient sites so being able to wander through the streets of Pompeii, visit its colliseum and generally soak up the atmosphere was a real treat.

After our return to Naples we were happy to be back on the train and on our way to Sicily. Our first base was the Aeolian island of Lipari for some beach time and a day trip to Stromboli to see the eruptions. Sadly, the volcano was magmatically unco-operative and all we saw was a faint glow and some smoke. Perhaps that's what people mean when they say 'nature can be cruel'.

We ended our Sicilian adventure with a few days in Palermo which for us was an unexpected treat. I'm not sure exactly what we were expecting but the reality was a very charming, vibrant city with plenty going on and the couple of days we spent there were the perfect end to an enjoyable trip.

Christmas 2001

Cuba

We flew into Havana but our plan was to decamp immediately to the south of the island and slowly work our way back. As a result we had a night at the airport followed by a ricketty flight to Guantanamo and an unofficial ride to Santiago De Cuba. This was a good introduction to Cuba which can be maddeningly unhelpful and incredibly friendly by turns.

Santiago is a bit unspectacular and our next port of call was Baracoa which involved a trip over the mountains on the road which Castro had built shortly after the revolution. Previously the town was accessible only by sea and even today it is unused to tourists to the point where children actually whispered "Gringos" as we walked by. Despite the fact that there isn't a fantastic amount going on the Baracoans are fiercely proud of their town and especially their chocolate.

Our route north then took us to a pretty little town called Bayamo. Once again it was a low-key during the week but each weekend the place really came alive. A boxing ring was erected in the square for the local children to test their skills, pigs climbed aboard spits and the whole town, young and old, got dolled up a went out. The atmosphere was great - lots of eating, drinking, parading and being seen.

Our next stop was Trinidad which is everything we'd expected from a Cuban town - 50's cars and Spanish architecture as well as run-down areas and shoeless kids playing baseball in the street.

From there it was on to Varedero which is a beach resort which could be anywhere. Personally we would have given it a miss if we'd have known in advance of its 'un-Cuban' nature.

And then, Havana and our pension in the Chinatown district. After 3 weeks of plain fish, plain chicken and plain boiled rice we were desparate for a bit of spice. Havana is a city of contrasts: the majestic capitol building is surrounded by slums, the iconic Revolution Square was deserted when we were there and the Jose Marti monument was strictly off limits.

This in essence is Cuba. It's a place that can frustrate and delight but either way it gets under your skin and makes you want to come back for more. We actually ended our trip feeling that it wasn't as good as we thought it would be but over the weeks that followed our return to England we came to realise what a special place it is.