Nowhere in Particular

In trying to save some money on our flight to Iceland, we made a rookie mistake. Flying via Paris worked out much cheaper, even as two separate bookings – one from Porto, Portugal to Paris and then from Paris on to Reykjavík, Iceland. But the BIG MISTAKE came in when we did not check that we were arriving and leaving from the same airport. We have not been able to visit Paris as part of this crazy adventure, so when it was the cheapest flight option we jumped at the chance and tried to be clever. We thought we could use our 12 hours in between our flights to get into the city for the day and see some of the major sites. Soon after booking our flights I was overcome with a nagging feeling. I checked our flights, and that’s when we saw our mistake of needing to be at two different airports. The planner that I am was initially flustered, but we talked it over and thought it would still be okay since we would have to leave the airport anyway to tour the city. It would mean we would ne...

We have both been to Rome before in 2005, and I went again in 2009. So why do we keep going back when there is still so much of the rest of the world to see? What keeps drawing us to this city? Rome was a city we visited on our first international holiday, and one could think that the nostalgia of the exciting maiden voyage is what intrigues us, but I do believe it is so much more that that.  The famous and impressive sites like St Peters Basilica, Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Castle of Angles, Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon are on everyone’s itinerary for Rome with just cause.  St Peters is breath-taking. You are first overwhelmed by the scale of it all, but when you look closer every tiny part is impressive in its own way – you can just keep coming back over and over again and see something new each time.    St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City The colours of the Sistine Chapel are so bright and vibrant, with Michelangelo telling...

We were in Rome and excited for our first pride parade, never having had the opportunity to attend Joburg Pride in our home city. We caught the Rome metro to the Colosseum – what better place could you find to watch Roma Pride? The anticipation built up as the parade took a long time to to this location, but people all around us were holding hands, smiling and excited to be involved in some way. Amongst all the joviality you must not forget that Pride Parades have an important social and political purpose. But the party atmosphere is overwhelming. Couples, singles, mothers, fathers, dancing divas, people walking their dogs, and mostly friends – seemly a combination of old and newly introduced – walked the streets of Rome declaring that love is all that matters. Roma Pride, 11 June 2016 Some took the opportunity to strut their stuff in outlandish attire that would stop normal traffic. I must comment here that I would be hard-pressed to find a social cause worthy of a walk for ...

My mother recently visited us on our travels and asked us what items we have not used; and what items we have found to be essential. She was with us in Johannesburg when we left for this round-the-world trip and saw us straining under the weight of our ridiculously heavy bags, so this was an appropriate question. As we got going on our journey, we quickly noticed that all the other travellers with backpacks had far smaller bags than we did and we saw the potential error in our ways. However, still in a vague state of denial we have lugged these bags and their contents around for close to 150 days – it is tough letting go of the last few items you own in the world. When we arrive in a city and are likely to be wondering around rather disorientated until we get our bearings, we treat ourselves and catch a taxi to our lodgings. Public transport can wait until you are 18 - 25kgs lighter. This rule we put in place when we arrived at our first destination in Hanoi and kept being directe...

When you are away from home and constantly on the move, it is rare to meet the same people again and can thus be somewhat lonely. Even if you only shared recent travel experiences on a brief airport transfer, or exchanged a few words regarding your home country and family with a guide or driver, bumping into someone familiar is such a great feeling. Slaps on backs, sometimes hugs and usually vigorous handshaking follow the smiles and waves in recognition of someone your path has crossed before. You are normally familiar with what the person was planning to get up to when you last saw each other, and exchange excited stories about the resulting adventure. The warm fuzzy feeling of some level of camaraderie is wonderfully pleasant, and you find yourself over-eagerly engaging with your new, even if temporary, friend. So if you bump into someone for the second time, don't be surprised if the travellers behave like you are a long lost companion. Enjoy the company, share a ...

We had not originally planned to visit Sicily, but when we realized how close we were simply needing to catch a 30minute ferry and the way our friends in Italy were raving about it, the choice seemed obvious. We arrived in Messina, Sicily via the ferry from Villa San Giovanni. This was our very first ferry journey where we had taken a car on board and to make it more exciting, the weather was quite dramatic. As we crossed, we could see areas of bright sunshine right next to the dark skies of a menacing storm. As advised, we had timed our journey so that we would be able to catch the famous ringing of the tower’s bells at the Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta. View from the ferry to Messina Still not 100% confident while driving on the right-hand side of the road, simple things for locals like figuring out where to get tickets for the ferry journey and how to pay for the toll roads, all became part of the Sicilian adventure. Google maps on these winding roads can be tricky to foll...

Ask any Italian and they will confirm the rivalry between southern and northern Italy. Those from the chic cosmopolitan cities in the north, seldom give the south the credit that we now know, it deserves. The province of Calabria, at the tip of the boot of Italy, was where we found ourselves after making arrangements on via helpx.net  a few months ago to volunteer our services in exchange for accommodation. If it were not for this arrangement, we might not have visited this area on our round-the-world trip. We landed at Lamezia Terme, hired a car and had to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road very quickly. Warning: driving on the opposite side can be a real test on your marriage and should not be attempted by the faint-hearted. In a nervous and bickering state, we travelled along the western coast to Tropea. When you first see the sea, you forget your petty differences (like who is driving and who is a passenger), and your mood improves vastly. The colours of the cl...