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Where Did I Go in 2007?
You may have wondered why you haven’t seen any of my travel stories for a while. I think the main reason was that I have been too busy travelling!
The year started with a trip to Lanzarote with some friends. My usual winter break is in Tenerife so it made a change to visit one of the other Canary Islands. When I visit anywhere new, I always try to do a tour and this was no exception. The landscape is very volcanic and on the way round the island, guides were there to show us just how hot it gets without digging down too far! Fortunately the tour also took in a vineyard – spectacular as the vines go up the mountains - and of course, wine-tasting. I’m not too keen on Spanish wine, but it was there to be tasted, so I had a go!
In March I flew to Munich for a long weekend (courtesy of BA Airmiles and a Holiday Inn offer). The open-topped bus ride was wonderful until it started raining, but I had the opportunity to get off and look around the old buildings until the weather improved. I managed to include a trip out to the Allianz Arena to see a football match – sadly Bayern were away but I got to see the 1860 team and they won 2 – 0.
At the beginning of May, I met up with my friends from Texas. Bruce is a Sergeant in the Dallas PD and through the IPA, knew a cop called Laurence from PSNI who had been shot eight months earlier. As I’d never been to Belfast before, I volunteered to accompany them and act as chauffeur. I also arranged a surprise trip to HQ where we managed to meet up with the Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, an ex Met Officer. The coastal scenery was spectacular, but none more so than when we reached the Giants Causeway. Truly amazing!
At the end of the month I managed to get out to Egypt. On two previous occasions, I’d booked and had to cancel, so it was third time lucky. I flew in to Luxor and then got transferred to my ship for a week on the Nile. Until I saw it, I had no idea just how big this river is! Anyway, the cruise was lovely, the temples spectacular and all made more fabulous by the guide that we had. After a week’s sailing, I flew in to Cairo to see the Pyramids & Sphinx and visit the Cairo Museum. Both well worth a visit. You have no idea just how huge the Pyramids are until you are up close to them. How did they build them? What secrets do they hold? The Sphinx was not as beautiful as I expected, but still magnificent and even more amazing at the ‘Son et Lumiere’.
In July I visited another place I’d never been to before but heard so much about – Madeira. It was everything that friends had said about it – full of flowers, magnificent views and lots of dolphins (sadly the whales were hiding the day I went out looking!)
At the beginning of August I visited friends in Somerset. They moved from London to a beautiful village called Curry Rivel and their cottage and garden are very picturesque. I made my way home via Wales, to friends now living near Monmouth. The weather was lovely and sunny and made the drive a pleasure.
My new job as a Tour Manager began on 18th August. I was now going to get paid to travel! I had accepted the Beautiful Brittany tour working four weeks back-to-back, so by the last week, I was hoping I’d know the trip as well as could be expected. After the ferry crossing, our coach travelled along the northern coast of France through Normandy to the overnight stop in Caen. The next morning we made our way to Mont St Michel before the final leg of the journey to Le Bono on the southern coast of Brittany.
Over the next three days we were to visit Rochefort en Terre, Vannes, a cruise round the Golfe de Morbihan, Carnac, Quiberon, the Cote Sauvage, Trinite sur Mer, St Phillibert and Josselin. All very hectic but a marvellous part of the country. We made our way down the Loire valley to Paris, stopping for lunch at Tours and having time to visit the beautiful cathedral. Paris is a lovely city and I was there during the Rugby World Cup. The Eiffel Tower had a huge rugby ball strung between the first and second platforms. So by the time I’d finished my tours, it was the middle of September.
October was due to be a month of more travel to new locations. The main event was to Turkey and a stay in some new villas close to the ghost village of Kaya Koy. I had no idea that Turkey had so many ruins and places of interest – and that was just in the south- western section of the country. We flew in to Dalaman and visited Fethiye market, the mountainous area around Tlos, Roman amphitheatres and beautiful beaches at Oludeniz and Petara.
In November I drove up to Lincolnshire and the village of Ruskington, spending a few days with old friends in their new home.
At the beginning of December it was time to return to work and visit some French Christmas Markets at Nancy, Colmar and Metz. We also had time to stop off at a chocolate factory near to Brussels, getting a few supplies in for Christmas. I’d only ever been to German Christmas markets before, but can confirm that these French towns are worth a visit too.
My year’s travels ended with Christmas in Altenahr in the Ahr Valley, Germany. The area is full of vineyards which are amazing considering just how hilly it is. The Moselle Valley was very picturesque in the ice and snow so a second look in the summer would be something to look forward to. All in all, a very different way to spend the festive season.
My year ended in Reading – but it was with an old school friend, so it was special!
Linda Bailey
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