I've Been There

I always wanted to travel, even from when I was really young. As a boy I never had many friends and spent a lot of time on my own in the house. I loved to read, and as well as working my way through all the books that were in our house on the South Coast of England, I also worked my way through those in my Grandmother's house in the Midlands.

Not only did I read all the books that I could find, I also read and collected all the family postcards, some dating back to the 1940's, and by the time I reached my late teens I had amassed a collection of close to 1,000 of these. Through these postcards I travelled the world, yet in reality my holidays were spent either at home, with the family coming to visit us at the Seaside, or in Rugby, at my Grandmothers house.

Sadly, when moving house about 1990, the box that contained these postcards went missing. I still believe it may be somewhere, but it's probable that it got thrown out, which is very sad. As well as the postcard collection, the box contained many albums of tea cards and a complete collection of cigarette cards which my uncle had put together. For those who did not grow up in England, the Brooke Bond Tea Company used to insert a coloured card into each packet of tea. The numbered cards formed part of a collection, which included British Butterflies, British Birds etc. These are still highly collectible today and I had lots of them. Cigarette cards date back further, and the set I had was of Battleships of World War II. This would be worth quite a sum these days. Anyhow I digress...

The first chance I had to travel was when I was 5 years old and we went to Belfast to spend 2 weeks with my Uncle, Aunt and cousins. I don't remember much, except that I was sick as a parrot on the flight (it was an old DC3 Dakota) and that traumatised me for the next 20 years.

The next opportunity I had was with the family when I was 18. We all went to Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. About 10 of us went, 3 generations, and based on my previous experiences when I was 5 I spent most of the flight there and back in the toilet. This was quite an experience for all of us, especially in those days since none of us were used to foreign food. So we suffered for 2 weeks with greasy Spanish food and lager, dreaming of REAL English fish and chips and beer.

My next chance to travel was to Normandy and Brittany. I went there with 3 friends from university, and I learned a lot. I learned mostly to love new adventures, exploring new places, and experiencing new food.

I then moved to London after University, got married, and went to Corfu, one of the Greek islands for my honeymoon. I had just fallen in love with Greek food, so not only was the scenery wonderful, I also had a food fest.

After that I had several more trips back to Normandy and Brittany, which I loved, especially Mont St. Michel. A trip to Minorca, another to Rhodes, then Lanzarotte in the Canary Islands, and following that the biggest trip of my life.

At the end of 1986 the company I had built up had to be liquidated (more about this in my Lensography) and I was not only tired, I was ready to do something adventurous. And so we planned a year away from London in New Zealand, where my cousin lives. The route out took us to Los Angeles, Tahiti, and then 9 months in New Zealand where we spent many of the weekends travelling. The journey home, which lasted 6 weeks, took us to New Caledonia, Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Sydney), Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Bangkok and finally Hong Kong.

I arrived back in England to find that the companies I had contracted at before had either no work, or had moved. There was only 1 contract available and I had to work so I took that, with one of the oil companies. The 3 month contract had a possibility of a trip to Mexico, but it was a good 6 years or more before I actually got there. Well the 3 months became a year, then 2, then 3, and then the job was moved to a software house and I joined their staff. In 1994 I moved to Indiana, still doing the same job, and it only ended in 1999 after 12 years. During this time I had trips to Jamaica, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Suriname, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Kenya and Papua New Guinea. Phew - I think I got them all...

During that job and since it ended I have been also to St. Lucia, but that's about it for new trips. Other than returning to my homeland in England, I haven't done a lot of exotic travel in a few years, but I still dream of doing more - when I win the lottery...

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

When I was aged around 12, I was lucky enough to go on a Baltic Cruise. This was an educational trip, organised by my school. I went to Leningrad, as it was then. The thing that sticks in my memory was a visit to The Golden Palace. This lens on Saint Petersburg has some wonderful photographs.

Helksinki the capital of Finland, is a wonderful place and well worth a visit.

My visit to Copenhagen in Denmark brings back memories of the wonderful fairground and of course the Little Mermaid.

In Stockholm in Sweden I remember seeing the changing of the guards at the Palace (think it was a Palace) and seeing sex shops for the first time! From the window of the coach I hasten to add!!

As an adult, one of my most favourite places is the Greek island of Crete. There are many typical Greek villages here as well as the all singing, all dancing resorts. I really enjoyed this lens.

I've been to many other parts of Europe too, but have just highlighted a few here.

More recently, New York and The Florida Keys have been highlights on my trips to the USA. Here's one on The Florida Keys that I found useful before our trip.

Of course, New York was such a wonderful experience for us, that Poddys and I wrote a lens together about our New York City Break.

Places I'd like to visit in the future? Well, maybe that's a whole new lens...

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

Where have I been?

Ah, my favorite places -- Hungary [Heviz, Lake Balaton, Budapest], Romania [Satu Mare], Czech Republic [Prague, Czeske Krumlov], Venice, Paris, Kauai, Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands and Mexico.

Some of my great places that I've been to were captured on film, not digital cameras. So, as I've been creating my lenses, I'll take some time to scan some of my pictures.

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

I've been to a few places and I have made lenses on the following:
Namibia, Botswana, Egypt, Morocco, India (x2), Borneo, Indonesia (Komodo), China, USA (national Parks), Canada (x2), Mexico, Peru (Inca Trail), Brazil (Rio, Salvador, Amazon, Iguacu) France (Loire valley and Brittany) Australia, London (Richmond) and Gibraltar and of course lots of other countries in Europe, but I haven't made the lenses yet.

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

I was born and raised in Germany. I spent some vacation time in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and - East Germany. Back then, Germany was divided into two completely different state systems - communist (East) and capitalist (West).

After my emigration to the USA in 1981, I traveled a bit to see different States - Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington D.C., California, Nevada...

My main travels every year, however, take me for 2 months to Alaska, where I cook for a fishing and hunting lodge. I took a lot of pictures and video footage, and I share it in some of my lenses.

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

I have always loved to travel.

In high school I had the opportunity to travel to Europe two different times. The first time was to Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, France and Germany. The second time was to Switzerland. I remember listening to the Hallelujah Chorus being sung in Notre Dame in Paris on Easter Sunday and picking tulips in Holland. I don't have a lens about it yet but someday.

After college I lived in Costa Rica two different times. My lenses about Coffee Prints and and Pancho Claus reflect my time in Costa Rica.

I grew up in Vermont so most of my lenses are related to the Northern Woodlands and it's creatures. Garner Rix and the Royalton Raid is a lens about one of my ancestors and the farm we lived in when up there.

We now live in Southern Florida so I have written about Alligators and Purple Gallinules to talk about my Florida travels.

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

I had the amazing good fortune to spend nearly three years living in Rome. I was studying at the time at the Pontifical Gregorian University. From my term time home the popular Rome attractions of Campo Di Fiori, Piazza Navona, St Peter's Basilica and many more became very familiar to me on a daily basis. Which is why I have created a number of lenses about Rome - with more to come!

I also cannot fail to mention somewhere I visit frequently, which is London our capital!

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

A few years ago in 2005 I took a wonder-filled trip to Bhutan to visit Buddhist monasteries and historical sites. I also went to Nepal afterward to celebrate one of my teacher's 80th birthday. It was during a time when the King of Nepal had closed the country due to Maoist activities. He decided to open it again on the same morning that we flew in, but there were still armed guards all around town. We were the only tourists so we got Royal treatment! I have some pictures on my sites.

I have also written a lens on a place I have not been yet called Tuva - it is a unique small country now part of Russia. I just love to travel and hope to make it to both Peru and Australia in the future.

I've traveled the U.S. to every state but five or six. I grew up in a family of 8, and my dad worked an extra job so we could afford summer road trips. We lived in California, so most of the trips took us thousands of miles east. My sixteenth summer, we spent several days in D.C. exploring our nation's capitol.

I spent my tenth wedding anniversary in Paris. What a fabulous memory! My husband was in the military then, and we lived in Germany. I went to Italy, Luxembourg, Austria... but ran out of steam & money, so never made it to Spain or England. Would love to go to Ireland someday.

Traveling is a wonderful experience. It looks like you've had your share! Thanks for such a fun lens!

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?

Greetings from Barbados!

I am an American and grew up with an airline pilot father.

My best memories as a child were our travels to the (I realize now) rather cilche places Americans go: Disneyland, Hawaii, Montreal, Miami, and Orlando. Those were enough to get the travel bug, though.

When I graduated college I went to Egypt, where I'd wanted to go since we studied it in the 4th grade. Since then, I've been through Western Europe (my favorite places being Paris, Provence, the Algarve in Portugal, anywhere in Italy, London -- oh, wait, those sound a bit cliche, too, don't they?) More exotic travel includes Bali (a magical place for me), Oman (loved it and hope it never becomes Dubai or Abu Dhabi), Dubai, Abu Dhabi (holy moly, Disneyland/Las Vegas on steroids), southern India.

I had been living in San Francisco for 12 years when I happened to meet a man from Barbados. Love it. Come visit!

I'VE BEEN THERE - HAVE YOU?