| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Debs |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 3:30:57 PM
Ok, some of you know that I have travelled to several far shores, but I thought I would share with all of you some of my adventures. Although I have never been on a "real" adventure, like camping out in the wilderness....
First of all: AMERICA
This was my first big overseas trip on my own, I was 23 and had a yearning to see a bit of the States (I had been once before at age 7 when my parents took me and little sis for a holiday to the UK, we stopped off in Los Angeles for 3 days and visited Disneyland).
So I spent a week in L.A., stayed at a hostel on Hollywood Boulevard, visited a few shopping malls, Universal Studios, Disneyland (yes, again), and Santa Monica.
Then it was off to SEATTLE, which I had wanted to visit the most. I spent 12 days here, saw Mt Rainier, Bainbridge Island, went whale watching in the San Juan Islands, visited Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, trendy Capitol Hill, the Pier shops, Seattle Museum, Woodland Park Zoo, went to a rock concert where I met a good friend who I still keep in touch with, and then went off to Vancouver for 2 days!
In Vancouver it was so unbelievably hot so I didn't do much there, just visited a few markets.
I had really wanted to see the Olympic National Park which is one of 3 remaining temperate rainforests in the world (other 2 are in Patagonia and New Zealand) but couldn't find any public transport (I couldn't drive then) but I have recently found out that there are some transport options to get there...
Those of you farmgirls who live in Washington State - you must not take it for granted - you live in an amazingly BEAUTIFUL place!
I then travelled to San Francisco, where I visited Fisherman's Wharf, more shopping malls, and did a tour of the city.
I have a plan to return and visit Seattle again and see the Olympic National Park. And also to visit Kentucky, Utah, Kansas, Idaho and a little bit of Canada, oh, and that means visiting some of you farmgirls!!
Ok, that's all for now. Next, we're off to South Africa!
Debby |
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Libbie |
Posted - Mar 19 2006 : 09:27:48 AM
What amazing adventures you have, Debby! I love the photos, too. Wow - to see all of thes things in person - how neat!!!
I think you'd like Utah, too - SOOoooo, when you make it back to the States, be sure to let us all know!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| Debs |
Posted - Mar 19 2006 : 03:02:17 AM
Eeek - now everyone knows about my sneak over the border of Poland to Belarus.... I had better explain myself, as a visa is needed to enter Belarus!
OK, so it was only like a few steps and was in the middle of a HUGE forest which me and hubby had cycled through, we saw hardly any people in the forest (a logger and a couple of mushroom hunters). Even so, I half expected guards to jump out of the trees...eeek! Also, there wasn't even a border, just a sign (in Polish!) and a gate that looked like this: ¬
It was about 30mins cycle from the village we were staying in (which was also in the middle of nowhere). I suspect the Belarus people weren't too fussed about monitoring the border there as not many people from the village/forest would want to venture into their huge forest with nothing for miles!
Has anyone else done anything sort-of like this on their adventures? |
| sugarsfarm |
Posted - Mar 14 2006 : 9:15:28 PM
How wonderful Debby!! I had a good friend from South Africa when i went to school in Missouri, we have since lost touch, but she showed me some amazing pictures much like yours and one when she went back home brought me some gifts from the dolphin isle ( i think thats right..) I love the farmgirl labels! how great are those!! and to bring back up your US trip...I absolutley ADORE washington...my boyfriend is from there and we visited almost 2 years ago...it was the best week of my life!! i hope you make it back to the states soon!! there is soooo much to see...especially in the heartland!!
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi |
| Debs |
Posted - Mar 02 2006 : 08:27:19 AM
This is a bit blurred because it was taken in a hurry, but this monkey tried to get in the cabin at Nature's Valley - it couldn't work out how to open the door luckily - and we scared it off by banging on the window!
More photos of our trip here: http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/turehu2/album?.dir=2f89 |
| Debs |
Posted - Mar 02 2006 : 08:10:32 AM
Wow, I've never been to India, but it sounds like an amazing, vibrant place. And what a wonderful thing to do there! My sister has a friend doing something similar there.
Some photos of my SA trip here:
An elephant at Addo Elephant National Park. It was a "teenage" sized one and was munching away at the leaves and turned to look at us.
Elephants at the watering hole, we saw groups of elephants at 3 more watering holes, between 60-80 elephants in total!
Nature's Valley - the river mouth, very misty here, between the mountains and the sea!
Our cabin for 2 nights at Nature's Valley.
A market in Cape Town
The Farmgirl label! In South Africa it is a canned fruit label (they also do canned tomatoes and onions). It was so funny to see rows of "Farmgirl" labels in the supermarket there!
Sitting by the river at the backpackers lodge in Magaliesburg (2 hours drive north of Johannesburg) this was on our 2nd to last day of the holiday - time for reflection! |
| sqrl |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 1:45:15 PM
Happy to hear you arrived home safe and sound. Can't wait to hear about the adventure. It looks like we may be off to India next January, Bangalore to be exact to teach at a bording school for poor children. Have you even be to India, I'm trying to learn everything about the place before we take off.
Blessed Be
www.sqrlbee.com www.sisterhood.sqrlbee.com
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| Debs |
Posted - Feb 25 2006 : 03:10:37 AM
Hi -I'm back from sunny South Africa, will post some photos (I took 250 photos!) as soon as I get my internet re-connected at home (a bit of a hassle with the telecoms people.) I only am able to travel on holiday, by saving and saving my hard earned money. My sister-in-law in South Africa also got us a good car hire deal as she works for a tour operator. It is also very cheap to travel around Europe from London as there a low-cost airlines and competitive deals. Last time my SIL also got us a deal in a 4 star hotel for about 1/4 of the price! Didn't feel too comfortable taking our backpacks into the posh hotel though! We stayed in some of the cheapest accommodation, and got our meals mostly from supermarkets. It does help when everything there is about half the price it is in the UK!
Debby
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| sqrl |
Posted - Jan 31 2006 : 11:51:10 AM
Oh how wonderful, have a nice trip and tellus all about it when you get back. One question though, how are you traveling around. is it for work or play? Do you get great deals, know lots of people? Just wondering. I've traveled around but mostly with my sister-in-law it's getting time for us to go off trotting on our own and we're just wondering about how you get by.
Blessed Be
www.sqrlbee.com www.sisterhood.sqrlbee.com
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| Debs |
Posted - Jan 31 2006 : 02:17:50 AM
Hi - just packing now to head off on my trip to the southern hemisphere - will be staying in places with names such as "Nature's Valley" and "Wilderness", which does give you an idea of what they are like!
In Nature's Valley we'll be staying in a little cabin in the National Park, and in a place called Oudtshoorn we'll be staying at "Wilgewandel Farm", where you can take camel rides! (also nearby are ostrich farms where you can ride them as well, don't think I will be going on them!)
Might not be able to post anything while I am there, but when I get back I'll post some photos and tell you some stories for sure!
Debby |
| Debs |
Posted - Jan 21 2006 : 09:01:47 AM
Shirley - I went to Italy nearly a year ago - don't miss Rome if you haven't seen it before! I didn't find Naples very appealing, lots of grotty streets and high rise apartments, but the main reason to go there is for the Isle of Capri - it is gorgeous! We only had an afternoon there in the pouring rain, but the houses are so pretty and the island's scenery is breathtaking.
Karin - so you went to Lapland? The Lappish culture is fascinating - tell more about your adventure there please!
Debby |
| Shirley |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 11:56:09 AM
I am going to Italy in May, four of us "gals"(all over 50 hehe)are going to have a fun time. Landing at Naples and working out way to Venice. Going to places where they make beads and glass and whatever. Staying in B&B type places off the touristy places.
We can hardly wait.
shirley |
| YiberryYadeeKarin |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 10:51:57 AM
Debby!
I LOVE traveling -- and miss doing as much as I used to.
I've been to Europe twice and have been around a lot of the US and Canada. My claim to fame is that I've been above the Arctic Circle in both Scandinavia and Canada!
I live in the Inland Northwest in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. If you ever find yourself in Washington State again, on the east side this time, you're always welcome. I'd love to spend some time with someone who has been so many neat places and with a sense of adventure.
Keep sharing your travel stories. I love them!
Karin |
| Debs |
Posted - Jan 07 2006 : 10:08:19 AM
FRANCE:
My first trip there was to LIVE there for 3 months, I was very lucky to find a job there as an au-pair for a French family in Mouries, a small village in Provence. I helped the mother look after her 8 month old girl, supervising the two older children (girl: 6, boy: 8) and helping with the housework. The father of the family was a sheep-shearing group manager, and the sheep shearers (between 5-8) would have their lunches prepared by the mother, and then come to their house for dinner as well, so you can imagine all the cooking that went on! Ohh, I must share some of those recipes over on the Kitchen section at some point!
Anyway, the village of Mouries is very rural and the farms around were full of olive trees, vineyards and peach orchards (I was there at the time of the peach blossoms which was beautiful!), lavender, and of course sheep.
Mouries has three olive mills and the villagers can go to them and buy huge containers full of olive oil and the family I lived with had LOADS of it.
Here is more information and some photos of the village if you wanna visit "virtually"!
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/mouries/mouries.htm
I have also visited Lourdes in the Pyrenees, Paris, Lille, Rouen (famous for Joan of Arc), Bordeaux and Lyon, but my favourite part of France is definitely the little village of Mouries, steeped in Provencal tradtions.
Debby |
| quiltedess |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 12:40:22 PM
Debby:
The pictures are breathtaking. Wow would I love to see it too.
Nancy
http://quiltedprairie.blogspot.com/ |
| Debs |
Posted - Jan 01 2006 : 1:30:12 PM
Photos from South Africa:
View of Table Mountain from across Table Bay.
Table Mountain is 1085metres high at its highest point. There is a revolving cable car to take you to the top (don't look down!)
Looking over the south part of Table Mountain Nature Reserve.
(Yes, I think the rock "face" looks like a face as well!)
Debby |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Jan 01 2006 : 11:46:19 AM
Anytime you want to come to Washington state again, you will have a tour guide and a guest room here, Deb. That goes for any other farm girls too! I live just south of Seattle, and on the way to the Rain Forest.
Lucky, lucky girl to be going to So. Africa. Next to the UK, the place I most want to go.Well, wouldn't mind popping in on Kiwi land either.
Must start buying lottery tickets again... |
| Debs |
Posted - Jan 01 2006 : 11:11:50 AM
The thing about living in New Zealand is that it is very small, and far away from everything. A LOT of New Zealanders do a big "OE" (Overseas Experience) usually when they are young, they live/work in London to save money to travel around Europe, Asia and Africa (and back to NZ via America!) A lot of us Kiwi's just go to London to save up some Pounds to go back to NZ with! I know of very few New Zealanders who STAY overseas, because (as in Kansas/Oz) there's no place like home.
Anne, I had a travel guide on "Seattle and Portland" but didn't make it to Portland and wished I had time to - hope to get there next time. And I assume you mean Heathrow Airport in London - not the most exciting place to see - I never find it very inviting when I return to London!
Jeannie, it's the little towns and parks and farmland I would love to see when I return to America. From about age 17 to 23 I was into the big city lights and shopping, but over the last few years have realised what I am drawn to is rural life and wildlife. And the huge metropolis of London is just a base for saving the money to go and see these things...
OK: South Africa:
Well, we have flights booked for SA for 31 Jan returning 22 Feb - THREE WEEKS! And it will be sunny middle of summer there, can't wait to get some southern sun and HEAT.
My hubby was born in Zimbabwe, and his family moved to South Africa when he was 12. That is part of the reason for going to SA, to see his "homeland". We have already been twice before, and the main places we visited were a large town called Benoni (where his sister lives) just outside Johannesburg, Cape Town and the "Garden Route" which is the coastline east of Cape Town. The highlights of our trips have been:
Table Mountain Nature Reserve - the mountain has a huge amount of wildlife and one of the highest concentrations of plant species in the world is found in the southern Cape Peninsula.
Hout Bay - this is south of Cape Town, a truly beautiful bay, with the mountains surrounding it as if they are "hugging" the bay to protect it from the elements.
Kommetjie - (Kommeh-kee) a bit south of Hout Bay, where kite-surfers race along the waves and let the wind take them off in huge somersaults into the air, and nearby is the best bakery I have ever come across, lots of homemade breads and biscuits and frozen pies, I HAD to try an Ostrich Pie, and it was delicious, somewhere between chicken and beef (well it is a big bird!)
Whale watching at Hermanus - a couple of huge whales came right up to the shoreline, and it seemed that although there were several humans there to whale-watch, it seemed like the whales had come to the shore's edge to human-watch! They kept peering at us with their big, barnacled eyes.
Addo Elephant Nature Reserve - A HUGE nature reserve, where we spent an entire day and only drove around a tiny part of it. There was one part just outside the high electric "perimeter fence" where you could walk around on foot and we saw dung beetles, striped mice and a small furry animal (not sure what) hiding in the bush.
Seeing blue cranes in the wild - the national bird of South Africa, and increasingly rare.
Seeing the Cape Dutch houses, the farm houses of the first European settlers of SA.
Driving past one of the "townships" of Cape Town (where the very poor South Africans live) and seeing two children in brightly coloured clothes running and skipping alongside the fence that surrounds the shacks that make up the township.
What I noticed about being in Africa was a sense of being in this HUGE land stretching from the Cape to Tunisia, the sense of tribal history going back thousands of years, and also the contrast between the rich and the poor, which I found quite shocking. It is slowly changing in South Africa, which is the most developed country in Africa, maybe after several years there will be a balance, and the rest of Africa will follow also. All I know is that when I go, my tourist dollars will help in some way as I have bought some beautiful handcrafted items there and plan to do so again in February!
Oh, and I also have a 1 year old niece to visit who we haven't met yet - very excited about that!
(FRANCE next up, been there a lot!)
Debby |
| asnedecor |
Posted - Dec 31 2005 : 2:03:24 PM
Debby -
Next time you are over here, don't skip Portland and Northern Oregon. You might want to visit the coast, the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood. Yes, Washington is gorgeous. I have stayed many a time in the San Juans and my brother and his family live on Bainbrige Island and I love Seattle and the Olympic range is breathtaking, but give Oregon a try too, we have alot to show you and I would be happy to be your tour guide.
My only trip overseas was back in College with my Dad when I was 17. I went to Germany and visited relatives for two weeks. My only taste of the UK was the airport in London - didn't get any time to see anything else. Would like to go back to Germany and visit the UK also along with Italy and France. Maybe someday.
Anne in Portland, Oregon.
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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| jpbluesky |
Posted - Dec 31 2005 : 1:52:36 PM
It is so interesting to hear about visits to America from someone who is from another country. I have lived in the USA since birth and traveled all around this country (never outside of it, except to the Bahamas once long ago).
Everywhere I go in the USA, I am blown away by the diversity, beauty and bounty of every single part of this country. It is incredible! Debs, when you return, visit the places you would least expect to visit. You will find treasures there, away from the more famous cities and tourist destinations.
The beauty of America lies in the little places. The towns along the road, the cafes on the corner, the churches in small towns. And the National Parks that are not high on the list. We cannot forget those. They are superb.
I know that Europe must be awesome and I want to see Italy and France and Ireland and Norway....but first I have to finish the USA, and that may never happen!
"Sell cleverness and buy wonder" |
| quiltedess |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 5:50:14 PM
Debby:
I have lived in Washington State all my life and I agree, it is BEAUTIFUL. I have lived on both "sides" of the state, the dry side and the damp side. Our state has EVERYTHING from rainforest to desert. The Olympic National Park is definately worth seeing. I can appreciate where I live because I have been to all of the places you have visited (except NZ where you are from and it is one of the top places on my list to visit) including most of Europe, Japan and Hawaii. Of all the states you mentioned that you would like to visit, I found Utah to be one of the most fascinating because of its geology. I love the UK, expecially Scotland. Scotland and Hawaii have been my favorite places to visit, but really it is hard to choose because there is something fascinating or beautiful in every place on Earth. I never get tired of seeing new places. It's likely that the next place we visit will be Mexico. Besides New Zealand, I would also like to take a tour of Ireland (I was there only a very short time). I really LOVE to travel and am waiting anxiously to hear of your trip to South Africa. The only thing I love more than traveling is being at home  You are more than welcome to come and visit me here.
Nancy
http://quiltedprairie.blogspot.com/ |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 4:21:26 PM
Would love to meet you if you come to Utah for sure!! Your adventure sounds so fun. I love to hear about other people's adventures. I am sort of a homebody and don't travel much I have been to LA and SF though since I grew up in Calif. Northern Calif is amazing too. I want to visit Seattle someday too. If I ever did travel over seas..New Zealand is tops on my list for sure..sounds great. Wow..South Africa next!! You ARE a world traveler!!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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