A Friday Five Travel Fantasy...

[fajrdrako]

I haven't done a Friday Five in a long time, so here you are:

Theme: International Travel

1. You have the summer and plenty of money to travel abroad. Where would you go?

1. The Channel Islands, or the Sheltands, or the Isle of Man
   
2. Bayeux
   
3. Nepal
   
4. Cardiff (guess why?)
   
5. Yorkshire, Durham, the Lake District, and, of course, Hadrian's Wall
   
6. Sicily, or other choice parts of Italy: Pompeii, Tuscany, Venice and Torcello, maybe throwing in Verona and Lucca
   
7. Malta
   
8. Greece, especially Crete
   
9. Jerusalem and the Crusader sites in Israel and Jordan
   
10. Egypt, especially the Cairo Museum and Luxor
    
    Should I stop now? I could go on like this for a long time. Throw in all the Dunnett sites I've never seen, especially Rum and Trebizond. Add Macchu Piccu and the Carribean.

2. What foods would you be sure you got to eat?

Plenty of local delicacies. Carefully avoiding, in those English places, pork pies and marmite.

3. What landmarks would you be sure you got to see?

I'm not big on landmarks, though I'd want to see the pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt. I like historical sites and oceans. I suspect there are many landmarks I'd love to see that I don't even know about. The Old Man of Hoy, for example. I'd never heard of it before I went to Orkney. It was amazing.

4. What airline would you use?

The TARDIS.

Okay, okay, that's fantasizing a little too much.

If we are really saying money and time are irrelevant, I'd go by ship. Or maybe my own private yacht, with a captain to pilot it. Failing that, I'd choose an airline recommended by friends who travel more than I do. In the past, I was impressed by Lufthansa.

5. Would your knowledge of other languages influence where you went? (i.e. would you be more likely to go to France if you spoke French)

I do speak French. Well, sort of. I choose places by their history, not their language, though the chance to practise French and Italian make France and Italy all the more attractive. I would want to get in touch with Esperantists, and practise my Esperanto.

I'll skip the second set of questions, because unless I'm going to a convention or visiting friends, I really don't want to go on a road trip to the US, for numerous reasons.

It would be fun to go on a road trip to Nova Scotia (which is my favourite province) or through Europe.

Comments

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Road trip through the US... right now, not my favorite idea, not even close. From gas prices, to food prices, to hassles from other drivers who never want to be behind people who don't already know where they are going -- nope!

I echo most of your sites, tho'. Could I go along? And can we stop at all the local archeological sites, on our way? Thanks!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

From gas prices, to food prices, to hassles from other drivers

All of that, and, frankly, I don't want to cross the US border if I can help it. Those customs and immigrations guys are vicious at the best of times, and this isn't the best of times.

can we stop at all the local archeological sites, on our way?

Goes without saying, doesn't it? Of course, it means our progress will be slow - a lifetime of travel, from one archaeological site to the next! I could handle that.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Border guards... brr. If you don't fit their expected profile in some way, that's it for you. I once made the major mistake of coming to visit in November. Why? Don't I have a job? What is it I say I do? A postal clerk? Say that again?

It's like when you either write or say a single word over and over again. It soon becomes strange and unfamiliar. Look at any single innocent bit of behavior too closely, and you can find somethign pathological in it, oh yeah!

Of course, it means our progress will be slow - a lifetime of travel, from one archaeological site to the next! I could handle that.

Sounds just about right!