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This page is a retrospective of our travels… Let’s see how it goes!
It starts with travels to Europe in 2005 to visit Hayden in London, and renew memories and friendships.
We were drawn back in 2007 to visit Hayden in his new home in Barcelona and continue on to Russia.
In 2008 Bruce decided his best school mate needed some help to celebrate his 60th birthday in Switzerland. We had a family reunion in Andorra and explored Bulgaria and Romania.
We toured just the north of the North Island of New Zealand in October 2009 We will have to go back to see more.
We toured Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in Indochina between 6 January and 16 February 2011. This was an experiment, an opportunity to see how well we could travel solo.
Next was a Sunday drive across the Nullarbor between 28 August and 20 September 2011. You’ll find that in ‘Somewhere in Australia’.
In February 2012 we bravely set off for a year to see Malaysia, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, France, Montenegro, Croatia, Lichtenstein, Spain, England, Germany and Switzerland. The story of our nomadic life is here.
Hayden’s birth had got in the way of a planned tour of Japan. Thirty years later we managed it, with the added adventure in South Korea.
Bravado had set in, so in 2014 we travelled the Silk Route, arriving in Barcelona in time to celebrate Hayden’s PhD. From there we toured Central America, interrupted by a quick journey home to celebrate Evan and Steph’s wedding, then North America to see them settled in New York, before returning to Europe to see Hayden and Andrea settled in Berlin.
In 2016 we were invited to Granada for Hayden and Andrea’s wedding. We took the opportunity to explore more of Spain and then southern Africa.
With both our boys living overseas we were once again lured to make a journey in 2017-2018. This time we explored eastern Europe and South America, squeezing in a 70th birthday celebration for Bruce in Jamaica with the family.
In 2019 it was my turn to celebrate, so the family met in the Republic of North Macedonia for a chilly tour. Bruce and I continued exploring the Balkans before making a road trip through the southern states of USA. Of course we visited Hayden and Andrea in Berlin and Evan and Steph in New York.
We were barely home and bracing for winter when a phone call from Hayden in Berlin had us packing again. Our very first granddaughter was about to make a premature entry into the world. We spent 10 wonderful weeks getting to know her and managed a couple of trips to Dresden and then to the Bodensee.
In 2020 COVID-19 curtailed our travels, but we thoroughly enjoyed reviewing our past adventures. For me it was a special year as I celebrated 50 years since I left home.
We made a few short trips within Australia, before venturing overseas again.
Finally in 2022 we braved the post COVID world and headed to Berlin to meet our granddaughter, by now 2½. She gave us the most beautiful welcome. We went further afield – first to Portugal to catch up with 1½ year old granddaughter number 2 and her family, then a wonderful reunion in Granada. Plans for a wedding in Italy were thwarted when I got anaemia and ended up hospitalised in Barcelona. After recovering we headed to Switzerland for a little rest, then off to UK for a tour of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
In 2024 we headed to Granada to see the family settled into their new home. The 4 year old again welcomed us warmly and we learned about life in Spain. We enjoyed adventures to new places – Rhodes in Greece and Sicily in Italy. We joined Denis and Martine in Ancey, a reunion with Genova and with Barcelona. Avoiding the 90 day visa in Europe, we headed to UK and enjoyed some time exploring Jersey and Guernsey. Somewhere in there was a 5th birthday party. My how they grow.
In 2025 we took a short trip – just to see the family in Granada. We managed to detour home via Switzerland and enjoy some local festivities. We needed to get home to sell our beautiful little holiday house in Sorrento. Life goes on.
With more time and funds in 2026 we explored Tunisia and Morocco. In that time Donald J Trump had created chaos in the Middle East. We spent 5 wonderful weeks with the family and an experience of Santa Semana (holy week) with the candle lit processions. We explored Salamanca with D&M and then made a short tour of Galicia.
There are lots of photos with the stories, but always a random selection on the right of the page – guess where on earth?