I always shrill with excitement at the thought of a ‘first’ and of course the older we get and more travelled we become these experiences become less frequent.
A ‘first’ is more fun when shared with someone who is also experiencing it as a ‘first’
Thinking back to some of mine;
The first county I ever visited outside of the UK: SPAIN
(driving there through France)
It was on a club cantabreca holiday with my parents and my three other siblings of which I am the youngest. I remember the journey well, we went on a coach! It must have been around a 15 hour trip each way.
I couldn’t have been more than about 3 and it was at a time when you could smoke on coaches. I was travel sick the entire way.
Even today I can recall the smell of the velour coach interior mixed with the stale smell of smoke. It makes my stomach churn when I come across that scent now. It was enough to mean I have never wanted to smoke or even try it! Guess I should thank my parents for that experience then really!
The one other thing I remember about that trip is a Spanish drink pourer called a Porron. I recall, along with my brothers and sisters, we would fill it with squash and pour it down each other’s throats. We brought one home as a souvenir which stayed with us for many years sat on the window sill and used to water the plants!
- A Porron; used by my family to water plants!
My First time on a aeroplane:
Aged 12; heading to Gran Canaria with my Dad, my two older brothers and my older sister.
I recall being so excited! And I remember the mini cans of drinks they serve on planes and thinking how cute they looked.
My dad bought us all shell suits to travel in. What a fashion statement! Mine was pink, white and purple. I don’t think I ever wore it again afterwards I’m pleased to say. My sister refused to wear one which she is still proud of to this day.
My brother was 16 at the time and just doing his GCSE’s. He had to fly home early to take his maths exam, which he came out with an appalling grade, so later was annoyed that he’d bothered to fly back. He doesn’t strike me as the type to have been revising on the plane though!
We stayed in an apartment complex and I recall my brothers waking up screaming and shouting as a cockroach had crawled across them. My dad found a big nest of them under the kitchen sink and we went on to make up a stupid song about it.
“A cook-a-racha, a cook-a-racha,
I had to hit him on the head,
A cook-a-racha, a cook-a-racha.
Now his kinda flat and kinda dead”
Funny what stays with you! My dad to this day still likes to change the words to songs to fit with what he’s doing and make us all laugh.
This holiday was also a First for me riding a camel.
My First time in the USA
Aged 19, I went with my dad, sister and a whole group of cousins to Orlando, Florida on a fly-drive holiday.
Between us all we rented three houses in a row, I can remember the road name being Greeley Loop, in Davenport.
I shared the master bedroom with my sister and we had a huge whirlpool bath. The house was lovely, very stylishly furnished and had its own pool.
I recall taking my nail varnish off whilst sitting on the leather sofa and accidentally spilling the nail varnish remover and taking the colour out of the leather. I was terrified! Only my sister saw me do it and proceeded to spend the final day of our holiday blackmailing me or she was going to tell my dad.
I loved everything about America that I saw on that trip and had an amazing holiday.
My First time riding an Elephant
Sri Lanka in September 2014. The elephants name was Rhani.
I went to what was classed as an elephant sanctuary but in actual fact it seemed more like cruelty to elephants to me and I left not wanting to ride the elephant or be a part of it. Our taxi driver, picking up on my upset over it, took us down the road to this little place that was home to around three elephants and they had a little exhibition in the grounds of the elephants growing up and things. It was a nice friendly place that clearly cared for their elephants, so here I rode Rhani.
I had always said that I would love to get married arriving in on an elephant. I think that desire somewhat faded after realising how unflattering and possibly dirty I would look doing that!
My First time in a Helicopter
April 2015 in Las Vegas with Maverick Helicopters off to see the canyon and fly the Vegas strip.
I am terrified of heights, so much so I don’t even like climbing the ladder to get into the attic. It’s something I try to push myself on though as there nothing worse than letting your phobias stop you from doing the things you want to experience!
So I took a couple if travel sickness pills, hopped in the front with the glass nose right in front of me, put on my headphones and couldn’t have felt more safe with the pilot talking me through everything the entire way. It’s was fabulous!
The first mountain I climbed
Mount Snowdon, in Wales
I must have been around 11 and was on holiday with my Dad, sister and aunty from Australia. My dad woke up one morning saying “I’ve always wanted to climb Snowdon – who’s in?”
With no one else appearing that enthused, I volunteered to go with him. We set off in our trainers, rain macs and a large family size pack of custard cream biscuits.
“Back in a few hours” my dad shouts back to my sister and Aunty.
Little did we know that there are several routes up the mountain, some safer than others and some for the more experienced climber. Of course, we had accidentially picked the ‘black route’ with all sorts of dangers and hazards. Nearing the top the wind picked up to gale force, visibilty was very poor and I remember us huddling behind a bush being terrified we were going to get blown off the top of a mountain.
Everyone else we saw pass us had been in full on climbing attire ready to scramble up the final cliff face to the top. We had to turn back at the last hurdle, the mountain had beaten us!
Always makes me laugh that we didn’t bother to check the routes and were so unprepared for climbing a mountain.
I really must return to Snowdon to complete that climb!
The first year I travelled every month – 2016
Finally in a place to be able to take regular time out from my busy career, I set about a year of back to back trips with just a few weeks in-between to catch up with the office. I’ve always fitted in multiple trips each year, but this was the first time that I covered all 12 months! So where did I go and how did I fit it all in?
Travelling doesn’t always have to mean putting on a back-pack and spending months on end away from home. If your lifestyle or commitments don’t allow for that, then they are always ways to fit in seeing the world!
January – Long weekend to Reykjavik, Iceland
February – 4 days in Edinburgh
March – A week in Dubai
April – A long weekend in Venice
May – A weekend in Barcelona
June – London weekend on Sunborn Yacht Hotel
July – A week in Ibiza
August – A week in Croatia
September – A long weekend in Florence, Italy
October – 4 Days in Dublin
November – A long weekend in Paris
December – A week in New York, New York
With so many ‘firsts’ I could write on forever, but the more I think about those ‘firsts’ the more I realise how many things I would still like to do and experience.
myfootprintontheworld 