The Wanderlust Tag

Just what I needed after a month of A to Z - a fun meme posted by Caroline of Mrs. M's Meanderings to get me dreaming of traveling.

Where was your first plane trip to?
I'm really not certain - one of those questions I should have asked Mum and Dad before it was too late - I have so many of those.  If your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents are still blessed to be on this earth, ask questions!  Get one of those legacy books - they are a great resource for questions.  Ok, sorry, got off track there!

I was born in Germany and we moved to Boston, Massachusetts when I was two and then to Norway about a year or so later.

I found this photo of our departure from Norway back to the United States in 1965 and we're obviously on a ship so is it possible that all of our travel before then was also by ship?  Perhaps we were sailing to England and then flying on to the States?  Ugh, this is going to drive me bananas.  I wonder if I can tell from old passports (believe me, I've got a drawer full of them).  Can you tell the difference between an airport stamp and a port stamp?

I know for certain that the first plane trip I remember was in 1967 when we flew from California to Hawaii.  Dad flew to Hawaii from Vietnam (he was there from 1966-1967); this was his mid-way R&R (rest and recreation) trip.

You’re leaving tomorrow & money is no object… where are you going?
Round the world with Cunard.

Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places? 
For pleasure travel, this really hasn't been much of an issue so far.  I've been to England three times in the last fifteen years, but the first time was to my sister's wedding (in Scotland) and then on to my parents' in Lancashire for a week, then to Yorkshire for Christmas that same year, and then back again to Lancashire for my Mum's funeral two years later.  I'd go back to Lancashire just because that area feels most like home and we definitely want to go back to Yorkshire.

We haven't done a real holiday since we got married.  We've had lots of little trips - Walt Disney World, New York, Boston, Washington DC, but they all pretty much coincided with Vic's duty station changes.  The only real trip not like that was to Montreal, but that was for a conference for Vic and we turned it into a getaway.

We really need to get into the mode of having an annual holiday.  Of course, with Vic's upcoming schedule, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I'm holding out for a posting to Italy, Spain, or Japan and then let the traveling begin.

Hostel or Hotel?
I'm just going to borrow Caroline's answer because I burst out laughing when I read it and thought to myself...we are SO alike!  She said: I don’t imagine that anybody who knows me or has read my blog for more than a couple of weeks would labour under the misapprehension that I would EVER be found checking into a hostel.
Snobbish? Me? Maybe. Ask me if I care.

Where would you travel just to eat the food?
Macarons in Paris, bratwurst, knockwurst and all the wursts in Bavaria, tapas in Spain, the list is endless; we are definitely foodies so a trip centered around food would be amazing.  I want to work my way through this book:

Food Journeys of a Lifetime

Plane essentials & how do you pass the time?
I don't like to fly and don't even get me started on a trans-Atlantic or a trans-Pacific flight. Flying and flying over water - yeuch. That being said, if I have to fly, I prefer a night flight so that I can sleep and wake up when it's just about all over. If I can't sleep or it's a short-haul, then a good book or movie keeps me occupied.

Is there a place you would never go again?
I can't think of anywhere but just about all the places I have visited were safe and pleasant at the time.  I'd think twice about visiting certain places these days - always wanted to go to Israel but I don't know if that will ever happen given the climate in that region.  I have a hard time with extreme poverty so I'd stay away from places where there is so much. Rather takes away from the fun of your holiday if you're traumatized by your surroundings.

Top three travel items?

1. Passport
2. Sunglasses
3. Maximum SPF if it's somewhere hot because I don't want to spend the whole trip looking like a lobster.

Preferred method of travel, planes, trains or auto mobiles?
Yes, I agree with Caroline on the Orient Express – I've seen a couple of movies where it is featured and a fabulous documentary with David Suchet.  I hope that the Orient Express travelers still dress the part - I'd be horribly disappointed if I went to all that expense only to find that my fellow passengers were wearing jeans.

I tag anybody who wants to have a go – let me know if you do it, and I’ll come and have a read.