the Best part of our Journey

After more than 67,000 kilometres traveled, making use of countless planes trains and buses and bikes and boats (real yachts and land yachts) a green lannie (land rover) and even a couple of roving elephants and several pairs of shoes worn straight through, we have finally come to rest ... we are home ... we have stopped moving and we are glad of it.

For the past few days we have been reconnecting with friends and family ... answering the inevitable questions ... how was the trip ... what was the best part?

For me the answer for cannot be distilled into just a few words. For those people (too many of us) who only have a second to talk, I just say "Great ... trip of a lifetime." But the truth is more complicated.

In reality the best part was damning the torpedoes (too long, too dangerous, too expensive, how will the children cope, last minute visas, inoculations, passports, political unrest etc etc) and heading out anyway. But equally good was coming home, was making it through to the end and back to all that is familiar ... perhaps with a little less attitude and a little more gratitude for all that we have here in Canada.



If the constant close proximity was difficult at times, then surely the best part was watching each person in our gang take up the "rally troops" gauntlet, each in turn, bringing us back "on course" during tough moments, ultimately making us a stronger travel team.

Or maybe the best part was gaining a greater understanding of different travel modus operandi ... understanding ours was clearly a journey and not a "vacation" and the rewards we found lay not just in the things we saw or the people we met or the miles we logged, but so too in the joy of living purposely, of setting an agenda for the day or week or even month and then going out and doing it ...with an open mind and heart and unfettered from the responsibilities and accountabilities of the regular daily routines back home.

So now it is back to Ontario and 3 months until we rejoin our place in the "real" world after Labour Day ... still time, me thinks, to let the full impact of our wonderful journey sink in ... to revel in newly acquired perspective on more of what the "real world" truly is and to move forward with confidence ... confidence that surely the best is yet to come.



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And then there were two ...

Now we are down to our final 2 days of our journey away from Canada. We managed to get the "bus" (motorhome) back to the rental depot unscathed except for 4600 extra kms of wear and 2 duffels of gear for us to carry away.

Another couple of days in Amsterdam provided opportunity to visit the van Gough museum and rent bikes again for some more of the canal side cruising we so enjoyed our first trip here.

Mikaela and I passed by one area full of coffee shops (the special Amsterdam only coffee shops). Being basically lost the whole time we also managed a quick turn through the red light district which, contrary to what is written in publications,is not an appropriate tourist destination, even for the most battle hardened family trekkers. And the hotel was a 100% improvement over the last one ... we had our own little chalet off the courtyard out back.


Back in London now, we've managed to get kicked out of a couple of pubs ... not for being obnoxious, but rather due to the fact that most pubs don't have "family license" so no minors even with parents. Today we visited Hyde Park and the Princess Di memorials, took a quick turn through Harrod's

and picked up theatre tickets to see "We will Rock You." I thought where better to see a musical based on Queen tunes than in the UK ? ... locals are decidedly mad about Queen and Freddie Mercury and we especially liked the local flavouring added to the script that would not appear in the Toronto production.




Today we took a day trip tour to Oxford to see firsthand what a really, really old university looks like... as in oldest in the English speaking world.


We had a great day taking in the sights and even had pub grub for lunch in the Kings Arms in the heart of University of Oxford campus ... allegedly home to the highest aggregate IQ on any given Thursday night in the world. Full of really young and incredibly cheery and polite students ... all of whom looked like they had just finished their last exam. As it turned out a grade A+ day trip for our last day of international wandering for probably a long time.



Next stop Toronto, Ontario, CANADA ... yeahhhhhh!

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Arnhem Market Garden

After a relaxing couple of days in Düsseldorf, we made the short journey onwards to Arnhem, again finding a nice camp to park the bus I'm driving ... with close access to public transit for visits to town.

Our first day was mostly a long painful exercise in frustration. I decided to go against tradition and drive the bus into down, having plugged the address to the convention centre into GPS (hotspot needed to do some bookings via internet). We found a McDonalds close to the centre ... good because most McDonalds in Europe include T-mobile hotspots.



Frustration 1 was our account was not recognized (I paid for 30 days connection). Frustration 2 was no pay phone to call help desk at McDonalds. Frustration 3 was no pay phone at convention centre. Frustration 4 was "shopping centre" we plugged into GPS ended up being an expressway service centre ... I returned to the camp really grumpy (yes me ... grumpy). Frustration 5 was the internet provider at camp merrily taking my credit card info ... then not connecting me. Frustration 6 was throwing in the towel, then grabbing it and stalking off to the spa (yes this park had a indoor pool, sauna, steam room, tanning bed and whirlpool) ... only to find the doors locked (closed early). And then the beer I bought was warm and, as it turned out, "weiss bier" which translates to "wheat beer" ... you know the kind you can stick a fork in and it remains upright.

Fortunately the next day we found a museum called 1940-45 which gave us a good lesson on local history ... this is the place of WWII 'Operation Market Garden" ... A bridge too far etc. ... we visited the town and even met some Poles who were at the memorial adjacent to the famous bridge with us ... honouring their forefathers who were instrumental in providing an escape route for the some of the beleaguered troops when the battle was lost to the SS Panzer division in Sept. 1944.









Learning about the troubles of the locals and their (eventual) liberators in '44-'45, totally wiped the frustrations of my day prior into oblivion.




The sun was shining, the markets were full and we live in blessed times because of brave souls who "went over" to right the world's wrong.

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Heidelberg, Deutschland

As we glide into the final days of our world journey, we seem to be losing a bit of steam. (Mikaela is counting down the days to home flight). We arrived in Munich the day after their team (apparently) won a major soccer tournament. We were all set to go into town to check out late celebrations, but awoke to a grey rainy day.

The plan I hatched earlier to head east to Prague and then north to Berlin also got squashed by the fine print on our rental contract (no insurance in Czech Republic).



So we headed somewhat aimlessly north toward Frankfurt ... finally stopping at a pretty riverside camp in Heidelberg.




The next day was spent strolling on the "pedestrians only" Hauptstrasse ... looking at shops new and familiar, then visiting the town's medieval "largest ruined castle in the world" and the "old bridge" ... bombed to bits in WWII and then methodically put back together by the townsfolk after the war (see pic).




Heidelberg is not quite Prague or Berlin but the best plan we could muster when running on empty ... also our best day in Deutschland.



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Murano Glass

Venice didn't always comprise of brick structures and cobbled courtyards with cement fascia. Back in the 13th century most of the buildings were made of wood. And Venice had a thriving glass industry. Prudent publicans decided risk of fire was too great and forced the industry principals to move to the island of Murano.

Because I have always loved fine art in glass and because Karen's gift buying is STILL not complete, we took an extra day to visit the island. We got lost down a back ally and stumbled on a working glass factory. Karen was alone and the men inside invited her in for a look-see. They appeared less enthusiastic when I ambled in, but eventually put on a good demo anyway.



It was a good day sans M+M who were totally pumped to stay back at the resort/camp for a day without the parental units. Highlights for them were beach day number two, all the pizza they could eat and Lord of the Rings III on the video for the 10th viewing. I bought my trinkets pronto (third shop we walked into).


Karen appeared a little overwhelmed with the selection... eventually she bought her treasures back in Venice at the first stop she made 2 days prior.... she who hesitates may miss the real shiny bauble and settle for the made in china junk.

arrivederci il più bello Veniza


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Venezia

Once again our handy GPS guided us straight to a nice camp just outside of this ancient city. This time to Union Lido, a four star resort so big it has two super markets, a town square with tons of shops, a huge water tower, bike trails, two water parks and a nice place for us to park for a few days. (Oh yes, and a huge beach with semi-naked ladies on it!)






After petitioning for a day at the beach, I was overruled and we were off on the bus / boat trip into the ancient town of Veniza. It has been my life long dream to visit the city of canals ... ever since grade 5 history with Miss Millington, reading about the home of Marco Polo. Others we met on our journey warned that Venice is a smelly zoo, a sinking city, a tacky tourist trap. These are all lies. Venice in May is surely one of the world’s most beautiful places. I filled my camera’s memory stick during our 9 hour walking tour. After difficult editing, I narrowed down the “keepers” to 159 pictures. Highlights included St Mark’s square and the 1 hour gondala tour of the small canals in the area surrounding the Jewish ghetto. Venice was everything I imagined it to be ... expensive to visit ... but worth every Euro.

Today, we will rest our travel worn toes on the beach (say-no-more) and then head out, sans kids, to Murano ... the island of Venetian glass artists tomorrow. VENICE is MAGNIFICO ... start planning your trip today!!!

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Roma

We all know Rome wasn’t built in a day ... apparently it was not built on just seven hills either. In Rome we learned much about the competing families and fraternities and the cloak and dagger politics during ancient times while touring the Palatino hill ... site of the world’s first “palace”. Yes, it was interesting times in ancient Rome. Apparently, Nero’s successor built the colosseum as a place for entertainment for the common man. No charge for you and your family to come on in for some wholesome entertainment ... maybe forget about the harshness of your life, or the burden of your tax bill ... here a slave smeared with the scent of game trying his luck against a hungry lioness ... there there a gladiator going down in a puddle of blood with the thumb of the emperor. Great sport! Bring granny next time. Apparently they had a giant retractable roof on the place that was opened several times a day ... not to guard against inclement weather but to let out the stench of death that overwhelmed even the most fanatical fans of blood sport.





After all this time wallowing in the history of human debasement, we needed our spirits uplifted and our souls cleansed with samples of greatness in human achievement and classical wonderment's ... we walk right past the basilica for the gelato stands and fine shoe shops of downtown Rome.

Just kidding (sort of).

We actually spent pretty much the whole day in St. Peter’s square and the basilica ... walking miles and soaking in the history and splendor created by the obviously very powerful and wealthy Catholic church. As Mitchell, said ... these guys (the Pope) must wake up every day and say “it’s good to be me.” I’m not so sure ... I keep hearing my first year micro economics prof. going on about cost benefit and return on investment ... maybe I need to read the good book and get straightened out. In the meantime, I’ve got to get back to my church count ... determined to compare churches per square kilometer in Rome with pubs per square kilometer in Dublin ... a worthy study if I’ve ever heard of one!

Firenze and Barberino Val d' Elsa

Barberino val d' elsa

This small village located in the middle between the former rival city states of Florence (Firenze) and Siena, is the perfect base from which to explore these culture rich places and the Tuscan countryside both. We call the village Vinni Barbarino, but it is actually named after the village patron saint Barberino born in 1245 ... not the John Travolta Welcome back Kotter character.



This pictures do the best job of describing local beauty of the village architecture ... dominated (of course) be the church. The entire old part of Florence appeared before us like a living museum … indescribable beauty at every turn. We saw but a small corner of the history magnifico that is Firenze, but decided that a more fulsome exploration will have to wait to our next visit to Italia ... for now we will have to be satisfied with our one day day self guided tour ... oh yes, we did see Michaelangelo's "David" masterpiece after only a short wait in the queue ... next stop ROMA!

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