2. Why This Trip?

When Pam & Paul Jones mentioned going to Brughes and making chocolate, I was sold. What? I'd get to learn how to temper chocolate and take away 30 pieces that I made? I'm in.

We'd watched the same Hallmark movie with Lacey Chabet. It was incredibly picturesque!

Many moons ago, I struck up a conversation with a couple at DisneyWorld. In the course of the conversation I found out they were from Belgium. I mentioned where I'd been (see list in previous post).
Random couple: Have you been to Belgium? 

Me: No. 

Random couple: You would love it. The people are wonderful. You should go.

UPDATE: Brughes is also known for its lace!

1. Background

THIS TRIP

Where I'm headed: The Netherlands and Belgium
Type of trip: Trip with a couple from church. Planes, trains and boats
Number of people touring: 3
Tour length: 8 days on the ground, 2 days in the air
When: May 2024

A BIT ABOUT ME
Where I've been outside of the continental United States: England (London, Windsor), France (twice to Paris), Italy (four times), Spain (twice), Portugal, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Mexico (Tijuana, Monterrey), Alaska, Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Vancouver Island, Yukon, British Columbia), Israel, Jordan, Egypt, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Turkey (twice), Greece, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Curacao, and the US Virgin Islands. That's it.

Where I haven't been: Most of Asia, South & Central America, Antarctica, Australia, and New Zealand.
Why travel: It shakes the cobwebs loose. It exposes you to new people, new food, new fun. I've met some incredible kindred spirits during my travels. I'm always looking for "firsts." I've compiled a list of over 60 forms of transportation that I've taken in my lifetime. Although at times stressful, it's relaxing to get away.

Wildest place I've slept: A mud hut in the middle of the Zimbabwe bushveld just down the road from Binga, a town on the bank of Lake Kariba.

Memorable food: Vivoli's gelato in Florence. Honey dripping from a 4' tall honeycomb in Israel. A different pastry every day in Paris. VIP's BBQ in London. Peter’s fish on the Sea of Galilee. Churros con chocolate in Madrid. Braai in South Africa just south of the Zimbabwe border. Fruit tiramasu in Udine, Italia. Beef in Toledo. High tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. South African meat pies topped with fruit chutney. Crisp baklava in Turkey. Steaming pork soup dumplings in Taipei.

Adventurous in eating? Almost always. The pivotal word is almost.

If I could go today, I'd return to ___: Santorini to chill. The Alps. The Valley of the Kings to draw.

What's next on my list: New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, the Maldives. Although I know that when an opportunity presents itself, this list is bound to change.

Lessons From Turkey II

I had started this post right after the Turkey trip. I'm about to take another trip (!!!) and found this. I think I'll finish it off.

Remain Situationally Aware
Retracing Your Steps Is Sometimes Not An Option. Our bus was parked by the ocean and we began a walk to see some archeological sites. A tunnel emerged ahead. Some of us walked through the tunnel and then realized there was no way to safely get back down. 

Trust your gut. Outside of the tunnel, our "group" began splitting up (not my favorite moment). The most adventurous (and capable) clambered up the side of the hill/mountain. There were parts of our party that wouldn't/couldn't follow. This is a case of "OK, you made one bad decision. Don't compound the problem with yet another problem." So now what do we do?

Know your starting point so you can find you way home. Thankfully Eagle Scout Brian stayed with us. YAY Brian! Brian had an app on his Android phone that allowed him to "pin" starting points. He had wisely dropped a pin when our bus stopped. We didn't need a compass to get back to our group. We had Brian! We walked through someone's orchard and agricultural fields but eventually arrived unscathed. 

However, what if Brian had left our ragtag group? I knew our bus was by the Mediterranean Sea. We were high up enough to see the shoreline. I knew which direction we had walked compared to the ocean (I try to keep my internal compass engaged during trips). We could have walked toward the shimmering blue waters and eventually been reunited with our main group and bus.

Be Prepared
What do you really need for the first two days? Aunt Edie was right. Travel long enough and you will have lost luggage. This was my trip. She encouraged me to pack one full change of clothes in my carry on. I packed all my medicine, a light sweater, jacket and hat in my carry on. I still did laundry but it wasn't as critical as it could have been. 

Buy what you need before you can't buy what you need. My sweat pants were getting (female) raised eyebrows in the Ankara Sheraton. I got the message. Too casual. Time to make a quick trip to the mall next door for a shirt and Sheraton-client-approved slacks, especially since the next day we were leaving the capital of Ankara for the more remote area of Capadoccia.

Help Out Where You Can

One of my fellow travelers attempted to get quite a bit of money out of an ATM outside of a bank. No money came out but a receipt did. She was (understandably) distressed. I asked her what was wrong and we went inside the bank. Everyone was VERY concerned but no one spoke English. NOTE: this was before phone translation apps. They let her borrow a phone to speak with english-speaking Customer Service. Customer Service kept saying nothing was wrong. Finally I looked at the receipt. She had requested the amount but the receipt showed nothing had been removed from her account. 000.00 means the same thing all around the world!

Choose To Learn New Words Every Day

I look at it as a challenge. Before I go to a new country, I try to learn about ten words or phrases in the local language. Google translate is our buddy. But if your battery is low ... it's nice to know how 1) to be polite: hello, thank you, good bye, 2) ask an urgent question: where is the toilet?, do you speak English? Then I supplement my words every day while I'm in the country. Many times my lingual collection grows because of food or signage.

Books I Was Reading

• Bible: Acts, Galatians, I Peter
• Istanbul: The Collected Traveler
• The Amazing Mrs. Polifax
• Murder on the Orient Express

Mood Movies/TV Shows

• Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
• The Librarian
• Murder on the Orient Express

Playlist

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Istanbul'a Selam
• Hatikvah (The Hope)
• Sen Hayatxin Ben Omur
• Kol Dodi
• Hicaz Karsilama
• Trakya Ciftetellisi
• Hava Nagila
• You Belong to Me
• Beyond the Sea
• Where You Will Go
• I Dreamed a Dream
• The Impossible Dream
• Time to Say Goodbye
• Home