Posts Tagged ‘cambridge’
A Year in Travel
In trying to craft up the usual “best of” photo list for the year that just past, I found myself reminiscing over great travel experiences, rather than actual images. As such, I thought it would be better to create a list of our favourite travel experiences from 2011.
The travel year for us started with a trip to Prague in February. It was the coldest weather Tina and I have ever experienced, but the cold weather helped kept the crowds away. The weather also complimented the atmospheric city perfectly. In a week full of highlights, our best experience was the day trip to Kutna Hora. The old town had many silver mines and once competed with Prague. The town has “former glory” written everywhere and is a fantastically atmospheric, haunted town.
Our next trip was a short drive to the university town of Cambridge. Almost anyone who has visited the town would recommend a punting tour along the river. We had a student from South Africa guiding our boat and he was full of humorous information about the town and its’ university.
April began with a 18 day trip through Italy. Despite facing stiff competition from Tuscanny, Lake Como and Venice, our favourite Italian experience had to be staying in Vernazza in the Cinque Terra. Arguably the most picturesque of the Cinque Terra villages, Vernazza oozes rural Italian charm with its colourful houses built impossibly into the side of the cliff.
After a two month break from travel, July started off with a trip to Iceland. This was another trip full of highlights, but topping it off was an hour of mind blowing light over Jökulsárlón, the famed Ice Lagoon. For most of the hour, our only company was a group of seals swimming up and down the lagoon. Surrounded by ice, black sand beaches, mountains, 5 glaciers and magical light made for one of the most memorable scenes of my life.
From Iceland we flew to Slovenia. The country is possibly Europe’s most under rated travel destinations and is a good blend of Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Lake Bohinj in the Julian Alps is the perfect location to make the most of the summer heat. The shoreline could easily be mistaken for Thailand, with the exception of the magnificent view of the Julian Alps in the background. As the rivers feeding the lake from snow runoff, the summer mornings are characterized my misty sunrises, creating a mystical light display.
We took a train from Slovenia to Venice where the 40+ degree heat was almost unbearable. At the very end of the Venice trip we experienced an often overlooked island – Burano. Known for its colourful homes and lacework, the island draws fewer crowds then Venice but is every bit as charming.
Back home in London, an Indian summer during the “should have been much colder” autumn reminded us that some of the best travel experiences can happen on your front door. An afternoon of street photography along the South Bank spent with Warren Scott showed why London is still one of the most interesting cities in the world and provided the inspiration for a photo project that would keep me busy for the reminder of the year.
To make the most of the autumn colour, we took a one week holiday around the fjords of Norway. It’s rare that a physical activity should be a highlight, but the hike up to Pulpit Rock and back surpassed all our expectations.
In December, we reached Koh Samui after 30 hours of travelling. After taking a day to recover from the flight and the jet lag, we were surprised to find the markets of Koh Samui to be so enjoyable, especially when expecting a relaxing week on a tropical beach. The Fisherman Village in Boput providing us with the most memorable food and drinks we’ve had whilst traveling.
I'm still processing pictures from Thailand and haven't prepared any from the Fisherman's Village. Instead, here is a picture of Tina enjoying Lamai Beach in Koh Samui.
From Koh Samui we flew to Thailand’s cultural capital, Chiang Mai. In a city that kept us permanently busy and entertained, it’s difficult to choose a highlight but if pressed, I would say the craziness of New Years eve with the many different fireworks randomly going off across crowds of people coupled with thousands of floating lanterns would be hard to beat.
So after a memorable year of travel in 2011, I look forward to what this year brings. We start with a trip to Provence, France in February then South Africa in April. Our entire summer looks like it will be spent in Canada. We have a loose plan to tour Vietnam over Christmas. Apart from those destinations, our travel plans are wide open.