A Very Privileged Life

I have to admit that I have had a fairly privileged life when it comes to travelling out of Britain.

(I am counting Britain as one country – I am not one of these people who classes themselves as English first and British second – I am British, and that is all there is to it. I live in England, yes, but whether I lived in Cornwall or Newcastle, I would still be British.

Of course, depending what happens in 2014, I might end up being forced to call myself English, but still – in my heart – I will be British.

But this is somewhat beside the point, and is only really character stuff, so I will get back to the point!).

We had a holiday in Wales in 1982 (again – not out of the country, just saying) because we were in Carnarvon the week of Charles and Diana’s wedding, and oddly I had never, ever been to Scotland until I started dating my girlfriend.

But that is all in country travel so again – mostly character related and not actual information.

My mother went to France when she was in University, and a few times after, and consequently she made a few good friends there. So – when we were younger, we had a lot of summer holidays in France (Paris, Brittany, The South of France and so on).

Maybe spending a fair bit of time there when I was young is why all the appalling stereotypes of the French that appear daily on tv shows bug the crap out of me. (Although the one that REALLY bugs the most out of me has nothing to do with the time I spent there, but the sheer arrogance of people who don’t know enough about history to properly interpret the facts. But again – somewhat off topic).

My mother is (well – was, she retired) a teacher, so we also once went on a school trip with her to Austria (I got to see where The Sound Of Music was filmed) and Italy (Venice to be specific), with side trips to Germany and Luxembourg. 

But I think the most memorable family holiday was to America – Florida – around thirty years ago. Three weeks, spent at varying locations from The Quays to St Augustine, and – of course – including Disney, Epcot, Bush Gardens, Sea World and The Space Centre (where we saw the actual shuttle on the launch pad).

However that isn’t the end of it, because I’ve also been abroad on a few other trips.

I went to Russia with my sixth form – also a lot of fun. We went to Moscow and Leningrad (about three or four days in each), and had a very interesting and educational time.

And I have been abroad for work (with The Company, not The Hive) twice. The first time was to Holland – I mentioned it in a previous TOTW entry because I got stuck in the middle of nowhere and ended up relying on the kindness of strangers.

The second time was to Turin and Milan, along with one of the directors of The Company. That was suitably entertaining as well, most notably because I got to watch "Dopplegangland" (an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer) in Italian, which is definitely something everyone should do once in their life.

And that is actually about it – not to suggest that it is a tiny list, I am aware how big it is, but that is about it. 

France (several times), Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy (twice), America and Russia.  And the last time I went out of the country was with The Company, so it would be around eight or nine years now.

And what did I make of it? 

I think it’s something everyone should do if they get the chance. Doesn’t matter what country (though I would probably not suggest ones that are at war, or we are at war with) – just go out and see how the other side lives.

Why? Because everyone thinks that their country is the greatest. That their country is the best. 

But how can you really know that if you haven’t seen anything else? In fact – how can you know anything of the world if you never travel beyond your back door?