Bridget McNulty

And the final leg… Italy to Home.

// March 27th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Inspiration, travelling

Almost exactly a year today!

We’ll cross over into ITALY around the 31st of March, and drive across the North to VENICE, the city of canals. With 1400 years of history and our first taste of Italian food, this is sure to be a memorable stop… From Venice we’ll stop over at SAN MARINO, Europe’s third smallest state (after the Vatican and Monaco) to check out the place where the Grand Prix takes place (!) and then head on to TUSCANY. FLORENCE is home to beautiful countryside and great food, but also to some of the world’s greatest Renaissance art. And then from Tuscany we’ll head to ROME, to indulge in their cafés, history, architecture and culture. There are rumours that the best pizza in the world is made in Rome… Watch this space! We’ll drop off our car, and exit Italy, at BARI.

From there, we’ll catch a ferry over to DUBROVNIK in Croatia, arriving on the 16th of April. Dubrovnik is a city of marble streets and Baroque buildings on the Adriatic coast. We’ll explore the museums and sights, and then head off to discover what Croatia is famous for – island paradise. MLJET ISLAND sounds like just such a paradise, 72% of the island is forest, and there are two saltwater lakes. By this stage, we’ll probably need some down time, so if we spend a week on a paradisical island, that will be just fine!

Our second-to-last country is GREECE, where we’ll land in ATHENS on the 2nd of May. We’ll spend a day or two seeing the Parthenon Temple in Athens, soaking up the vibrant street life and walking along Europe’s longest pedestrian promenade. Then we’ll take a ferry to the island of SKIATHOS, where pine-fringed beaches and picturesque monasteries give a picture postcard view of Greek island life. From Skiathos there’s a ferry to CRETE, Greece’s largest island and a place of stunning natural beauty, traditional mountain villages and treasures off the beaten path.

We end our epic journey in TURKEY, where we’ll land in ISTANBUL on the 18th of May. Istanbul has a lot to offer, from the Tokapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar, to historic buildings and tranquil cay bahcesi (tea gardens). Once we’ve drunk our fill of Istanbul we’ll head to CAPPADOCIA by an overnight bus. Cappadocia is home to hotels built in caves, ancient churches, fairy chimneys, hot air ballons and Byzantine frescoes. Magical, no?
And finally, to end our trip, we’ll spend a few days lying on the beach of the TURQUOISE COAST, catching our breath after ten months of travel, and gearing up for the Soccer World Cup in CAPE TOWN when we return home!

Argentina to Spain…

// March 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Inspiration, travelling

The only problem with all this itinerary-ing is that it’s making me itchy to hop on a plane and leave! This is the 4th leg (of 5) of the itinerary, so we’re looking at early next year…

We’ll arrive in ARGENTINA in BARILOCHE, from the Lake Crossing, on the 19th of January. Bariloche just so happens to be Argentina’s chocolate capital! And the Lake District’s principal destination, with beautiful mountain scenery and loads of activities in the area. From Bariloche it’s possible to fly to EL CALAFATE in PATAGONIA, which we definitely want to do for a few days. Patagonia is home to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, which is home to Glaciar Moreno, one of the most dynamic and accessible ice fields in the world, and one of the only glaciers that is ‘stable’, not receding. It sounds magical!
From Patagonia we’ll fly to BUENOS AIRES to soak up what is apparently an extraordinary city… We’ll definitely have to go to a soccer game, try out a tango lesson and eat one of their famous steaks. We’ve been told there are old-world cafés, markets and bohemian streets to explore… Yes, please!

Next we’re off to PERU, landing in LIMA on the 8th of February. Lima sounds fascinating, the fading luxury of Spanish colonial architecture mixed with glitzy, modern shopping malls and excellent museums. Not to mention the fresh seafood in ocean-side restaurants! After a few days in the city, we’ll head to CUZCO, the archaelogical capital of the Americas, and the starting point of the Inca Trail… The four day trail is closed for maintenance for the whole of February, but we’ll be able to do the two day trail (which has the added bonus on being easier to acclimatize to!) We’ll hike the 2 day trail to visit MACHU PICCHU, and view the lost Inca city.
From Cuzco, we’ll fly to PUERTO MALDONADO, the gateway to some of the most unspoilt yet accessible AMAZON JUNGLE sites in the country. You can supposedly see, hear and feel the Amazon jungle like nowhere else in Peru. Amazing.

From PERU we head off to BRAZIL, landing in SAO PAULO, the cultural capital of Brazil on the 24th of February. We’ll spend a few days here getting to know the Paulistanos (the residents) and then take a bus to CURITIBA, where we’ll catch a train to PARANAGUA. The train between Curitiba and Paranagua is said to be one of the marvels of travel in Brazil because of the extraordinary coastal mountain range it passes through, Serro do Mar, and it only runs on Sundays. We’ll be waiting. Once we arrive in Paranagua we’ll catch a ferry to ILHA DO MEL, a pristine beach island only accessible by boat. It sounds incredible, there are three small villages on the island, but it’s tranquil and isolated, the picture of serenity.
From there we’ll find our way to RIO DE JANEIRO, a melting pot of cultures. We want to check out COPACABANA beach, see Christ the Redeemer, and experience the extraordinary nightlife.

Next, it’s off to SPAIN, flying into MADRID on the 12th of March. Madrid is supposed to be full of grand boulevards, art museums, nightlife, and tapas galore! We’ll rent a car there, and drive from Madrid to VALENCIA, to soak up the Muslim heritage and culture (and spend some time on the beaches). If we’re lucky, we’ll be in time to catch some of the six day Las Fallas Spring Festival, a celebration of spring with flowers and fireworks. From there we’ll drive to BARCELONA, Gaudi’s city. Picasso, Miro, the beach, the amazing bakeries and day trips to Roses and Sitges make Barcelona an exciting stop.
To get to ITALY, we’ll drive through the SOUTH OF FRANCE, PROVENCE in particular, which is supposed to be one of the most romantic areas on earth. Lovely!

USA to Chile…

// March 25th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Inspiration, travelling

After JAPAN we’re off to the USA, starting in SAN FRANCISCO on the 17th of November, and then driving around BIG SUR for a week. The scenery there is astounding – ancient trees, raw beauty and stillness – with no traffic lights, banks or shopping centres… Heaven. The plan is to drive from Big Sur to FRESNO, and from there through YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK and DEATH VALLEY to LAS VEGAS! I’m pretty sure Vegas will be overwhelming and exhausting, but you have to do it once, and it seems a waste for that once not to be now. We also want to see the GRAND CANYON, I’m excited about that.
After all that driving, our plan is to fly to MINNESOTA, the land of 10 000 lakes. Why Minnesota? We’re not sure really, but it’s supposed to be extraordinarly beautiful, and it has the Mississippi River and lots of stars, and MINNEAPOLIS is apparently full of cool things to do. It’s also the artiest town on the prairie, and the most charitable place in America! We’ll be in the USA for Thanksgiving (on the 26th of November), which makes us very very happy! We love feasts.

Next stop after the USA is MEXICO, on the 17th of December, our festive country of choice for Christmas and New Year. We land in MEXICO CITY, a vibrant and exciting city that some say is too hectic and others say is just wonderful. We’ll explore there for a few days, making sure to spend a good chunk of time in the amazing Anthropological Museum of Man, which is supposed to be incredible. Then we’ll catch a bus from there to OAXACA, a beautiful colonial city with great crafts, great ruins and great food. Sounds like a great place to spend Christmas! We also want to visit TEOTIHUACAN, 50km north of Mexico City, the site of two vast pyramids – the Piramide del Sol and the Piramde de la Luna. And then we’ll head back to Mexico City for their famous New Years Eve street party!

From MEXICO we fly to SANTIAGO in CHILE, arriving on the 3rd of January. Santiago is described as loud, dirty, cultured, quirky and ambitious, so once we’ve had a few days to work out which of these traits win out, we’ll head to VALPARAISO, the most unique city in Chile and a World Heritage Site. From the flat city centre you can take ascensores (funicular elevators) up steep hills, and wander around a city of faded grandeur and spontaneous bohemian charm. It sounds right up our alley!
From there we’ll travel to PUERTO VARAS for the Lake Crossing over into ARGENTINA. It can take one to three days, depending how fast you want to do it, and you cross over the Andes in three boats and four buses. The scenery is supposed to be out of this world…

A view of Chile from Lonely Planet… Wow!

Indonesia to Japan…

// March 24th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Inspiration, travelling

Indulge me! Reading through our itinerary makes me believe just a little bit more that it’s actually going to happen… (This is Leg 2, by the way – Leg 1 was yesterday).
Next we’re off to INDONESIA, or, more specifically, to BALI. We’ll land on the 30th of September 2009, and explore Bali’s palaces, temples, rice terraces and beaches for a couple of days, before heading off to PEMUTERAN in the far North. Apparently there’s very little English spoken there, but it’s unspoilt and lovely, and you can catch a bus to the port and take a ferry to JAVA for the day, which would be great.
We also want to experience MUNDUK, an incredibly beautiful area with one of the highest waterfalls and a lot of small homesteads to stay in. The more ‘real’ Bali we can see, the better!

The 16th of October will see us jetting off to CHINA, where we’ll land in BEIJING. We have no idea what to expect from China, but we’re very curious to see what it’s like. Mao Zedong said that, “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man” so we’ll definitely do a tour of the Great Wall. And we want to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, the best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China, off-limits to the world for 500 years. We’ll no doubt spend a few days exploring the city and eating lots of Chinese food!
We’ve been told, though, that SHANGHAI is the place to go in China, the most dynamic city in the world’s fastest-changing nation. We’ll be able to catch a train between the two cities, which is pretty handy. It’s apparently a city of stunning contrasts between old and new, and they have some great museums and galleries. It’s also home to the Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar, a haven of shaded alcoves, glittering pools, pavilions and bamboo forests. Sounds stunning!

We haven’t decided yet if we want to fly into JAPAN on the 2nd of November, or take the ferry to OSAKA and then the bullet train to TOKYO. The ferry takes two nights, but it might be an intriguing journey… Once we’re in Japan, we want to explore Tokyo in depth. Supposedly one of the most fascinating cities on earth, with Zen temples rubbing shoulders with sci-fi cityscapes. Although we miss cherry blossom season, we’ve been told that autumn is the second-best, with dramatic orange and red foliage.
While we’re in Tokyo we’ll take a day trip to MOUNT FUJI, the highest mountain in Japan, at 3776m, and an icon in many Japanese pictures.
We’ll spend the second half of our time in Japan in KYOTO, home to 17 World Heritage sites, more than 1600 Buddhist temples, and over 400 Shinto shrines. Bamboo groves, geisha, temples and traditional restaurants are the norm in Kyoto, I can’t wait!

Cape Town to Vietnam…

// March 23rd, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Inspiration, travelling

I thought, seeing as I just threw that whole ‘oh-by-the-way-we’re-going-round-the-world’ thing at you last week, that maybe this week I should explain it all a bit better…

So sit back, relax, and join me on a 10 month armchair journey (over the next 5 days):

We leave CAPE TOWN on the 3rd of August 2009, and fly to HONG KONG for a week. There’s a six hour time difference, so this should give us enough time to readjust our body clocks to Asian time, as well as to explore Hong Kong a little. We’re keen to soak up some fishing village atmosphere by chartering a sampan (water taxi) for half an hour for a drive around the bay, and we want to experience Hong Kong’s bustling retail life at the Apliu Street Market. We’ll also visit the Chi Lin Nunnery, a large Buddhist complex rebuilt completely of wood in the style of the Tang dynasty in 1998. It’s supposed to be a serene place, filled with lotus ponds, bonsai tea plants, bougainvillea and quiet chanting. The perfect place to gather our thoughts before a ten month round-the-world trip!

From Hong Kong we fly to BANGKOK, in THAILAND, on the 11th of August. We’ll spend a few days in Bangkok, but we’re more interested in the natural side of Thailand (we can’t do much shopping because we’re trying to travel light!) so we’ll head off to CHIANG MAI quite soon after arriving. Chiang Mai is in the north, and is supposed to be relaxed and cultural, but newly hip. There are more than 300 temples in the area, and you can ride upriver on elephants. Amazing!
Next we want to travel to the islands of KO TAO and KO CHANG. Ko Tao is supposed to be lush, rugged, and romantic (and great for scuba diving) and you can walk around the whole island in a day, while Ko Chang is 70% virgin rainforest and filled with wildlife.

After Thailand we fly to CAMBODIA, landing in the capital, PHNOM PENH on the 27th of August. Phnom Penh is supposed to have striking museums and a beautiful riverside setting. It’s described as a ‘chaotic and charismatic’ city. Sounds fun!
From there we’ll catch a boat along the river to SIEM REAP, to visit the Angkor Wat temples – Cambodia’s 8th wonder of the world, and the world’s largest religious building.
We’ll also travel by bus to KRATIE, a lively riverside town with an extensive riverfront area and some of the best Mekong sunsets in the country. Hopefully we’ll catch sight of some rare Irrawaddy dolphins while we’re there!

VIETNAM comes after Cambodia. We’ll fly into HO CHI MINH CITY on the 12th of September and spend some time exploring the commercial heart of Vietnam, described as a riverside metropolis of old and new – the old Saigon. While we’re there we’ll visit the War Remnants Museum, which documents the Vietnam War from both sides, and the Ben Thanh Market in the centre of the city – one of the most famous landmarks with over 3000 stalls!
We also want to visit HOI AN, a city that retains much of the sense of history of Vietnam. Hopefully we’ll be there during one of their monthly full moon ‘Hoi An Legendary Nights’, when all motorbikes are banned from the Old Town, and it is transformed into a magical land of silk lanterns, traditional food, song and dance. Sounds incredible!
Vietnam is also home to HALONG BAY, a World Heritage Site for its hundreds of limestone peaks that tower high above the sea. We’ll organize to stay a few nights in a boat if we can, so we can get up close to the limestone.
And we want to visit the MEKONG DELTA, a watery world of bustling river towns and sleepy villages, floating markets and fresh fish galore… oh, and mosquitoes, apparently!

(Check out the Lonely Planet website for more incredible images like this!)

My absentee note:

// March 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Life (and the living of it)

Dear Blog,

I know I’ve been a bad partner lately, what with the long absences, the promises that haven’t been fulfilled, and the distinct lack of reliability. But I have a good excuse, I promise. Three good excuses, actually.

First of all, I feel like you need a makeover. I’m sorry to say it, but your look is a bit stale. It might sound harsh now, but you’ll thank me later! I think the fire is dying between us, and I want to make sure I resuscitate it before it goes out completely. Nothing drastic, just some fresh design and a new format, you’ll like it, I promise!

Also, dear blog, there’s the impending American Book Release. It’s in May, you know, which is all of a sudden just around the corner. And I think you need to be working a little bit harder for it. So I’ve been doing some behind-the-scenes work for you, to assist you in your forthcoming hard slog.

And lastly, I might be leaving you. You see, I’m going around the world. For ten months, from the beginning of August this year till the beginning of June next year. With my man. And although we’ve been talking about it for a long time, we are now in Crunch Time, where we have to start doing some work and organising it. Don’t worry, Blog, I won’t be leaving you completely, I’ll link you to another website that has weekly updates from our trip and lots of photos and the daily Best Moment of the Day as well as all sorts of other treats. But I thought you should know… our time together as a one-on-one couple is limited.

So there you have it – that’s where I’ve been. I’m sorry to have neglected you.

I’ll be better from now on, I promise.

Yours sincerely,
Warm regards,
Best wishes,