Great that you wrote a diary Wendy, made me chuckle throughout, especially “Carol and I just had crusty bread left and a cheese triangle” 😂 Takes me back to my own travel through Greece when I did Greek island hoping. The good old days. I felt like I was there with you. So vivid.
Thanks, Francis. Which islands did you "hop" onto? Later, I visited some of the Cyclades, as well as Crete and Santorini. There's something really memorable about the ones you visit without a plan!
Yes I remember you telling me you went to Santorini, when I did a post almost a year ago about Greek Island hoping. It’s so beautiful, I’d love to go again. I went to Tinos, Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Milos, and Samos ! The freedom of days long gone😢
Heehee, it’s very long !! Give it a miss 🤣 you already read it 😂 I don’t know how to archive ? It’s in Shadows of the heart , Dan , not sure what part 😁
What intrepid travellers! Something I intended to do, but was too nervous and only got as far as St Ives one summer. I did laugh at the Factor 4, seeing as we're all told to go with 50 today.
Congratulations on your one year anniversary on Substack Wendy. I always enjoy your articles - and the talent you have in bringing the reader right back to a particular time in the past.
This time 1984. Cyndi Lauper and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I was travelling in the US summer, working on a J1 visa. But I can remember my first journey to Greece - island hopping on the ferries. Had to sleep on a rooftop in Santorini one night. There wasn’t a B & B or hostel to be found. I can still remember listening in the dark to the quiet snoring and breathing of other travellers sleeping on the same rooftop. I was with my boyfriend so I didn’t feel nervous at all.
I visited Crete and Santorini with Ian when we met in 1986. Fond memories. Santorini is stunning! (It has some very picturesque rooftops so I can imagine that just added to the atmosphere!)
Fabulous memories, how brilliant that you kept a diary. Wish I had.
Apart from a 1972 road trip around France, Switzerland and Germany with a boyfriend before I started nurse training it had only been holidays with children in tow.
For our Silver Wedding celebration OH and I decided on rucksacks and a euro rail pass. The day itself had been 9/11 and we felt we’d really missed out on marking the moment so the next year we set off.
Ferry to Santander, then onto Bilbao where we did the Guggenheim and felt very uncomfortable until we realised OH’s shirt was the same as the local police and that’s why people were staring at us so suspiciously (maybe). Night train to Barcelona sitting opposite a couple who should definitely have booked a couchette, Grimaldi ferry across the Med ( while I read The Awakening for my OU Lit course) and then train all around Europe.
Wonderful memories but no diary and one dreadful pic taken as we boarded the ferry, and which then cost us an arm and a leg to buy.
I love that, Grace – your backpacking trip to belatedly celebrate your Silver Wedding anniversary. Great that you both had that appetite for adventure. Yes, night train travel companions are such a lottery. (Might have been worse if you'd been stuck in a couchette with them!) The Awakening sounds like fitting reading for the trip! I haven't read that book, but looking it up now, I think I'd enjoy it.
I suspect we were trying to keep up with our very adventurous children!
I’d only had space for three books all of which were bad choices so left those on Las Ramblas, found the ‘English’ shelf in a bookshop and there was Kate Chopin. It was strangely perfect. The book oozes heat & of course the ending involves the sea & Kate Chopins’s descriptions of it are superb.
We could have bumped into each other! I wandered this route several times in the early eighties. I didn't Interrail but went with my then husband in a clapped out old Austion 1100 and a moth-eaten tent. I remember getting of the ferry from Brindisi and eating at the bus station in Corfu Town then trying to find the loo. It was ancient and when I pulled the chain the cistern on the wall above my head fell forward and the whole contents fell on my head. I walked back into the restaurant totally drenched and every one laughed. It had clearly happened before!
I loved the moment the we after having driven over the Alps we crossed into Italy. The effect on my mood was instantaneous. In terms of places - Spoleto in Umbria, Vicenza for the architecture, eating wild mushrooms collected that morning in the Dolomites...happy happy times.
Wonderful! Yes, it's extraordinary the effect just arriving in another country (and climate) can have on your mood. I visited Umbria years ago with my family, but not Spoleto. Italy's such a gorgeous country.
Wonderfully detailed memories Wendy, thanks for sharing them with us! Brought back memories of Greek island hopping in my 20s and ferry trips to France in my teens. I never went Interrailing though, I saved up for travels in India instead. By a strange coincidence, I was at the Oral History Society conference last week and very much enjoyed a presentation on research into Interrailing between 1972 and 1997. I can send you the abstract if you like!
Ooh yes, please, Sasha! I'd be interested to read that. I'll DM you.
What was your favourite Greek island? I went back several times afterwards to different parts of Greece, but have a soft spot for the Ionian islands, because of that first trip.
That’s a hard one. In my 20s I went round the Cyclades and stayed on some tiny islands as well as Ios, and liked all of them, but I’d probably have to say either Karpathos or Crete
Yes, I like all the contestants this time, and the journeys have been spectacular. I'll be glued to it tonight. Brian and Melvyn chalk and cheese, but similarly generous spirits. Lovely.
I am very impressed by your diary keeping Wendy. I felt I had returned to 1984 to travel with you and Carol - and I love the ways in which the grit, insects, overwhelm and indigestion, otherwise sanitised in holiday snaps, are all present and alive in your travel writing.
this whole piece is delicious. You are definitely not an armchair, adventure by any measure. I love that you take copious notes and that you share this travel journey with us. I haven’t traveled much as a tourist mostly with my work. My daughter was recently in Italy for close to a month and wants to return. She loved it so much. Thank you for this beautiful piece.
Thanks, Prajna. I can see why your daughter loves Italy! Where was she based? I've been back to Italy and Greece since (less rushed!), and absolutely love both countries.
This is lovely. I really enjoyed interrailing with L when she was 1yo, but didn’t keep a diary & it wasn’t nearly as eventful a trip as yours! People don’t talk to one another quite so much in the smartphone age. Still lots to see though.
I was in Italy 2 summers, Pavia, and Palermo, for architecture seminars. You bring back a flood of great images and memories. What a great adventure you had. Kicking myself for not keeping a diary
Forgot to mention, it was 83 and 84. Also visited many other cities while there. I don't think one could have the same kinds of experiences today, to put it mildly. Thanks again
Wonderful, evocative post Wendy. I never went interrailing though many of my friends did. I'm planning to make up for that by touring around in our new camper van - the 'older' persons version of interrailing, with a little luxury thrown in!
Thanks, Jacqui. I love your camper van option. Haven't got one, but my sister and brother-in-law get so much from theirs. And you never have to worry about where you're going to sleep!
Great that you wrote a diary Wendy, made me chuckle throughout, especially “Carol and I just had crusty bread left and a cheese triangle” 😂 Takes me back to my own travel through Greece when I did Greek island hoping. The good old days. I felt like I was there with you. So vivid.
Thanks, Francis. Which islands did you "hop" onto? Later, I visited some of the Cyclades, as well as Crete and Santorini. There's something really memorable about the ones you visit without a plan!
Yes I remember you telling me you went to Santorini, when I did a post almost a year ago about Greek Island hoping. It’s so beautiful, I’d love to go again. I went to Tinos, Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Milos, and Samos ! The freedom of days long gone😢
Aha! THAT explains why I had a feeling of déja vous! Doh! Just looking to re-read and can’t spot it. Is it archived?
Heehee, it’s very long !! Give it a miss 🤣 you already read it 😂 I don’t know how to archive ? It’s in Shadows of the heart , Dan , not sure what part 😁
I am definitely going back to re-read it, Francis! Thanks for the pointer!
Aww thanks Wendy , I think I will too 😁
What intrepid travellers! Something I intended to do, but was too nervous and only got as far as St Ives one summer. I did laugh at the Factor 4, seeing as we're all told to go with 50 today.
St Ives is quite far, though, depending on where you start from, Maria!
These days I'm slathered in factor 50, even if it's raining!
Congratulations on your one year anniversary on Substack Wendy. I always enjoy your articles - and the talent you have in bringing the reader right back to a particular time in the past.
This time 1984. Cyndi Lauper and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I was travelling in the US summer, working on a J1 visa. But I can remember my first journey to Greece - island hopping on the ferries. Had to sleep on a rooftop in Santorini one night. There wasn’t a B & B or hostel to be found. I can still remember listening in the dark to the quiet snoring and breathing of other travellers sleeping on the same rooftop. I was with my boyfriend so I didn’t feel nervous at all.
Thank you, Caroline. Really kind of you.
I visited Crete and Santorini with Ian when we met in 1986. Fond memories. Santorini is stunning! (It has some very picturesque rooftops so I can imagine that just added to the atmosphere!)
Fabulous memories, how brilliant that you kept a diary. Wish I had.
Apart from a 1972 road trip around France, Switzerland and Germany with a boyfriend before I started nurse training it had only been holidays with children in tow.
For our Silver Wedding celebration OH and I decided on rucksacks and a euro rail pass. The day itself had been 9/11 and we felt we’d really missed out on marking the moment so the next year we set off.
Ferry to Santander, then onto Bilbao where we did the Guggenheim and felt very uncomfortable until we realised OH’s shirt was the same as the local police and that’s why people were staring at us so suspiciously (maybe). Night train to Barcelona sitting opposite a couple who should definitely have booked a couchette, Grimaldi ferry across the Med ( while I read The Awakening for my OU Lit course) and then train all around Europe.
Wonderful memories but no diary and one dreadful pic taken as we boarded the ferry, and which then cost us an arm and a leg to buy.
I love that, Grace – your backpacking trip to belatedly celebrate your Silver Wedding anniversary. Great that you both had that appetite for adventure. Yes, night train travel companions are such a lottery. (Might have been worse if you'd been stuck in a couchette with them!) The Awakening sounds like fitting reading for the trip! I haven't read that book, but looking it up now, I think I'd enjoy it.
I suspect we were trying to keep up with our very adventurous children!
I’d only had space for three books all of which were bad choices so left those on Las Ramblas, found the ‘English’ shelf in a bookshop and there was Kate Chopin. It was strangely perfect. The book oozes heat & of course the ending involves the sea & Kate Chopins’s descriptions of it are superb.
Putting it on my book list right now, thanks for the tip, Grace.
This is just magical. Seeing Europe through your eyes for the first time. It had me howling in places. What an adventure Wendy. And Factor 4!
Thanks, Margaret. I know! Factor 4?! What was I thinking? I can date the liver spots I have now back to that trip.
We could have bumped into each other! I wandered this route several times in the early eighties. I didn't Interrail but went with my then husband in a clapped out old Austion 1100 and a moth-eaten tent. I remember getting of the ferry from Brindisi and eating at the bus station in Corfu Town then trying to find the loo. It was ancient and when I pulled the chain the cistern on the wall above my head fell forward and the whole contents fell on my head. I walked back into the restaurant totally drenched and every one laughed. It had clearly happened before!
OMG, Liz! That's more than you bargained for! What was your favourite place on your travels?
I loved the moment the we after having driven over the Alps we crossed into Italy. The effect on my mood was instantaneous. In terms of places - Spoleto in Umbria, Vicenza for the architecture, eating wild mushrooms collected that morning in the Dolomites...happy happy times.
Wonderful! Yes, it's extraordinary the effect just arriving in another country (and climate) can have on your mood. I visited Umbria years ago with my family, but not Spoleto. Italy's such a gorgeous country.
Wonderfully detailed memories Wendy, thanks for sharing them with us! Brought back memories of Greek island hopping in my 20s and ferry trips to France in my teens. I never went Interrailing though, I saved up for travels in India instead. By a strange coincidence, I was at the Oral History Society conference last week and very much enjoyed a presentation on research into Interrailing between 1972 and 1997. I can send you the abstract if you like!
Ooh yes, please, Sasha! I'd be interested to read that. I'll DM you.
What was your favourite Greek island? I went back several times afterwards to different parts of Greece, but have a soft spot for the Ionian islands, because of that first trip.
That’s a hard one. In my 20s I went round the Cyclades and stayed on some tiny islands as well as Ios, and liked all of them, but I’d probably have to say either Karpathos or Crete
I have vivid memories of Crete, which Ian and I visited when we first met. And of Santorini. Every island is unique! I haven't visited Karpathos.
I returned to Kefalonia when my daughters were little and it was great to spend more time there, instead of just waiting for the next ferry out!
Thank you for attending my presentation Sasha. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Sent you an email, Ian! (Presume you saw, if you found this link to my Substack.) Glad Sasha has put us in touch.
Me too Wendy. I have sent you an email.
It was great! Nice to see you here
PS my sons and I are loving RATW. Although it keeps making me cry (especially Brian and Melvyn ❤️)
Yes, I like all the contestants this time, and the journeys have been spectacular. I'll be glued to it tonight. Brian and Melvyn chalk and cheese, but similarly generous spirits. Lovely.
I am very impressed by your diary keeping Wendy. I felt I had returned to 1984 to travel with you and Carol - and I love the ways in which the grit, insects, overwhelm and indigestion, otherwise sanitised in holiday snaps, are all present and alive in your travel writing.
A vivid piece.
Thanks, Cherry. The trickiest piece yet to edit, as my diary of the trip was practically a book! Removed 99% of the cheese baps!
Tricky!
Hi Wendy
this whole piece is delicious. You are definitely not an armchair, adventure by any measure. I love that you take copious notes and that you share this travel journey with us. I haven’t traveled much as a tourist mostly with my work. My daughter was recently in Italy for close to a month and wants to return. She loved it so much. Thank you for this beautiful piece.
Thanks, Prajna. I can see why your daughter loves Italy! Where was she based? I've been back to Italy and Greece since (less rushed!), and absolutely love both countries.
This is lovely. I really enjoyed interrailing with L when she was 1yo, but didn’t keep a diary & it wasn’t nearly as eventful a trip as yours! People don’t talk to one another quite so much in the smartphone age. Still lots to see though.
You were really brave to go interrailing with a one-year old, Alex! Kudos!
Factor 4…!!! Can you imagine?? And having to change currency in every European country - feels like another world!
Happy Substack anniversary - I always get a little dopamine hit when I see your name in my email inbox.
Thanks, Fiona! Pre- euros, digital comms and sensible sunscreen :D
Love this! Such a tapestry of detail - especially your meals.
Thanks, Sue! I edited out a LOT of food, as we pretty much lived on Greek yoghurt, nuts and bread, on rotation!
I was in Italy 2 summers, Pavia, and Palermo, for architecture seminars. You bring back a flood of great images and memories. What a great adventure you had. Kicking myself for not keeping a diary
Two Italian cities I haven’t visited, CG! It’s such a gorgeous country.
Thanks for the restack.
Forgot to mention, it was 83 and 84. Also visited many other cities while there. I don't think one could have the same kinds of experiences today, to put it mildly. Thanks again
You keep the best diaries. What an adventure! And memories. :)
Thanks, Lyndsey. I’d forgotten how spontaneous it all was! Was glad to unearth the diary, which I thought was long gone.
Wonderful, evocative post Wendy. I never went interrailing though many of my friends did. I'm planning to make up for that by touring around in our new camper van - the 'older' persons version of interrailing, with a little luxury thrown in!
Thanks, Jacqui. I love your camper van option. Haven't got one, but my sister and brother-in-law get so much from theirs. And you never have to worry about where you're going to sleep!
Everything you write is so charming! Love this! Can’t wait for the memoir eventually. 🤣🫶🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤩
Oh, thank you, Elaine! Gives me such a boost.