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16<br />
in Hamburg to a German language song, is that enough?<br />
“Still though, not as embarrassing as the time my wife and<br />
I were on a guided tour in Edinburgh with a large family<br />
group. The host of the tour said, ‘Now this next bit is for<br />
the little children...’ before pointing to a small boy stood<br />
directly in front of me and saying, ‘would you like to come<br />
forward?’<br />
“Thinking he meant me, I excitedly stepped out and the<br />
whole group sniggered. My wife quickly shot the words<br />
‘Simon! He said CHILDREN’ at me!”<br />
When it comes to travel inspiration, Simon draws in the<br />
wealth of knowledge from Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Paul<br />
Theroux and Mark Twain. Simon adds, “I prefer to read the<br />
adventures of others and in particular the 19th Century<br />
tales of Isabella Lucy Bird. She was quite the adventuress<br />
and a complex character. I mostly enjoy reading travel<br />
writing from the distant past, as the author takes you to a<br />
place that you can never experience first-hand; the fusion<br />
of travel and history is largely what my blog is all about.”<br />
Simon also tells me that alongside his blog, his camera is<br />
actually something he can’t do without, “I need to be able<br />
to capture every moment. When it comes to what I need<br />
when travelling, I look at this in a less literal sense, I can’t<br />
travel without adequate research and planning being<br />
done beforehand. Don’t waste hours getting lost trying<br />
to find places or queuing for tickets. Get it all organised<br />
before you go!”<br />
Simon continues, “I always strive to tell people that<br />
travelling isn’t all about how far you’ve been or how many<br />
miles you’ve clocked up, it’s all about leaving your front<br />
door and taking those all-important first steps.<br />
“Day to day life is travelling. Going to the next town<br />
is travelling. A day out with your children in the park is<br />
travelling! Don’t see travel as something that requires<br />
large amounts of money to realise. Start small and aim<br />
big if you wish to.”<br />
This sentiment has been real-life for the past 12 months,<br />
with the national lockdown restricting not only foreign<br />
but also regional travel; people have had to rediscover<br />
their local area. Simon tells me, “The pandemic has<br />
crippled the travel industry, but I believe that peoples<br />
love of visiting new places hasn’t diminished.<br />
“Once confidence in safety is restored, I can envisage<br />
normality returning pretty quickly by 2023. I think the<br />
next couple of years will see a slow build up as companies<br />
struggle to recoup their losses, particularly the aviation<br />
industry. We’ll see both cheap fares and price hikes.<br />
Travellers will need to be alert to these changes and<br />
spend wisely.”<br />
To keep up to date with Simon and his travels please go<br />
to Facebook and search @sitravels2018<br />
Karl Marx Allee - Berlin<br />
Rabbit Rocks - Ince