As a food and travel writer and Vice Chargée de Presse of La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Côte d’Or, I was offered the incredible opportunity to travel and write about some of the most famous Chefs around the world.
So, we found ourselves planning the trip of a lifetime. Before we got ready for this long journey, we discussed, how to prepare for this trip of a lifetime. Like so many over 50s, we recently downsized from a large family home in the City to a much smaller house closer to the beach. Now in a comfortable and very manageable home we can shut the doors and travel.
Actually, not quite; just before we moved, a “walk-in cat” decided to disrupt our plans. With the original cat owner’s encouragement, Sambuca took up permanent residency and therefore moved with us to our new home. Closing the door and travel was not that simple anymore; we now had to have somebody caring for our new pet. A kennel was no option. So we’ve signed up with www.trustedhousesitters.com.au, an internet website where you can advertise for someone to either look after your house and pets or upload your resume as a pet/house sitter.
We published our add and had dozens of emails in response. After checking the references, we’ve arranged to meet with Cindy and John.
They had just sold their property and were “homeless” for a couple of months until their new house was ready. We met, and decided to help each other out. Our sitters didn’t have to spend a fortune on rented accommodation, and we didn’t have the stress and cost of putting Sambuca in a Pet Motel. We could go away knowing that somebody reliable was looking after our house, the garden, and the cat. A perfect solution.
When we planned our trip, we spent considerable time researching our travel options. If you are the other side of 50 you want to travel stress-free, in comfort and enjoy excellent service. Therefore, Business Class was the only way to go on an extended overseas trip. Searching the Internet, we came across a 3 Continents airfare promoted by RoundAbout Travel.
They offered a ‘round trip, visiting any three Continents in the World; arriving in one city, and leaving from another or making the trip continuous. The fare was incredibly good value, and this was our starting point. The airfare consultants provided excellent service. All in all, our trip of a lifetime was 47 days, flying Business Class Air New Zealand, Swiss and Qantas. A “trip around the World – three Continents” for less money than our friends paid flying from Australia to L.A. What a find!
Our bucket list included Canada, the well-publicised and lauded Rockie Mountaineer and a cruise to Alaska, vacation in Switzerland and the UK to see family and friends and Japan to catch up with our many friends there. We had some specific dates when we had to be in Canada and a non-negotiable function to go to in Switzerland. So not an easy task to make it all work.
Roundabout travel put the journey together, made all the reservations, booked my Gluten Free request; we paid over a secure line; printed out our extensive itinerary, tickets, and luggage labels and we were ready to go.
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