Sitting around a table talking to elders about their travel experiences, the consensus amongst the group was that holidays did not happen until later in life. The thought of a day trip to the beach or an afternoon in the country for a picnic was the extent of most families pre and post-World War II.
I talked to Margaret about her travel experiences; she told me she was one of eight children, and the idea of a holiday was impractical and too expensive.
It wasn’t until she married Edward and had a honeymoon in Scotland that she experienced life and people outside of her neighbourhood; she added that it was enlightening and inspired her to discover other parts of the country she had never seen.
So for two years before their first child was born, they visited Wales, Ireland and even spent a weekend in Paris, which fueled her desire to see more of the world. It would be another seven years before they had a family holiday with their three children in Devon that they still recall with great nostalgia.
It was an opportunity to let go of everyday life and experience freedom and a carefree time laughing and sharing quality time.
Margaret believed that holidays formed the foundation of family bonding and created endless memories shared. She closed her eyes and recalled her holidays with immense detail, from packing clean clothes, making the travel arrangements, and ensuring everything went to plan when they arrived until the trip back home.
Anne intercepted and said she never had the opportunity for holidays growing up. Although she added that her eldest daughter met and married her husband on a holiday romance in Spain, they are still together forty years later.
Anne had advocated that their relationship would never last, considering they were only seventeen when they met, but they proved her wrong. Cybil, a born & bred woman from Brisbane, piped up, eager to share her travel experience.
She had never left the country when winning a competition for a World trip. “I was so unprepared for the cultural shock of so many different places, with images and landscapes, some of which I had never heard of”.
Luckily, it was a fully guided tour that included visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, Rome, Paris, London, New York, and San Francisco. Finally, we stopped in Hawaii for a week before heading home. “It changed my world forever and gave me a sense of freedom and confidence to explore more countries”.
Tom told me that his travel experiences occurred when he retired from his lifetime printing job and had the opportunity to take cruise holidays.
The world had opened up to him and his beloved wife Phyllis; their journeys took them to parts of the globe that they had only dreamt of, from Alaska to the Caribbean, from Bora Bora to Hawaii. Tropical places that only existed in the movies or the travel agents’ window came to life and became a reality.
On a cruise, everything is there for you to enjoy your holiday, where you can relax in a stress-free environment and indulge in as many activities and shore excursions as you wish. There was never any pressure to partake in activities, with a wide range of eating & drinking options available.
Tom added that he and his wife made good, long-lasting friends with many passengers who shared similar interests.
They took a cruise every year until his soul mate passed away, and that enthusiasm was never the same.
Harold told me about his three son’s experiences during their gap-year travels and that they shared their encounters with him through videos and postcards. At this point, Harold giggled and told me that not all what they got up to would they share with their Mum and Dad if you know what I mean!
Everyone agreed that looking at old holiday photographs, slides, and videos brought back joy and fond nostalgic memories of that moment in time, and the memory recaptured in their mind’s eye.
Everyone around the table agreed that the world was a magical place full of mystery and adventure to captivate the wildest of imaginations.
