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The last few trips we have organised have been quite an eye opener for us as we have avoided holiday packages and gone in search of somewhat more customised experiences.

All this came about as a result of travelling on a package tour to Nepal and India some five years ago. There was nothing wrong with the tour mind, except that it was expensive and the person we thought was our guide turned out to have little knowledge of either country and was there primarily to shepherd us and carry our passports for us.

On our package, travel arrangements were dealt with by local operators who clearly knew their business and had designed the itinerary, booked the accommodation and transport, recruited English speaking guides, (real ones) and done all the other work necessary. Our package seller in New Zealand had simply located the local operator and, presumably, worked with them to design the tour and add their mark-up. Oh and of course recruited (and paid for) a New Zealander to ride herd.

Now if, like us, you feel able to carry your own passport, the package tour adds little or no value and substantial cost. Worse yet is that you travel at the pace of the party and can neither dwell on the interesting parts nor skip the boring bits such as visits to carpet/jewellery/craft ‘factories’ that are thinly disguised sales pitches.

For some, the up side of package tours is that you will meet and get to know quite a few new people from your own country, some of whom you’ll love and others you can’t abide. Our experience is that being independent involves you, of necessity, with the locals and as an added bonus enables you to adjust your visits to places you want to see and at times when there are few or even no other people about.

We designed our trip to Africa to be completely independent with our own driver and guide as required. This enabled us to see ancient monuments such as Abu Simbel alone and found us camping in remote parts of Tanzania with just the locals for company. Much of the time there were no other native English speakers in the vicinity and so you find out that many of the locals have excellent English skills, good enough for us to communicate with them anyway.

If you’ve ever been in a tour party and seen a couple moving through with their own guide and wondered how they arranged it and if it was terribly expensive, now you know.

My career has been in computers and communications industry since I starting work in 1970. During this time I have worked for many large companies both in New Zealand and overseas. In recent times I have worked as a freelance consultant

I have lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years

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Liverpool

Introduction

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in the North West of England. Liverpool is one of England’s core cities, situated along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, with the city centre located about 5 miles inland from the Irish Sea. Liverpool has a varied topography being built across a ridge of hills rising up to a height of around 70 metres above sea-level at Everton Hill.

History

In 1190 the place was known as ‘Liuerpul’, meaning a pool or creek with muddy water. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including ‘elverpool’, a reference to the large number of eels in the Mersey. The origins of the city date back from August 1207 when patent letters were issued by King John advertising the establishment of a the new borough of Liverpool, and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings. In the 18th century, as trade from the West Indies grew on top of that from Ireland and Europe, Liverpool began to grow.

The first wet dock in Britain was built in Liverpool in 1715. Liverpool expanded significantly in the 19th century and a number of major buildings were constructed. In the 1960s Liverpool became a centre of youth culture. The city produced the distinctive Merseybeat sound, and, most famously, The Beatles. In recent years, the city has emphasised its cultural attractions, winning the accolade of European City of Culture for 2008.

Place of interest

The infrastructure of Liverpool contains over 2,500 listed buildings. It is the inheritance of high-minded public spirit since the later 18th century, largely with Dissenter impetus, that has resulted in more public sculptures created than in any UK city besides Westminster in London.

The Anglican Cathedral has the longest nave, largest organ and heaviest and highest peal of bells in the world.

Architects well represented in Liverpool:

• Giles Gilbert Scott,

• Peter Ellis,
• Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, and
• John Foster

Sir Edwin Lutyens is represented by the completed crypt of his projected Metropolitan Cathedral, which was built to a simpler design by Frederick Gibberd.

Some of the famous places to visit are:

• Albert Dock

• Bluecoat Arts Centre
• Cast Iron Shore
• Cunard Building
• Lime Street Station
• Royal Liver Building
• Oriel Chambers design by Peter Ellis.
• The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
• Pier Head
• Quiggins
• St George’s Hall
• The Beatles Story
• Town-Hall
• Williamson’s tunnels

Museums & Art Galleries

Liverpool has some greatest museum and art galleries. Bluecoat Arts Centre, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool Life, the Beatles Story, and Walker Art Gallery are some of them. Besides museum and art galleries Liverpool possesses some famous theatres. They represent Liverpool and its culture, and also a good tourist attraction in Liverpool. Among all the theaters Empire, Everyman, Neptune, Philharmonic Hall, The Playhouse, Royal Court, Unity are big names to mention about.

Shopping

Pedestrian shopping areas with boutiques, specialty shops, and department stores include Church Street, Lord Street, Bold Street, Whitechapel, and Paradise Street. On the river, Albert Dock also houses a collection of small shops. For shopping centers Cavern Walks on Mathew Street, the heart of Beatleland, or Quiggins Centre.

To buy that special piece of Beatles memorabilia, wander through the Beatles Shop, or the Heritage Shop.
For a huge selection of British crafts, famous places are Bluecoat Display Centre, with its gallery of metal, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and wood pieces by some 350 British craftspeople.

Frank Green’s is where one can find prints by this famous local artist who has been capturing the Liverpool scene on canvas since the 1960s. These art works includes city secular buildings, churches, and street life.

Food & Drink

For such a world-famous city, Liverpool has yet to host a world-class restaurant. Listed are the best non-hotel restaurants it has to offer: 60 Hope St., Bar Italia, Far East, Shangri-La, Simply Heathcote’s, Tate Caf

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As much as I love the city (Toronto, that is), every once in a while I gotta get away and a few weeks ago I came up with the idea of a little winter weekend getaway with my sister-in-law Yolande and my nephew Jazz. So I started surfing around the Internet to see where we could go, and since I didn’t want to spend several hours driving, I settled on a destination just about an hour outside of Toronto: I came up with the city of Barrie whose surrounding areas include several ski resorts.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and at plus 8 degrees Celsius certainly not a typical Canadian winter day. After checking in at our overnight retreat, the Nicholyn Farms Bed and Breakfast just 15 minutes outside of Barrie, we drove downtown to explore this growing city of 125,000 which is located right on the shores of Lake Simcoe on Kempenfelt Bay.

Although our plans to go ice-skating fell through, Lake Simcoe was frozen solid enough so we could take a walk around Kempenfelt Bay, and like many others on this gorgeous day we were able to walk and play on the frozen lake. I started off with a brief walk through town to capture some of the essence of this country town that has become a popular bedroom community for commuters to Toronto. The completion of the railroad connecting Barrie to the City of York (now Toronto) in 1865 and the construction of Highway 400 in the 1950s were critical events that promoted this city’s growth. With its proximity to both Toronto and Ontario’s Lakelands and 4-season resorts, Barrie is ideally positioned for a quick winter getaway.

[SAFETY WARNING: Please ensure that you obey all weather warnings when venturing out on frozen lakes. This year the winter has been particularly mild and every year several people fall through the ice and drown. Please make sure that the ice is safe before you venture out on the lake!]

In close proximity to Barrie are 2 winter resorts, Horseshoe Valley Resort and Snow Valley, and not much further away are Blue Mountain / Collingwood (Ontario’s largest ski resort) and Mount St. Louis Moonstone. The forests and lakes around Barrie offer plenty of opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing and snow-mobiling. Its proximity to Georgian Bay, one of Ontario’s favourite getaway areas, makes Barrie a popular travel destination close to Toronto. Lake Simcoe itself is a major hub for ice-fishing.

Barrie’s downtown is anchored around Dunlop Street which holds a variety of independently owned shops and retail outlets. Many of the buildings along Dunlop Street date back to Victorian times and the city has made an effort to preserve and highlight its architectural heritage.

Barrie’s waterfront is dominated by an impressive outdoor sculpture: the Spirit Catcher, which was designed by sculptor Ron Baird for the 1986 EXPO in Vancouver. The sculpture was donated to the Barrie Gallery Project in 1987 and represents the Aboriginal People of Canada and the Aboriginal myth of the Thunderbird. When the Spirit Catcher was erected, it was blessed in a special ceremony by the Rama Native Drum Group of the Mnijikaning First Nation.

In the spirit of human understanding , we had our own inter-cultural experience. After I returned from my little photographic tour through downtown Barrie, I reconnected with my sister-in-law and my nephew next to the Spirit Catcher on the waterfront. Yolande and Jazz had met a young German exchange student by the name of Martin who is currently completing a degree in Environmental Technology in Germany and managed to arrange an international coop assignment in a small town north of Barrie.

We had a fabulous conversation and Martin mentioned how tough it was to realize his dream of completing an international coop program in Canada. But he succeeded and is spending 9 weeks here in Ontario. He said he loves the country and is taken in by the Canadian mentality. Of course, he also plans to explore Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and New York City during his short 9-week stint here in Canada. Martin told us that at his young age he had already travelled to 19 different countries, and no matter where he goes he loves to link up with people from different places.

And apart from just having a conversation, Martin, full of youthful energy and mischief, was definitely up for a snowball fight and some horsing around, something that my 8-year old nephew greatly enjoyed. It was fabulous to see the two of them chasing each other on the frozen lake, heaving snow at each other and laughing their heads off. On one hand there was blond and blue-eyed Martin from Germany and on the other there was my brown-skinned nephew of Trinidadian heritage. Two total strangers, from totally different backgrounds and cultures, connecting through fun and outdoor activities. It doesn’t get any better than that….

After Martin had left, we continued our walk on Lake Simcoe and enjoyed our time in the warm sunshine like all the other people on the frozen lake until the sun slipped down beneath the horizon.

We took in the activities and watched float planes land and take off, we watched the dog walkers, the ATV riders, even mountain bikers on the lake, and glanced at the ice-fishing huts in the distance on the other side of the bay. One young boy was playing catch with his father, and with real Canuck determination, was dressed in shorts. He figured +8 degrees Celsius was enough to break out the summer garb. That’s the true Canadian spirit!

Useful links for travel to Barrie:
Tourism Barrie
Simcoe County Tourism
Ontario’s Official Travel Website

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons”.
The story with photos is published at Travel Stories and Photos (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/hello_barrie_1.htm)

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