FORTY YEARS OF TRAVEL

GRAPE PICKING IN FRANCE

I woke up this morning and I realised that it is almost exactly forty years since I first travelled abroad! Unfortunately, for that journey I did not keep a journal, therefore, I have never written an account of my trip.

I was just 16 years old and had only ever had one holiday in my entire life. That one and only holiday had been on the Norfolk Broads in the UK, a mere 70 miles from where I lived.

For my first trip abroad I was travelling to Epernay in the Champagne region of France to pick grapes for two weeks. I was travelling with my best friend Derek, at 21 years old he was the one who had organised our trip, applying, through an agent, for the position of fruit picker. I had to lie about my age as applicants were supposed to be at least 18 years old.

We travelled by train and ferry via Dover, Calais and Paris. The owner of the vineyard picked us up at the train station at Epernay to drive us the final few miles to Champagne Jardin, our home for the next two weeks.

It was hard work, and not very pleasant when having to work in all weathers, but the harvest had to be got in on time. The pay was good for me, as a recent school leaver, working in the horticultural trade, I was only earning 35p an hour. Picking grapes I was earning the equivalent to about 50p an hour. The food was excellent and we had wine with every evening meal. We slept in a dormitory and the experience was, on the whole, a good one.

When we had finished grape picking, Derek and I joined some other travellers making their way to Spain. Sadly, due to lack of experience and money, we only got as far as Nevers in central France before we gave up trying to thumb a lift to Spain. Instead we caught the train back to Paris and returned home, tired and in need of a bath, but satisfied at our achievements.

This was a great first experience of travel for me, it had given me an appetite for travel and the following year I returned to France and finally made it to Spain. In the intervening years I have travelled as much as I can, visiting large areas of Europe, a little of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, North America and Canada. I can pack my bag and be ready to go at the drop of a hat, any excuse!

It is only in the last few years that I have turned my hand to writing about my travels, I have by no means covered all of my adventures, there is more to come. Hopefully readers of this blog enjoy reading my travel reviews and will return to read more reviews as they are posted. Please do leave comments if you find anything of interest or of help in your own travel arrangements.

Here's to the next forty years!