But I've Never Been to Italy

There aren’t many countries in the world that I haven’t travelled to or through, relatively speaking. I’ve never actually counted the number of countries or cities, but when the conversation turns to travel, and friends or family ask whether I’ve been to a certain city, more often than not the answer is, “yes, lovely place”.


Reykjavik, Iceland? Yep, three times.


Sanaa, Yemen? Yes, for a couple of days.


Abidjan, Ivory Coast? Got lost in the jungle, yes.


Hong Kong? Any and every time there’s an opportunity.


Amsterdam? Just say when and I’m there again.


Athens, Greece? Who hasn’t been to Athens?


Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia? See Hong Kong.


Minsk, Belarus? Almost froze to death, yes. Beautiful city though.


Riga, Latvia? Yes, and don’t tell the wife I said this, but the girls are enchantingly beautiful.


Bangkok, Thailand? See Kuala Lumpur.


Milan, Italy? Ye… Wait a second. What..? That can’t be right… Hang on, I need to check my passports. I’ve been a frequent traveller for nearly thirty years and I’ve never been to Italy. Ever. I’m not sure how I’ve never been to Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, Turin; but somehow the country’s evaded me.


But no matter where I’ve travelled, one thing remains constant. People. The human spirit. Of course, there’ll always be cultural differences, but to quote Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, “people are the same wherever you go”, whether it’s a person from Tbilisi - Georgia, Bolton – England, Manila - Philippines or New York...


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From inadvertently propositioning a man in a lift in Hong Kong, to ending up in one of eastern Europe's most secret gentleman's clubs, read the insights and travel adventures of a business executive who worked in the travel IT industry for over 20 years. These short travel and business anecdotes will make you laugh, as well as provide interesting facts about cities from Lagos to San Salvador to Reykjavik.