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There are a number of excellent programmes on television at the moment about the United States of America. Simon Schama’s The American Future: A History is a particular favourite, and whilst I’m enjoying the variety and cinematography of Steven Fry in America, I fear it’s taken on too much, so we’re left with fleeting glances. I suspect the companion book from Fry, which will probably be on my Christmas list, will be more in depth. Finally, we have Jon Snow’s American Journey, to be broadcast tonight. I always enjoy Jon Snow’s reports from America (he has a knack of finding interesting views from ordinary Americans), so this promises to be a treat.

But in watching any programme or news report on America, so much in vogue as the presidential election nears it’s climax, I find my mind is always cast back to a cafe in Luxembourg one spring day in what must have been 1996. Myself and two American friends and work colleagues (Amy and Peter) from the company we worked for in Düsseldorf, Germany, had hired a car and headed off on a road trip over one of the many really long German weekends.

Of course, given it was Amy who had booked the car, the German company presumed an automatic car was required, so that’s what we got. My first go driving such, and on the wrong side of the road too. I found the automatic harder to get used to by a long shot. A hill start in Monaco a few days into the trip had me asking (quite frantically, I recall) “but where’s the clutch; how can I start on a hill without the clutch”, only to be told all I needed to do was take my foot off the brake, and on to the accelerator.

Our trip took us down through Germany, to Strasburg, then in to Switzerland, where we stayed in Berne. Then down to Italy and Genoa, over the border to Monaco, then back through France, and a few excitements in Lyon, and on to Luxembourg. It was a great break, and what working abroad was all about.

Luxembourg left me with two memories. One, that there are an awful lot of petrol stations there. Brought about, I seem to recall, by the tax policies, which made it very attractive for German, Dutch, Belgian and French motorists to fill up.

The second leads on to my choice of the title. Over lunch, I idly asked Amy and Peter if they could name all fifty states, because, I suggested, I didn’t know if I could do the same about English counties (I knew I couldn’t name many Welsh ones, so English was it!). They seemed to think this was achievable, easy even, and set out to name them.

Thankfully we had a paper table cover, and a pen, so they set out to write out every state and write it down. Quick progress was made. I even chipped in with some easy ones. We made good progress. But as we hit 40 states, it genuinely started to get tricky. But one by one, they fell. Until we had 49 states. Out of, of course, 50.

And there it stayed. As did (perhaps most regrettably of all) the table cover. We didn’t take it with us, so no way of working out which one had been missed. So as a result I’m left with this annoying gap of one state. Whenever America is mentioned, a programme featuring an off-the-beaten track State, I always find myself wondering “was that the state we missed?“. That red table cover with the 49 states, and the furrowed brows of my American friends, 12 years ago in a Luxembourg cafe, at the end of a superb road trip. I’ll never know which one was it, of course. But do like to think back to a great road trip with good friends all those years ago.

One of my intentions with this blog is to make sure I speak out when I experience something positive. I also do the converse and write up bad experiences, and it’s resulted in interesting (not always in a good way) exchanges with individuals and organisations who discover my comments (the joys of a seemingly well linked-to website). Oddly, the positive comments don’t get quite as much comment, presumably because people are rarely motivated to comment on good things. Newspapers don’t sell on good news, after all. So the lack of comment oddly motivates me all the more.

Today, First Scotrail is in need of praise. I’m frequently through to Edinburgh to work with a client. Over the few years I’ve been making the trip, I’ve only once been badly borked (very bad flooding on 7th August at Waverley), and that wasn’t even their fault. A few delays are ok, and I’ve only been forced to stand three or four times. It’s all a lot better, on the whole, than commuter services in London several years ago.

Today, something odd happened. I managed to lose my ticket between the entrance gate at Glasgow Queen Street, and the train. All of 50 metres. I’m baffled. I must have dropped it after passing through the gate. Anyway, it’s long been a fear of mine, and I normally take care. But not today. So I got worried I’d get in trouble with the ticket inspector on the train (always puzzled they come through the train given the turnstiles at the starting station), or at Haymarket where I alight.

I needn’t have worried. By having all my receipts, the return ticket, a recent purchase time, and - perhaps - forgiving staff, they accepted my apology and excuse for not having a ticket. I’d worried they’d apply the letter of the rulebook.

So there you have it. Praise for First Scotrail, in particular the ticket inspector on the 7.30am Glasgow to Edinburgh express service, and the barrier guy at Haymarket at 8.20am, for not being what I feared would be jobs-worths.

So we’ve finally got our honeymoon booked, and we’re really quite excited by what we’ve got planned. We’d always wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t too far, and didn’t involve a complicated flight change, or risk of long delays. Unfortunately, there weren’t quite as many destination options from Glasgow or Edinburgh as we’d hoped for when we first started planning, at least at this time of year.

We canvassed opinion from friends and relatives, and also popped in to a travel agents last Monday (First Choice, in Shawlands). The travel agent seemed to think honeymoons always equated to a beach holiday, so when Frances said we wanted something ‘a bit different, with things to do’, her face visibly dropped. When she went on to suggest that Ryanair had a flight to Pisa for our suggested Tuscany trip, my face must have dropped too, because she lost interest in us, as did we in her suggestions (which were minimal at best because “there’s not much left, due to the half-term“, so helpful…), so we grabbed a few brochures and went off. Now I hate Ryanair with a passion, and rushing to get seats together on one of their flights is really not how I envisaged my honeymoon starting… Plus a honeymoon destination doesn’t, in my mind, really overlap much with the sort of holiday a family might take. At least by my reckoning!

I’d previously suggested to Frances a ‘half and half’ holiday, of a few days in a nice and luxurious spa hotel somewhere in Scotland or the North of England, and then a long weekend break somewhere interesting, but not too far away. We had quickly settled on Iceland as favourite. Not perhaps the cultural equivalent of Tuscany, but it’s a short flight, and a country that we’ve heard nothing but good things about (in particular from our good friends David and Sharon Rowe; Sharon’s travel notes and photos are here).

We investigated a few package options, and found one we liked. At least, that is, for the price. Over £1000 for a three night trip seemed a tad(!!) excessive, even by Icelands notorious standards. But Frances is an expert at hunting out bargains (and choosing hotels), so after a spot of surfing, she managed to get almost exactly the same deal, but for almost half the price, with an extra tour included too. An absolute bargain, without compromising on what we were getting. So we figured the “saving” we made would safely cover the cost of the meals and a drink or two, which are notoriously expensive!

We’ve still to sort out the initial spa break, but have a hotel in mind, but want to check a few other options out first. But we’re both really excited to be going to see Iceland, and it ticks almost all of the boxes we’d set ourselves. I wanted to thank everybody for their suggestions in my previous post about honeymoons. We did look in to every one, and we’ve now got plenty of ideas for some future holidays when we have a bit more time, which is no bad thing!

One last thing we’ve still to arrange ahead of our wedding is where to go for our honeymoon. We’ve got just the week after our wedding off, so we don’t really want to go too far. So I was wondering if any readers had any suggestions for somewhere to go?

We’re obviously after something special, and I’m planning to book it through a travel agent so that (I hope) we’re flagged in our bookings as being on a honeymoon and perhaps get any free treats that might then come our way. The package being covered as a whole by travel agent insurance/bonds is also good: Arranging it ourselves (which we normally do) doesn’t get that, and this is one holiday I want to go well or get a decent refund/replacement on if there are any problems.

Frances doesn’t like sand, but we want somewhere warm. We’re also keen for things to see and do whilst we’re there. Sitting on a beach and sipping cocktails might be nice for a day or two (sand not withstanding), but something interesting to see and do is important. Greece/Crete appeal, as does Morocco. I’m appalled to say that, whilst I’ve been to almost every other large European country, I’ve not yet been to Spain or Portugal. Tuscany in Italy is also very appealing.

I don’t want to spend too long at the airport or on a plane - I’ve come to really hate the travel part of travelling having spent a large part of a year commuting every week between London and Glasgow in 2004/5. So short-haul is what I’m thinking. Even a UK based holiday isn’t out of the question.

Answers via the comment form, or drop me an e-mail. Please take it as read I’ll know all the (in)appropriate jokes.

Sorry for the silence over the last while. Life has very much got on top of things, and there’s not much exciting me immensely that I feel I have to rush to the computer and blog about it.

Running

I’ve been suffering a little from shin-splints, which - combined with a few other things - has meant I’ve not been running in almost two weeks. Planning on going tomorrow morning now that I’ve also got various bits of outdoor/winter gear to get excited about. Plan on taking it a bit slower than I had been and try and get back into a routine rather than to push as hard as I had been.

House

We’ve had some problems with the house, specifically our wood floor. It’s taken us - wait for it - six weeks to get a visit from the company (Living Interiors on Great Western Road here in Glasgow) who did the installation. A combination of not returning calls, having the fax machine switched on (simple solution to getting through on that one ;-), and turning up un-announced expecting us to be in has meant we’re not their biggest fans right now. The problem is the wood has swollen/warped in a section of the front room, and that needs to be fixed before it damages anything further (It’s already caused a bit of damage, but mostly superficial). Similar story in the hall, where the wood has swollen meaning we can’t get into the sub-floor any more.

Watch this space for more. We finally had a visit today, and they’re talking of coming back next week to fix it. But I’m sceptical, and not a little pissed off.

Prague

I was in Prague last weekend for my brothers stag do. Regulations prevent me from saying too much more, but I did manage to get folk to see a tiny bit of ‘culture’ whilst we were there, so we can at least pretend we weren’t deluding ourselves that we were in Cardiff or some other city. I managed to win the shooting competition, which was a surprise.

The good news is I didn’t feel that I’d “done” the city, so will be going back there soon with Frances. I’d visited the city 11 years ago almost to the day, so I did notice how radically different the city was. A lot more vibrant, but a lot more touristy. Not sure that the locals are so happy with the changes though.

I’ve previously written about my experiences with the west coast mainline, and that it was now my preferred way of travelling to London. It seems I’m not the only person who’s impressed with the new service, as the BBC has been covering it’s success (you need to read past the “upgrade warning” headline) - it’s ahead of it’s passenger growth targets, but may actually reach capacity within 10 years.

It’s all good news for the anti-airport lobby. People are returning to the trains, when they provide a good service. Unfortunately, it costs a lot of money to build and maintain a rail system like this, and it’s still incredibly frustrating when the trains slow down due to interference on the tracks, delayed trains and other problems.

Here in Scotland, with elections next year, all the major parties are talking about upgrading the Edinburgh/Glasgow railway link, which is appallingly slow, and somewhat unreliable. Took their time, but can they really invest what is needed?

But the west-coast mainline is proving a real success story. I hope they can get the occasional delays worked out of the system, and find ways to resolve the capacity problems (and get a decent weekend service, please?), because otherwise we’ll all find ourselves forced to use the airports more and more, and I don’t honestly think anybody really wants that.

I’m fed up to the back teeth of flying, having done it for protracted periods of time to travel between Glasgow and London over the last few years. Every week, for a period of 6 months, I’d be up at 5am, getting a Taxi out to Glasgow airport about half an hour later (only about 15 minutes away from the airport by car at the time), wizzing through with hand-luggage only and pre-checked in, getting on the plane, down to Gatwick, and in to the centre of London some 4 - 4.5 hours after leaving.

Red-eyes are horrible things though, and the time-delay is only good if everything runs on time. A slight delay and things get knocked for six, especially coming in to the London airports. Heathrow is a place of horror for me. It’s too big, too far from anywhere, expensive to get to, and not a pleasant place to be at the best of times, other than for the worlds best people-watching location. Flying out of airports is awful, and you soon learn the techniques for getting the best boarding time, minimising queuing, and unplugging yourself from any sort of stress. Getting stressed when travelling regularly is unproductive and silly. When things got delayed, I worked out what I’d do if things were cancelled.

Most recently, Virgin Trains west coast mainline has been my route of choice, and I’ll be doing that this coming Monday when I visit London. The tilting Pendolino trains may not get up to full speed for much of the trip, but they are what train travel is all about. Good facilities. Clean. Fast. And seemingly reliable too: Something that has markedly improved in the last five years or so.

Door-to-door, it’s more like 5.5 hours, but it’s an altogether more relaxing experience (especially with an iPod, a book, and a window seat to savour the views), and it’s much much greener. I’ve always had a soft-spot for train travel, and it’s good to see it’s comparable on price (especially if you’re booking quite late). £94.10p return, at peak times, counts as good value, and there are no connection times, or long hauls into town, at the other end to worry about as at the London airports.

As for the current travel restrictions, I’m getting very sceptical about all this. The Register has an interesting article that analyses the feasibility of creating the liquid explosives the media have got all excited about. There is a positive side to it all though in that it’s forcing a re-assessment of the amount of hand luggage, which had just got out of control, with larger and larger cases, plus laptop bags, getting allowed on. More reasons to hate Ryanair come out of it too - Their CEO Michael O’Leary is milking the media attention, presumably because their recent attempt to charge people to put luggage in the hold is unravelling their business model.

I’m sure the train down to London on Monday will be busier than normal. I’m probably not alone in figuring it’s altogether easier to take the train at the moment - and not have to worry about losing your laptop in the luggage system. But, for my money, sitting back on a train a few feet above ground, even at fast speeds, is much safer, environmentally friendly, enjoyable, and - hopefully - more reliable right now than anything else.

I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that there’s so much news on right now, that paints something of a negative picture of the world. Far too much worry; Far too much war; Far too much fear. It can make it more difficult for everybody to remember, and enjoy the fact that this is a remarkable hunk of rock we inhabit, that’s there to be explored, enjoyed and - best of all - understood and explained.

So, like a ray of light through much of the gloom, comes Where the hell is Matt?, at least for the broadband users amongst us. A nice, uplifting, enjoyable little video/website. It’s certainly getting me thinking again about our travels two years ago, and for the future, and of - of course - Natalie and Steve who are somewhere to the east of here right now.

Read more about Matt here. Encouraging anybody to travel is a Good Thing, in my book, and this does a great job of doing so.

Natalie and Steve’s trip continues into Japan, and Natalies recent post brings back a lot of memories of Frances’ and my trip there, now over two years ago.

Japan is a wonderful country to visit, and whilst there are of course some unique problems when faced with a country using an entirely different alphabet, I’d suggest it’s a very easy country to get about in given the excellent public transport, good double signing, and extraordinarily friendly and helpful people.

We were both certainly nervous before we went, and we had all our accommodation (mainly traditional Japanese Ryokan and Minshuku) booked in advance. Natalie and Steve have taken a braver option of camping and hostels, but sound like they’ve had some interesting experiences in the process!

I know many very experienced travellers baulk at the prospect of visiting Japan, but I can only try and encourage people to put aside their worries and trust that the country really is one of the most fascinating places to visit in the world, for it’s absolutely unique history, people and landscape. There are plenty of companies that offer well structured trips that cater for everybody from the backpacker, to the fully accompanied visit. We used Inside Japan Tours for a custom “see off the beaten track, under our own steam, in traditional hotels” trip that cost about £1,000 each for a two week trip (this excluded flights and lunch/dinner, but included almost all of our rail travel) - which I think is a very reasonable price!

No, I’m not on commission from the Japanese Tourist Board! I’m just keen to encourage folk to put aside their fears and jump in and see this wonderful country. We’re definitely going back, to see more of the country, when we finally come around to organising our next trip!

Driving to Bristol earlier, we were extraordinarily luck to see The new A380 fly past as it flew over the city - One of two fly-pasts it did near plants where it was constructed before flying on to Heathrow, where they’re testing the specific facilities for the aircraft.

It was a magnificent sight. Even though I’d been watching it on the news flying over Wales about 40 minutes before, nothing gave any real warning about how simply vast this plane is until you see it in the air, seemingly defying a select number of gravity laws! It’s wing-span is massive, and there was a real air of grace about it as it banked above us. The dark and stormy clouds ensured the white aircraft was starkly visible in the sky.

I’m still in two minds about it though. It just seems too big to be viable (I get nervous enough on 747’s), and whilst there are ‘green’ arguments (less fuel used per passenger; better engines), it’s still a lot of fuel to shift a heavy piece of metal about for a few heavy bags of water to get somewhere warmer than where they were, and such. It’s also intriguing that whilst Airbus’s strategy has been to build bigger aircraft, rival Boeing has built smaller - longer distance - aircraft. In a sense Airbus is going for the ’spoke/trunk’ approach (a few key routes, with spoke airports feeding it with smaller aircraft), whilst Boeing for regional airports opening more direct flights.

In that sense, I suppose the Airbus approach in perhaps better, as increasing demand for air travel is slowly being met with more resistance by people living close by, as well as the green lobby campaigning for a curb or even a reduction in the number of flights.

That all aside, we’re still delighted to have seen the aircraft. It’s a small moment in history, busy making the headlines today, and it made a trip that was otherwise rather worrying all the more enjoyable (we were taking my father in to the Bristol Royal Infirmary for his scheduled heart-valve operation: More on that later).