Summers to Remember
02 Mar 2019
Holidays in the warmer months make for memories that last a lifetime. From a European trip with new pals to a summer swim with a family friend that has endured as a memory, Probians tell their tales of summer travel...
Everyone has that special summer holiday memory. It might be the first time you holiday with your grandkids, or a trip your own grandparents took you on that
has stuck with you your whole life. Or maybe it’s a romantic trip you took with your partner.
For Lois Rowan from Ballarat New Generation Probus, that holiday came this year when she took a trip to Europe with her daughter. The pair planned a huge trip taking in all the sights of Europe and the UK in June and July.
“It was fantastic, and being with my daughter day and night for about four-and-a-half weeks, it was so nice to have so much mother-daughter quality time together,” Lois says. “I was very lucky and my daughter planned everything and took me on the biggest holiday I have ever had. The plan was to do all the famous tourist attractions, and we managed to do that.”
Lois travelled to France, Switzerland, Venice and Rome. She then saw Stockholm, Sweden and Denmark before travelling to London. “We went to Wimbledon where I saw Roger Federer play, had high tea at the Ritz, shopped at Harrods, and even went on an old-fashioned merry-go-round ride – I hadn’t done that for years,” she says.
These summer getaways forge memories that last forever. We asked a few Probians to tell us about the best summer holiday of their lives...
Summer in Umbria
Marianne Stevens, Mandurah Probus Club
We owned a lovely old house in Umbria, Italy for 10 years and went back for a visit. It was very nostalgic as the one thing I worried about was my garden, as I had designed it from scratch.
I needn’t have worried, and we were welcomed back by the new owners and had lunch in the shade of the wisteria on the terrace. The roses and lavender were all looking wonderful and the box hedging had grown near the swimming pool. When we wandered out in the lane, we were greeted enthusiastically by the local villagers. We felt very privileged to get to know the local people.
Monks had once owned the house, and we could see the monastery high up on a hill in the distance. The house had an enormous bread oven, which used to feed the whole village. The new owners had cleverly converted it into a wine cellar, something my husband would have liked to have done! I had been loath to spoil anything so old and had a glass door fitted with a light inside, but in actual fact it was perfectly acceptable.
We pottered around the town of Passignano on Lake Trasimeno, which is where Hannibal cleverly defeated the Romans in 21 BC. There is so much history in Italy and we sat enjoying our cappuccinos looking over the placid waters of the lake, so different from when the poor Romans were driven into the lake and drowned. The local villages bear the names commemorating that violent battle and translate into “The Place of Bones” and “Blood.” If Hannibal had taken Rome, history might be very different. They say that the lake waters turned red for days, which is a horrific thought.
There are a couple of islands to visit by ferry. One, Isola Maggiore, has a tradition of lace making; and the other island is Polvese, which is a nature reserve. It’s a part of Italy that many tourists don’t know about, and Umbria is known as the Green Heart of Italy. In Tuoro, we stayed in a charming small hotel called I Capricci di Merion, which we can thoroughly recommend.
I belong to a writing group and decided to write about restoring a house in Italy. So many people have written books about restoring houses there that I made mine
into a novel. It’s called A Villa in Umbria (Amazon). In our restoration, we didn’t suffer the dreadful nightmares that many people did, as we had the guiding hand of a local geometra.
Swimming with God
Marion Ingram, Probus Club of Bacchus Marsh
How fortunate I am when I look back over many years of summer holidays and find it quite difficult to recall which one was best!
I had a glorious childhood, one where I always knew I was safe and loved. As the youngest of six children, I seemed to get away with a bit more than the others – although they never ceased to remind me of that fact.
This particular summer was pretty momentous because it was the year I was turning six and I went swimming with God!
My parents were friendly with a bishop from the then Church of England, and each year they would come to the coast camping and we would have a wonderful time of family picnics and games together.
This particular day, I wanted to go into the surf, but mum and dad weren’t keen. However, Bishop C. volunteered to take me, so off we went. As the water got up to my waist, Bishop C. hoisted me up onto his shoulders and continued walking until the water was lapping around his shoulders.
What went through this five-year-old mind? “I’m swimming with God, and nothing can harm me.”
Austrian adventure
Monika Zechetmayr, Toodyay Probus Club
Recently, my husband and I travelled in a clockwise direction through Austria and later stayed several days in Qatar. We drove from the west via Berchtesgaden/Koenigsee to the Gesaeuse Mountains, visited the Wachau’s famous castles and monasteries/churches, and enjoyed wines followed by Vienna and its many sights.
Despite the state of Burgenland’s devastating weather, we experienced fabulous food, wine, sights and accommodations, followed by attractions “off the beaten track” that caused us to explore wonderful marvels of places, scenes and vistas.
At the Mittersee’s Seeboden we enjoyed the summer activities offered there before we ventured over the spectacular Grossglockner, and to Krimml Waterfalls and Swarovski Crystal Worlds.
This year’s interlude between our trip and Australia was spent in Qatar. English is the second language in school, so communication is easy. However, four days were insufficient to experience all of the amazing sights of Qatar. We will be back.
Probians’ European tour
Carolyn Lee, Combined Probus Club of Tunstall
We departed Melbourne for our European summer holiday with great excitement and anticipation. The group arrived in London for four free days’ sightseeing, and we saw it all: Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament. It was all fantastic.
We then took the Eurostar to Paris and enjoyed four fun-filled days that included a ride in 10 multi-coloured Citroen wonder cars to take us on a guided night tour around the city. What a thrill on a balmy night in the City of Lights.
This was followed by a six-day river cruise along the Seine to the delightful village of Honfleur. Then we travelled to Giverny’s garden and house in Vernon as well as Duclair and Rouen.
Next stop: Copenhagen, where we enjoyed the Tivoli Gardens, but were told by officials that we were too old to ride the dodgem cars!
In Sweden, we crossed the eight-kilometre-long Oresund Bridge to Malmo, then set off on a 12-day cruise around Belgium, the UK, Spain and Portugal, where we ate the famous Portuguese tarts and sampled delicious, sweet sherry while travelling down steep streets aboard the famous ancient tourist trams. Such fun with all your Probus friends.
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