Richards Travels

Thanks to my parents there are some good memories though sadly no images. The summer of 1964 was my first memory when we spent 2 weeks in south west Ireland. Flying from Heathrow with Cambrian Airways to Cork, how I was not sick on that journey. My first flight and I was frightened. A small plane with 1 propeller to each wing.
Anyway at Cork airport my father had booked a hire car, a ford zephyr (box-shape). It seemed a big car, bigger than our triumph at home. We drove to Cork city centre and parked nearby the sea wall. Youre probably wondering where we are going with this, well 2 hours later after taking lunch in a nearby hotel we came to where we thought the car was, no car! I remember the panic. However I was quite an observant young boy, noticing the surroundings were slightly different, and found the car in another similar area.
Our holiday destination was at Southern Lake Hotel, Waterville, Co. Kerry. Other memories there were the enormous ice creams that were served up, beach parties, and having trout that I caught prepared and cooked by the hotel chef.

In 1965 we spent 2 weeks in Italy, one week at The Grand Hotel, Tremezzo on Lake Como and one week at Hotel Astoria in Riva del Garda on Lake Garda. The journey there will stay with me for ever for different reasons.
Travelling overnight on a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. Then a train 'Rheingold Express' on a 17-hour journey to Basle partly along the Rhine. At Basle our train was reduced by 5 carriages at the rear, where we were sat. Picture this as my sister and myself are waiting patiently on the platform for our mother who did not vacate the carriage quick enough and unceremoniously shunted into the sidings somewhere, and furthermore watch our (shortened) train leave the platform. We took a train to Lugano, then took a coach through the Swiss/Italian border to Tremezzo, actually not quite, as naturally we had to produce our passports at the border, and mother had packed them. The coach could not wait and we had to wait what seemed like hours for a taxi. To cap it all my sister was sick in the taxi. By the way the holiday was fantastic.