| Madeira cake from France and Tenerife in | | | | interest as their location as long as its |
| Bulgaria | | | | warm and sunny with cheap booze available. |
| | | | |
| The other day, I was sitting at my favourite | | | | Travel destination ignorance is not just a |
| restaurant when I overheard a conversation | | | | British thing. An air stewardess once told me |
| that went something like this: | | | | a story about an American couple visiting |
| | | | their parents country of origin, Bulgaria, |
| First Person: "I think I am going to have a | | | | one February. |
| slice of Madeira cake" | | | | |
| | | | They had used a travel agent in New York to |
| Her Friend: "That's a good idea, I ll join | | | | plan their journey and book the two flights |
| you. Not that Ive got a clue why they call it | | | | that were involved. The first flight took |
| Madeira cake, have you?" | | | | them to London where they boarded the ongoing |
| | | | flight to complete their journey. When this |
| First Person: "I think its named after some | | | | flight landed at Reina Sofia airport the |
| place in France." | | | | couple looked a little flustered and |
| | | | hesitated at the top of the flight steps, |
| I am not sure why that sort of ignorance | | | | turning to the stewardess to ask why |
| about places makes me feel so frustrated. | | | | everywhere looked so sub tropical and sunny, |
| After all, why should everyone be as | | | | and adding that their parents had always told |
| fascinated by travel and far away places as I | | | | them that Bulgaria was cold in February. At |
| am? Whatever the reason, I just could not | | | | first, the stewardess was at a loss to think |
| help myself interrupting the two women as | | | | of anything that could possibly explain how |
| soon as they had ordered their cake to inform | | | | someone trying to get to Bulgaria in Eastern |
| them that Madeira is a Portuguese island | | | | Europe could end up on a flight to Tenerife |
| about four hundred miles off of the north | | | | in the Canary Islands. Then she realized |
| African coast in the Atlantic ocean. I added | | | | that the name of Bulgarias capital city is |
| that it makes a fabulous holiday destination | | | | Sofia. She asked the couple whether they |
| but did bother to tell them that it is | | | | thought they had boarded a flight to Sofia, |
| actually not one island but an archipelago | | | | Bulgaria. The answer was yes and it turned |
| and actually an autonomous region of | | | | out that their travel agent had probably just |
| Portugal. | | | | typed Sofia Flights into her computer and |
| | | | accepted the results that the query gave |
| Just as well - their expressions told me that | | | | without questioning any further! |
| I had already said more than they were | | | | |
| interested in knowing. | | | | Best travel tips and holiday destination |
| | | | information |
| This attitude of having little or no interest | | | | |
| in travel destinations is actually very | | | | Travel destination ignorance rubs me up the |
| common and it is not confined to people who | | | | wrong way because I am so passionate about |
| are generally under educated. Frequent | | | | travel and that is also the reason that I |
| examples can be seen on television quiz shows | | | | started up a website dedicated to providing |
| when contestants who are obviously well | | | | information, articles and travel tips, about |
| educated stumble on simple questions like; | | | | holiday or vacation destinations worldwide. |
| | | | As well as wanting to help people to make the |
| Which of the following is not a Caribbean | | | | right decisions when planning their |
| island (A) Jamaica (B)Cuba (C) Majorca (D) | | | | vacations, I hope the travel articles will |
| Barbados | | | | fire peoples imaginations so that they can |
| | | | enjoy dreaming about places they have never |
| Even more incredible are the people you | | | | been to, even if they never get around to |
| sometimes overhear in a travel agent, booking | | | | visiting them. |
| holidays to resorts without having any | | | | |