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