Top tipper: Ian Smith aka Ismith
Been there is all about the people, so it's about time everybody met each other.
Ian Smith is an Aussie chap who married a British woman - and a lust for travelling was born. Does he love it more than racing cars though?
Read on and find out. Check out some of our other tippers here. And don't be shy! If you'd like to share your travel tales simply email us at been.there@guardian.co.uk and we can chat over a cup of coffee and a Hobnob.
How old are you?
52.
Where is your hometown?
Melbourne Australia.
Do you prefer to be home or away from it?!
Having travelled a fair bit with work (to the USA and UK) over the past 20 years or so and with my present employment also requiring travel I'd have to say I like being home.
Where was it that you caught the travel bug?
I married a pom - a lady from Windsor (yes where the castle is) who had emigrated to Australia and she told me about all these places she had been to in Europe and the US and I guess it came from there as I wanted to visit these places.
We'd like to get some sense of your travel history. Have you ever lived abroad, taught abroad?
We tend to take long breaks and travel 6-8 weeks at a time if travelling overseas as it takes along time to get anywhere from Oz.
Do you prefer hotels to hostels?
We prefer the BandB's or small pensions to large hotels.
Solo or group travel?
Solo (with my wife).
Cities or countryside?
Both! The places we have travelled to have been amazing. Paris enthralled us as did Ephesus in the Turkish country side.
Obviously you've travelled a bit in your own country as a lot of your tips come from there.
I live here (in Melbourne)and before I met my current spouse I travelled widely around Australia.
I still like getting out and trying new places (eateries or restaurants) or going somewhere. Australia is a very big place and there is lots to see. Its size means you can travel through deserts or go to tropical rain forests. Or in winter drive for six hours to snowfields. Its all there, it just takes a lot time to see it.
If you had to sum up your travelling style in three words what would you say?
Simple, easy, relaxed.
Where are you planning to go to next and why?
An argument is raging! She wants to do Rome and I want to do Ireland and as well, both of us want to do New York. The compromise may be an around-worlder with a stop-off in Hawaii (which we love) on the way home. Its time we went somewhere again as it over two years since we ventured overseas.
Where is your favourite view?
Here at home - watching the sun go down across the bay while sitting in one of our favourite restaurants.
And away? The views from Les Baux in southern France took our breath away.
Do you feel like your life has been enhanced through travelling?
Yes because there is a whole world out there with different cultures, different history to home. It's easy to forget that Australia is a very young (white settlement in 1776) country with a very old (40,000+ years) culture from our
indigenous peoples.
Do you go away to places expecting to come back with particular experiences under your belt.
No, not really. We go away with open minds. Australians are now known as travellers and I think that comes from our past with Australian diggers fighting in France or Gallipoli or Egypt and bringing home tales of these places (which are still favourite visiting places today).
Describe a weekend day in your hometown.
Australians love sport and I am no different. I may play golf or indulge in my other interest- motorsport.
I used to race motorcycles and now I race sedans. I also belong to a car club. Other than that being close, we can go for a stroll along the beach anytime. We may also go out to a local cafe or bistro for a quick lunch or with local eateries providing more than a dozen different cuisines, we usually head out to somewhere to eat for dinner at night.
Can you tell us about your best moment travelling - even if it's in your hometown?
One? That's hard because there have been some quite memorable instances that come to mind from our travels.
We have done the touristy things (everyone does Universal Studios in LA) or lived with the locals (we lived with a farming family in Provence for a week) but the one thing we hark back to is stumbling upon a place called Villefranche -sur-mer in the Cote d'Azur. We want to retire there!
Ipod or book?
I can't live without email but it has to be a book.
Most essential item?
Map.
Ian Smith is an Aussie chap who married a British woman - and a lust for travelling was born. Does he love it more than racing cars though?
Read on and find out. Check out some of our other tippers here. And don't be shy! If you'd like to share your travel tales simply email us at been.there@guardian.co.uk and we can chat over a cup of coffee and a Hobnob.
How old are you?
52.
Where is your hometown?
Melbourne Australia.
Do you prefer to be home or away from it?!
Having travelled a fair bit with work (to the USA and UK) over the past 20 years or so and with my present employment also requiring travel I'd have to say I like being home.
Where was it that you caught the travel bug?
I married a pom - a lady from Windsor (yes where the castle is) who had emigrated to Australia and she told me about all these places she had been to in Europe and the US and I guess it came from there as I wanted to visit these places.
We'd like to get some sense of your travel history. Have you ever lived abroad, taught abroad?
We tend to take long breaks and travel 6-8 weeks at a time if travelling overseas as it takes along time to get anywhere from Oz.
Do you prefer hotels to hostels?
We prefer the BandB's or small pensions to large hotels.
Solo or group travel?
Solo (with my wife).
Cities or countryside?
Both! The places we have travelled to have been amazing. Paris enthralled us as did Ephesus in the Turkish country side.
Obviously you've travelled a bit in your own country as a lot of your tips come from there.
I live here (in Melbourne)and before I met my current spouse I travelled widely around Australia.
I still like getting out and trying new places (eateries or restaurants) or going somewhere. Australia is a very big place and there is lots to see. Its size means you can travel through deserts or go to tropical rain forests. Or in winter drive for six hours to snowfields. Its all there, it just takes a lot time to see it.
If you had to sum up your travelling style in three words what would you say?
Simple, easy, relaxed.
Where are you planning to go to next and why?
An argument is raging! She wants to do Rome and I want to do Ireland and as well, both of us want to do New York. The compromise may be an around-worlder with a stop-off in Hawaii (which we love) on the way home. Its time we went somewhere again as it over two years since we ventured overseas.
Where is your favourite view?
Here at home - watching the sun go down across the bay while sitting in one of our favourite restaurants.
And away? The views from Les Baux in southern France took our breath away.
Do you feel like your life has been enhanced through travelling?
Yes because there is a whole world out there with different cultures, different history to home. It's easy to forget that Australia is a very young (white settlement in 1776) country with a very old (40,000+ years) culture from our
indigenous peoples.
Do you go away to places expecting to come back with particular experiences under your belt.
No, not really. We go away with open minds. Australians are now known as travellers and I think that comes from our past with Australian diggers fighting in France or Gallipoli or Egypt and bringing home tales of these places (which are still favourite visiting places today).
Describe a weekend day in your hometown.
Australians love sport and I am no different. I may play golf or indulge in my other interest- motorsport.
I used to race motorcycles and now I race sedans. I also belong to a car club. Other than that being close, we can go for a stroll along the beach anytime. We may also go out to a local cafe or bistro for a quick lunch or with local eateries providing more than a dozen different cuisines, we usually head out to somewhere to eat for dinner at night.
Can you tell us about your best moment travelling - even if it's in your hometown?
One? That's hard because there have been some quite memorable instances that come to mind from our travels.
We have done the touristy things (everyone does Universal Studios in LA) or lived with the locals (we lived with a farming family in Provence for a week) but the one thing we hark back to is stumbling upon a place called Villefranche -sur-mer in the Cote d'Azur. We want to retire there!
Ipod or book?
I can't live without email but it has to be a book.
Most essential item?
Map.