This is an inspiration I just had to share

Haven’t heard from The Balloonman for a while
Here is what he is up to right now . First email was sent to his large list of followers …followed by some back and forth from an incredulous follower ( me)

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Hungary Greetings From Budapest!

Almost one month ago, I mentioned having received a special invitation that prompted me to begin a new adventure, beginning with a visit with friends near Marseille, France. So much has happened since then; many amazing experiences have unfolded for me.

Before sharing anything about particulars, the first thing I feel like expressing is something that is not new, but is always with me: I love life!

Even though I have no idea what life is, I think I have a fairly good idea of how it works. In spite of thinking I basically know how life works, I am always amazed by the continuous flow of surprises that life supplies me with, all of the time. Another thing I’m amazed by is how incredibly fortunate I am. Included in this overwhelming good fortune is how unbelievably kind and helpful people are to me, magnitudes beyond anything I might reasonably expect.

The invitation to France that I wrote of came from a man by the name of François Audouze. It was in 2018 that I first became aware of François, when I happened upon an online article telling about the ‘wine-dinners’ he hosts. After reading about the dinners and also about François, I had a strong interest to participate in one of the wine-dinners. As a result, a few months later in 2018 I went to Paris to enjoy an evening with François and eight other guests. That wonderful experience led to my participating in another wine-dinner with the same group of people in May of 2019, in Épernay, France. During these two times together, I got to know François a little, . It was because of this connection that François extended the invitation to spend some unhurried time together and why I readily accepted.

François and his wife, Silke, live in Paris most of the year. They also have a home east of Marseille, in a small town called Carqueiranne, where they spend the summer months every year. It’s right on the coast of the Mediterranean. François calls this a ‘little paradise’. I can now confirm this description is an apt one.

Their home in Carqueiranne is not just beautiful, it is comfortable, friendly and fun, just like it’s owners! More than that, François & Silke are gracious and generous. In a very real sense, François facilitates fantasies, including his own. In a way, I guess that’s what we all do and François does it in his own special way. All my experiences with him have been fantastic fantasies, including the week I spent as his guest.

Here’s the link to photos taken while I was a guest at their special paradise by the sea

https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/Other/Paradise-Found/

The invitation from François was a worthy excuse to begin what is unsurprisingly developing into substantial travels. My initial visit to ‘paradise’ was just the start of a trend; since then, I have been treated to share the personal paradises with other friends. From Carqueiranne, I visited friends near Tours, France. From there, I went to Brittany, France by ‘two horses’. With no more room to go westward, I went east by train and plane to Venice, then by bus to Slovenia to visit with yet more friends for a week. On Saturday, I came by train to Budapest. Having finished my dinner here, tomorrow I’ll head to the Balkans for some dessert!

All of the above travels will be covered later, with photos, as time allows.

Enjoy your own special paradise, wherever you find it!

Bill

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WOW No words for this place and these people
I was wondering where in the World you were Bill
This is breathtaking…every photo…
Looking forward to the next chapter

Bon Voyage

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Thanks, Gary, glad to know you continue to enjoy the journeys with me through the photos and stories.

Can you guess where I am right this minute?! The big hint I’ll give is that you posted a few days ago about having never heard of this place. The truth is, neither had I! It was not my intention to come here, but there was no other reasonable route, so here I am. Where????

For bonus points, can you guess the name of the airport I will make a flight from tomorrow afternoon? It’s also related to something you posted within the last few days.

Good luck with the answers!

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Wow so you are in the autonomous province of Vojvodina …Northern Serbia

and flying from

Nicola Tesla Airport Belgrade
Ha !
What do I get ?

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Ha! For TWO correct answers, you get two BIG pats on the back when I next see you. Good going!!!
The town hall in Subotica is really beautiful. The photo below is not mine, but from the web.

I’m spending the night in Subotica, will take a bus to Belgrade tomorrow morning and then fly to Sarajevo from Nicola Tesla Airport. Very cool- I knew you’d enjoy that. Also cool that your daughter is married to a Serb. On the way to Belgrade, I’ll go through Novi Sad. If all the schedules work well, I’ll make it from Sarajevo to Mostar before sunset tomorrow.

Cheers to you my friend!

Bill
Subotica

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1 WEEK LATTER

Greetings from Iraq!

I’ve been driving around Turkey and found it was possible to cross into Iraq, so here I am about 46km from Mosul. Kurds are friendly. Just visited the Rabban Hermizd Chaldean Monastery- it’s old Christian.

It’s always been an interesting world and still is.

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A minute ago you were in Serbia …now Iraq ?
What is your mode of transportation ? Obviously not Camel or Donkey
Kurds ? No Way !
I cannot and will never be able to comprehend how you do all this Bill !
This blows me away
You can just drive into Iraq from Turkey ?
What was the border scrutiny like ?

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Just now crossed back into Turkey. I went by foot, then hired a taxi to take me to some places of interest. The border was crazy, but individuals made it easy for me going both ways. It can take many hours each way, but everyone waved me right through. As I’ve mentioned, people are really good to me everywhere.

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By Foot ?
Still shaking my head here …LOL
You are unique in this world Ballooonman
Keep me posted…I am sure there is much more to come
I don’t suppose Covid is a thing anywhere over there eh ?
But YOU cannot enter Turdistan under any circumstances …ya hear ?

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On this trip, I’ve been using planes, trains & automobiles. And buses. Today was by foot, just to cross the border. When I arrived in Istanbul, I rented a car and then drove the entire length of Turkey, along the Black Sea, before turning inland along the eastern edge. Yesterday, I bumped into the border with Iraq, so decided to go across the border today to take a look around.

Here’s a rough sketch of my travels so far since arriving in Europe:

Regarding covid, surprisingly I actually had to submit to a PCR test to get into Iraq. It was a mouth swab (thankfully not a Klaus Swab). They didn’t seem interested in the results, only in administering the test. My guess is Iraq government receives a lot of US money, so they do whatever the US requires, including testing.

Yes, there will be much more. My visa for Tajikistan was approved a couple of days ago. On August 1st, I’ll arrive in Dushanbe and then go exploring very remote places, way out in the boonies, up very high in the Pamir mountains.

I’ve hired a Tajik man to be my guide for two months. We met in 2019 when I was crossing the border from Afghanistan back into Tajikistan, where he helped me get to a hospital to get care for my injured knee. He speaks English well, is a guide and is a real nice guy. Because of covid, he had no clients during the past two years, so he’s been in Moscow the entire time to earn money as a laborer. Now he came back to Tajikistan to guide me.

Will keep you posted when possible.
Cheers!
Bill
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OK…ask him if he worships Putin…asking for a friend named North 🙂
Hopefully he has a Donkey to carry your “bags”

PS Goldballoon is chronologically in his mid 60s !