Amanda, one of the UK’s best known actresses, recently joined Jennie on the Silver Travel Show to talk about her passion for travel and some of her recent trips.
In the beginning
As a child, Amanda Redman lived in South Africa for a few months, due to her father’s job and visited a few countries on the continent there. However, most of her childhood holidays were spent in Spain and Italy, which whetted her appetite for travel, indeed fuelled a passion for it. She believes the planet is big, endlessly different and stunningly beautiful: travelling around it takes you out of your own little world. And exploring can be a real privilege.
Flumping and more
However, everyone needs to relax, so Amanda and her husband take ‘flumping’ holidays, they flop and drop on beautiful beaches in other words. Bali and India are favourites and their recent visit to the Seychelles was a success, Amanda would very much like to go back there for a spot of island-hopping. She described the food as out of this world, a good reason to return for anyone!
Incredible Israel
For their wedding anniversary each September, Amanda and her husband take it in turns to choose a culturally interesting place to visit, keeping it a surprise. This year Amanda picked Israel and it surpassed expectations for them both. She found it exotic, extraordinary and multi-cultural as well as totally unexpected. The diversity of people and faiths, all rubbing along together was, she felt, something we might all aspire to and not at all as Israel is portrayed in the media.
Amanda found the Old City of Jerusalem, with the Wailing Wall, Golden Mosque and Via Dolorosa, incredible. The ancient history, in every monument, is beautifully preserved and the reality of being in Biblical places is powerful. The Yehuda market was a splendid mix of Jewish and Muslim traders, with a huge variety of products, foods and smells, tiny cobbled streets and an atmosphere that has stayed the same for centuries. Amanda also recommends visiting Galilee and Nazareth, both places she declared fantastic too.
September is the perfect time to visit, when the climate is temperate, tourists are fewer and after the Jewish festivals, the pace of life is more relaxed.
Israel certainly fulfilled the requirement of being culturally interesting for the wedding anniversary trip! Where, she wondered, will next year’s trip be?
Listen to Amanda chatting to Jennie Carr about her travel experiences.
For discovery and exploration in Israel and beyond, Silver Travel Advisor recommends Cox & Kings.
