About Me
My name is Brendan. Born in Sydney, lived in London, and now home in Melbourne, Australia.
I love travelling, taking photographs, history, reading and art. I love to visit places where I can try new foods and wine and then have a go replicating the cuisine when I return home.
I have a bias towards Europe, especially Italy.
Somehow any itinerary for a holiday must include at least one Roman or Greek archaeological site. I have been known to plan an entire trip around visiting one and then working out what else there is to see nearby.
Preference is for staying in smaller towns and villages over the cities. Now there is nothing wrong with exploring cities (I do like them); it is just I think there is something special about staying in a place where the pace of life is different, and areas of interest aren’t so obvious.
Part of the fun of travel is in the planning. I have read somewhere once that planning a holiday can almost be as good for your wellbeing as going on the holiday itself. There is something in that. I love planning holidays and reading up about new places.
Even when I don’t have a holiday in mind, I am jotting down potential places to visit. When a holiday becomes possible, I revisit this ever-expanding list and check if I can see an itinerary forming and, if so, bingo the planning begins!
My only rule is I select a region (or regions) that are new to me. I then research up on towns and work out which one will give me the best opportunity to visit other cities in the surrounding area.
If it is a town or city, I have visited before I only return there if I have found new things to do and see.
My interest in Italy began in May 1999. I visited Italy for the first time and spent three weeks in Tuscany. I spent or got stuck in San Gimignano for nine days.
One Sunday about six of us staying at the youth hostel did a hike from San Gimignano around the vineyards. When we stopped for lunch at the top of a hill with San Gimignano in the background, the Australians amongst the group referenced the Aussie movie “The Castle”, and all said in unison “How’s the serenity? So much serenity.”
Now 20 years later, Italy remains one of my favourite destinations and ever since I have opted to plan my trips independently.
The idea for Bren Mark Travels came to me last year while I was walking in the countryside, somewhere in Tuscany. Something along the lines of I love to travel, and I love planning holidays. Why not blog about it?
And now after returning from a fantastic trip in 2018, I have decided to share my photos and travel stories on a blog. I now want to do this for real. I want to help other people plan their trips.
And this is why I have created Bren Mark Travels.