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A strange thing happens at departure lounges as the doors swoosh shut behind you.

I am not inked. I am a clean skin, a blank canvas. However, I am intrigued by tattoos. I decided to enter the lair at the Australian Tattoo Expo; a little reticent at first, ok intimidated, in I went.

Doug Stephens knows he's not alone. Dulled by years of alcohol and drugs his senses, once razor sharp, don't desert him. He feels it strongly now. His scalp tingles. A sure sign. To an untrained eye everything appears normal.

It was never intended as the ghouls’ tour. When stepping inside Westminster Abbey, a who’s who of dead people, it dawned on me there’s going to be a lot of this over the next eight weeks.

Most major attractions want you to pre-book and pay online. A barcode is sent to your smart phone which you flash over a reader at your destination. Note: It’s only a smart phone if it has a smart user. I’ll take my chances at the gate.

Almost impossible to not fall under her spell this imperious beauty dominates the landscape. Mount Vesuvius at 1,281 metres high lives up to her reputation as a tempestuous beast with a history of causing devastation when angered.

Travel broadens our world view and shapes how we fit in it. We need to stand next to a national icon, natural or man-made, it doesn’t matter. It’s a point of personal validation, a “look where I am” life moment.

Grabbed my Opal card and bolted out the door. First morning in London and off to Big Ben. The first thing I wanted to behold, and I did. Three minutes to twelve. From Westminster Bridge I gazed lovingly into his handsome face. I waited. Overcast and light drizzle not withstanding I stood and wept through twelve bongs!!!!!!!!!!!!!