Making friends around the globe: how travel brings people together

Friends from the UK, John and Sue Speight, visited Cookie and Keller in Montana, where we took them exploring.
We met on a Southeast Asia cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore, shared two weeks on the road and determined
to keep in touch.  They hope to return to the U.S. and we will visit them soon in their Yorkshire, England, home.

Virginia Mock and Brent Morgan visited us in 
Montana after we spent two weeks together in the
Caribbean.  We met at a musical theater trivia
contest and took them to Tippet Rise Art Center. 

FROM ISRAEL TO ENGLAND, NEW ZEALAND TO NORWAY, TRAVEL CONNECTS US WITH FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS
PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

OUR HAPPIEST times are when we're traveling, partly because of the newness and enrichment it brings, meeting like-minded people along the way.

Bob and Sue Hulbert, left, traveled to
Montana and we often visit them in
Los Angeles.  Bob and Keller explored
Saudi Arabia together. We have also
traveled together in San Francisco. 
Here we enjoy Disney Music Center.

Friends. Global, curious, liberal thinking people we've met exploring Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, the United Kingdom and the Americas -- U.S., Canada, Brazil, Peru.

Barbie and Tom Davidson, right, of New
Zealand, joined us on Times Square
in New York City for Broadway shows. We
met in a chorus on a trans-Atlantic cruise.
Cookie was pianist and Barbie conductor.

WE HAVE a large, loving, fun-seeking circle of international friends and we've met them all on our world travels. They contribute richly to our lives, enhancing our perspective on the world, educating us in new ways, providing insight into their cultures and thought processes, priorities, family life, ideas and goals.
When we lecture about travel, and share our stories and photographs, we remember with fondness meeting people with whom we've stayed in touch.

Carlos Montero of Ecuador, met
Keller on a scuba dive 45 years ago.
Fred Fisher, right, shares our love of
east Africa. Together for paella dinner.

When we say, "You must come visit" we mean it.
And if our new road-tripping friends invite us, we probably will do so, as we've done with friends in Norway, Israel, Australia and elsewhere.
Jerusalem journey, Israel highlight
WE'VE MET many wonderful couples on trans-Atlantic cruises:  Yosh and Shula from Tel Aviv, Ronna and Larry from Florida, Michael and Doc from Washington, D.C., Virginia and Brent from Arkansas, Lawrence and Patrick from Sydney, Australia, Nam and Freida from Melbourne, Bev and Sidway from Denver, while exploring the Amazon, Barbie and Tom from New Zealand, John and Sue from England.

Friends through cruising, touring and trivia contests are planning a reunion.

 And so many others.
Our Yorkshire pals visited us last summer for a memorable trip through Montana's prettiest places, with a dip into Yellowstone National Park, Cody, Wyo., and Red Lodge.
We met on a Southeast Asia cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore, took a sidetrip to Bangkok and prowled the hiking and bike paths of Vietnam together.

Yosh Wichman and Bruce Keller at the Dead Sea.
Shula and Yosh hosted us to a fabulous Israel tour.

When we heard during dinner that Montana was on their bucket list, we invited them. During their visit, they extended an invitation to Yorkshire, and we'll soon be with them again enjoying the cathedrals, history and landscape of their beautiful corner of the world.

Cookie and Shula Romero Wichman
of Tel Aviv enjoy dinner in Las Vegas.

Table mates on our cruise ship, the Speights,
invited us to tour Bangkok with them,
here in a tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace. 

OUR ISRAELI friends, Yosh and Shula Wichman, were our trivia buddies and fans of my piano music on a cruise through the Canary Islands with an Atlantic crossing.  We met on a jeep tour of the craters of Tenerife, along with another adventuresome couple, Ronna and Larry Schultz.  We've kept in touch and cruised and vacationed again with these friends, meeting up in Florida, the south of France and Las Vegas.
All these friends are world travelers. 
Our mutual spirit of adventure, love of language, history the arts and architecture fuel our curiosity.  We all share a hope for world peace and these similarities fuel our desire for travel. Yosh and Shula met our ship a couple years ago in Haifa and toured us around the wonderful country, a land I've visited multiple times. It was a magnificent two-day tour, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.
TAKE A CHANCE on new friendship -- join a table, say hello to the folks across the aisle, ask if there's room for you at the trivia table. It could be the beginning of an enriching new experience.

Venice is captured from the rooftop of the Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel.

UP NEXT:  Venice is one of the world's most visited, photographed and written about cities.  Come with us to explore the palaces, squares, cafes and museums, all of which make Venice so memorable and inviting. Take time to visit the outer "lagoon islands" while you're there, or if you're planning a trip for later this summer. Remember to explore, learn and live and catch a new post each week on travel, the arts, nature and family at whereiscookie.com