- Do you enjoy travelling for pleasure?
- Do you think of yourself as a tourist or as a traveller?
- Talk about your preferences when travelling: type of holiday, accommodation, destination, group or individual, means of transport, etc.
- Describe a disastrous journey you experienced.
- Talk about some problems you have had when travelling.
- How often do you try to get away for a short break? Where do you go?
- Do you prefer to be picked up and/or dropped off when going on holiday? Or would you rather do it alone? Why?
- Do you enjoy staying at friends' places or would you rather go to a hotel? Why?
- What is your opinion of theme parks? Do you enjoy visiting them? Talk about your experience.
- What are the three most beautiful or interesting places that you would recommend people visit in your country? Why?
- Do you think travel broadens the mind? Why or why not?
A: Hi. I love travelling around my home country of Brazil and since settling in London I miss being there. But I’ve found this little café near where I live where lots of Brazilians go at the weekend, so I spend lots of time there. Today I’m going to be talking to people about travelling and their favourite places. Do you have any holidays or trips planned?
E: Um, I’ve just been on holiday, so I just came back last week from Singapore. And that was just amazing! It was a really good
time over there.
Ed: Yeah, in about six weeks I shall be going to Barbados for a fortnight, and I’m really looking forward to it.
L: Yes, I do, I’m going to Canada this summer. I go to Canada every summer because that’s where my family is.
J: Er, I haven’t got any dates planned yet but we will, shall probably be off for our usual three weeks in Spain. I think probably August.
R: Erm, I’m going to Center Parcs next week with some friends from uni. And er, then I’m going to Scotland for my cousin’s wedding and, er, I’m going to visit a friend who lives in Spain for a week as well.
Z: In about a month’s time I’m going to Kuala Lumpar, er, to visit some uni friends out there who are working, so I’m looking
forward to that.
I: Er, for the time being not yet, maybe Scotland, uh, in a few months’ time.
Ja: I haven’t got something planned er, concrete er, but I [’m] next year intend to travel to China via the trans-Siberian railway. Er, I want to start off in St Petersburg and end up in Beijing. I’ve got some friends who live in Beijing.
M: I’m here from Australia so we’re here on a working holiday at the moment so … yes, so New York in August, and we’re
hoping to get to Scotland if the money allows it.
A: Do you have a favourite place?
E: I really like to go to places where I’ve been as a child, so um, we always went to the north sea of the... of the part of Germany, Büsum. It’s a tiny village but I spent half my youth there and it was just amazing summer holidays so I like to go
back there, just for the memories.
Ed: Well, I was born in Trinidad and er, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tobago is tranquillity for me, you know.
R: Erm, I don’t particularly go to the same place a lot because I quite like to explore, so I prefer to go to all different places.
J: My favourite place to go on holiday is probably still Corfu – a little place called Ayastefanos which we used to go to until my daughter became eight and started to get bored with the village life, so we had to get somewhere more lively. Um, now, we tend to go to Spain.
Z: Erm, I do enjoy going to south Wales at least once a year. I grew up there and I enjoy going back there now, you know, just to see old friends and the old places I used to go.
I: There are a few favourite places in London that I just visit occasionally, a few parks that I like, ah, such as Hampstead Heath here.
M: Maybe my nana’s house in Melbourne. We often, we live in Ballarat, so it’s an hour and a half drive and ever since we were little girls we’ve always gone down there and stayed with our grandparents and it’s always happy memories there.
Ja: I do have a favourite place in the world actually. I used to live in er, Sydney, Australia, and there was a, erm, a hidden beach down on the south coast that erm, I used to go and erm, not many people went there. It was very quiet and I, I love going there just for a bit of peace and quiet.
A: Do you have a regular haunt that you like to visit?
E: At the moment I’m living in Hackney, so in East London, and it’s, there’s a really brilliant market, it’s called the Broadway Market. It’s every Saturday and it’s just amazing – so there’s lots of art people, lots of music people, it’s really ... good food. It’s a really, really nice place to be on a Saturday, and just to relax.
L: Well, there’s a coffee shop called Kaffeine that’s over in Fitzrovia, closer to Oxford Circus that’s, that’s got a really nice atmosphere, it’s got great coffee and great food but it’s independently owned and everyone who works there is really nice.
And it always just feels like a really comfortable place to sit around, chat with friends, or even go there and do some work.
I: There is a nice little Brazilian café that I like, basically because they make good coffee – which is important. And it’s also two
minutes from where I live.
J: I suppose my most regular haunt is probably Lord’s Cricket Ground, where I spend, according to my wife, far too much time.
But er, I go there when I can.
Ja: One of my favourite places to visit in London, er, would be Primrose Hill. I think that’s one of the most beautiful spots. London doesn’t normally have many places where you can go to get a good view of the city, er, but I think from there, because it’s a hill it’s a little bit away from the city. Um, it’s a lovely spot: sitting on the top there, there are a few benches on the top of that hill and, er, just to go there in the evenings and relax, maybe read a book and er, take in, take in the view. I would say it’s my favourite spot in London.
R: There’s actually a place called Fleet River Bakery. It’s quite near my university and it’s one of those places in London you can go and feel like you’re not in London because it’s so, quite hidden away and it’s not very touristy so I quite like it because it’s um, kind of ‘olde worlde’ and it’s got a, um, log fire and you can just get away from it all and meet your friends and it’s nice.
