Meet Me – Ron Montgomery

My passion for all things foreign stemmed from an early age pouring over the much-loved pages of the home Atlas. National Geographic magazines were piled in stacks around my room and my father’s obsession with European history (especially Scandinavian) was infectious. As soon as I turned 18 I was out the door, out of the country and off to Paris where I lived in a little apartment and worked in a café while studying French. This experience profoundly changed my life in a myriad of ways, and now 2 decades and many countries later I get to help others with their journeys. I take great satisfaction when I see my clients have gotten what they were looking for from their holiday.

Favourite destination: It’s a close tie between India and Italy. India, with all the colours and chaos, incredible food and warmth of the people is still so vibrant in my mind years later, and every time I send clients off on their own journey there I wonder if I can sneak into their suitcase…and then Italy, passionate people, majestic countrysides and cobblestone streets. Go for a stroll, turn a corner and find yourself face to face with a building or site straight out of a movie. Italy is my favourite country to find a little outside pub or bar, order a local wine and lunch and watch the people and the world go by.

Destination I am dreaming about right now: South America, specifically Argentina and Buenos Aires. The “Europe of South America” with a very strong cafe culture, colonial architecture, Latin flavours like the tango, and wide avenues reminiscent of the Champs Elysee. It is also a great gateway for Iguazu Falls, Patagonia and the Antarctic. I’d happily spend a month there living like a local before a cruise to the Antarctic.

A close second would be a Botswana Safari in Africa before a self drive in Namibia.