On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Dr Francis Boorman. Francis is a British historian, an expert on certain 18th-century happenings in London. While not researching and writing books and papers Francis enjoys travel and exploring new and interesting places. What's a little more unique is that Francis uses his wheelchair to explore places afar and has managed to visit every continent except Australia, and Antarctica but let's not count that. Francis is an experienced...
Jun 24, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 25
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Morgane Thöni. Morgane is from France but moved to Canada a couple of years ago where she works as a brewer in a rural brewery, kind of in the middle of nowhere, like a lot of Canada one could argue. Being French, I expected Morgane to be into wines (6:20) but Morgane is very much into her beers. Perhaps spending a lot of time in Germany studying, travelling and of course, drinking has something to do with that? Morgane and I met i...
Jun 17, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 24
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Sixtina from sixmilesaway.com her website and blog. Sixtina says that travelling and living in diverse countries has helped shape her into the person she is today. Evolving from a self-proclaimed rebellious teenager, intolerant and stubborn, who wanted things her own way to a more rounded, simple-living woman who speaks multiple languages, is more tolerant, more patient, open-minded, spontaneous and good-humoured. Is this the resul...
Jun 10, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 23
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Valentina, aka "Kooky" from KookyLovestoTravel.com. She is a digital nomad, writer, and content creator with a big passion for photography and an even bigger passion for life. Valentina left her home in Croatia years ago and has since lived in three European countries and travelled through 13 or more. In this way, we are from a similar experience. But how does someone who loves to travel and explore like this respond to a global cr...
Jun 03, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 22
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Emma Krebs. Emma is a lovely, friendly Canadian girl. She's still in her early twenties, so I am old in comparison and find myself sometimes today referring to people of a similar university age, like Emma is, as "kids" but not Emma. She has a wisdom, maturity, and a level of self-esteem as well as common sense far beyond her years. Whether this has anything to do with her unquenchable curiosity (so much so that she had to create a...
May 27, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 21
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Simon Palmer. Simon has been practising architecture for well over ten years in his home country of Australia and abroad too. The interesting thing about Simon, in discovering who he is and what path he would choose as a 20-year-old, is that his decisions stemmed from experiences abroad and the solo travels he made between studying at high school and undertaking tertiary qualifications. The so-called GAP year you could say:- Get A ...
May 20, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 20
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Clive Drew. Clive and I met in actual 3-Dimensional space over 10 years ago near the end of 2010 on a night out in the East End of London. We have a mutual friend called Chris who organised a curry on the famous, Brick Lane, then to go on and enjoy Clive's gig at 93 Feet East in the old Truman Brewery. Good times - Apart from the overly inflated price of Jamaican lager. Clive is a passionate and creative person with over 12 years o...
May 13, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 19
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Matt Chalupnicek. Matt is another Canadian and fits my descriptor of being cool, charismatic but kinda crazy. We worked together for a few months in Australia when he was travelling the world with Matt, another Matt whom I also worked with. It was a little confusing at times working with two Matts, both Canadian, both kind of crazy. Matt Sebastian was the other Matt in fact, the other Matt who was on the previous podcast episode wi...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 18
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I have two guests on to chat. And these two guests are zooming-in from two different locations on either side of Canada. Today's guests are Matt Sebastian and Shaun McCord. Matt and Shaun are a cycling partnership. Together, they crossed the whole country of Canada, east to west. More or less. Shaun is from the west coast and Matt is from western-ish Canada but their journey together started on the eastern side of Canada, in a hostel in Halifa...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 27
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond podcast, I talk with Tatum Skipper. Tatum is an entrepreneur and travel is at the heartbeat of her enterprise. Some people know her as the fearless travel coach, others know her as the founder of Bonvoyage Babes Travel Blog and others still as host of 20 Till Takeoff podcast. If you've met Tatum on the traveller beat and didn't know these amazing things she is up to in her day-to-day life, you might know Tatum as a no-bullshit, dive headfirst traveller,...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 16
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond podcast, I talk with Drea Castro. Drea is an actress, producer, and also a fellow podcaster who was born in the Philippines and now lives in the USA. She loves the great outdoors (4:15) and uses camping, hiking, just being in nature as her therapy from her super busy work-life in the city. In conversation, we talk about the numerous options that exist in the lower 48 to get out into nature (13:30) with Death Valley being an all-time favourite place for ...
Apr 15, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 15
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, it's just me - Allan Hill, that nostalgic vagabond. Easter Greetings (1:55) to all of you - my lovely listeners. Listen in to this one for a recap (3:35) on the podcast so far from August 2020 until now. Hear what I have discovered to be the best things (6:15) and worst things (9:15) about the podcasting experience during these lockdown days. I remind everyone what the major purpose of the podcast is (10:30) and still is, and then go into a st...
Apr 08, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 14
On this Easter Monday episode release of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I'm talking with Matt Burnett. Matt featured on the 2020 Christmas Special where he played host for an ep and interviewed me, just to mix things up a bit. A job well done too. I enjoyed myself. This time we talk about road trips and how our driving-duo became informally known as the "Road Bogans" from our unique driving adventures where we travel on the cheap, we travel off the beat and we are obliged to go to smaller pla...
Apr 04, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 13
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Chris Ascroft. We chatted on the first series of the podcast, last summer, during the main wave of the coronavirus pandemic, linking up from Liverpool and Montreal to discuss travel, traveller hostel culture and teaching English abroad. At that time Chris was preparing to begin a new adventure in a new country, teaching more than just English as a second language but teaching all kinds of subjects in English to grade 3 kids, and ov...
Mar 28, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 12
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Whitney Saldava. Whitney currently works at NATO and before that she worked as a journalist. You can just google her name and you'll discover loads of articles and various works she's written. Being a polyglot (5:30) and competent in six languages has no doubt helped in her career, though Whitney says the use of languages within her current role is a somewhat touchy issue. You'll hear more about that. In conversation, Whitney expla...
Mar 21, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 11
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I'm talking with Tony. Tony is an American expat living in Vietnam. He's been stuck there (5:00) since the start of the pandemic for more or less a year now. Before the world shut down due to corona he was 8 months into another epic global adventure, continuing to work towards his ambition of exploring every country on planet Earth. In conversation, we discuss how travel, especially intial trips, can have life-changing consequences (11:15) whe...
Mar 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 10
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Tash Samek. Tash is a creative strategy director and founder of Clayton's Cocktails in the UK. We met a few years ago at a screenwriters' conference at Regent's University in London. At that time I was unaware of how many fascinating adventures she had been on over the years in places like Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In conversation, we talk about Tash's initial independent trips away from home (4:50) and the moment s...
Mar 08, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 9
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Catie. Catie is a very optimistic and adventurous student undertaking a Ba Arts at the University of Nevada. As well as working towards her degree Catie is an entrepreneur and recently started an online business. The self-proclaimed "risk-taker" of the family. At only 23, and while studying, Catie has managed to save a bit of money and travelled internationally to 12 different countries so far, all over the world. Her passion has b...
Mar 01, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 8
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Zsófia Sáfár. She's from Hungary and currently bases herself in Budapest and sometimes in Italy where she works as a journalist and has written for multiple print and web publications. Zsófia describes herself as a beginner traveller, (4:30) but from the beginning, she has thrown herself in the deepened. Like cruising with strangers on a digital nomads cruise ship, and then backpacking around South America as her first solo trip. A...
Feb 22, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 7
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Tamara Bee. Tamara is a Canadian / British traveller with 3 decades of adventures and experiences. Her life changed in 1993 when an old school friend convinced her to pack up and embark on an ambitious overland journey across multiple continents from Paris to Cape Town in South Africa. We'll touch on this but mainly recount Tamara's return leg where she hitchhiked back up the coast from South Africa to Nairobi in Kenya. Solo! In co...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 6
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk again with an old travel pal, Jay Canning. Jay was on the very first episode of the podcast way back in August 2020. That time we spoke about how Jay started travelling, with me, in California in 2009 and progressed, becoming more and more adventurous with subsequent trips in the Balkans, Morocco and then tackling the Tran-Siberian railway. A train journey that had fascinated him for years. (If you want to listen to that podcast scroll ...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 5
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Katie and Gaurav. Together they are the "Third Culture Nomads". Katie and Gaurav have been travelling together ever since they met in Singapore. In conversation, we talk about what travelling was like for these guys individually, (9:00) before they were a couple and then how travel has defined (12:00) their relationship. Usually, my guests are solo travellers but in this talk, we focus on factors of maintaining a healthy travelling...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I catch up with Dr Martin Goffriller. Martin was a guest on the first series of the podcast, during the height of the pandemic last year. His episode titled, 'Thinking Road Trips' was well received by some of you so I decided to have him on again. This time to talk about his current vocation as an Associate Professor of Archaeology, working at a tertiary education institution in China. In conversation, we discuss three interesting places in th...
Jan 25, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
On this episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast, I talk with Kevin Russell. Kevin is born and raised here in the UK. He's a proud Scouser, talented musician, and small business owner. Kevin is a real people person which is probably why he has enjoyed being involved with the Couchsurfing community over the years. In conversation, over the phone we reflect on Couchsurfing at home and abroad. According to Wikipedia, Couchsurfing is a global hospitality exchange service accessible via a website ...
Jan 18, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 2
On this initial episode of 'the Nostalgic Vagabond' podcast (series-2) I talk with Ashley Lammle. Ashley hails from Western Australia. He has since moved to Canada for career ambitions, working in heavy industry. Over the years, Ashley has travelled to many fine destinations for work and pleasure and has developed a unique travel philosophy. Ashley strives to become "his" best traveller, one who is proactive in discovering the "local experience". In conversation, we discuss what is the differenc...
Jan 11, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 1
A big thank you to my guests for their contributions to the Nostalgic Vagabond podcast. And, thank you to all the loyal listeners for your support. Thanks to www.thomasforfar.com for creating the soundtrack for the podcast. This episode serves as a quick wrap up for 2020 and to let you know what 2021 has in store for the Nostalgic Vagabond - Until next time...
Dec 31, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 26
On this final, full episode of 2020, the Nostalgic Vagabond Zooms-in across the pond to the USA, and to a little place in North Carolina to talk with one of the best talkers around, Tommy Gwynn. Both Tommy and Allan met at significant turning points in their lives, a time where they were embarking on journeys into the unknown. Tommy was about to board a commercial fishing vessel to work for months on end in the freezing seas off Alaska. Allan was planning to attempt a vagabonding journey, a pilg...
Dec 28, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 24
On this special episode of the Nostalgic Vagabond podcast, special-guest host Matt Burnett (a good friend of Allan) takes the reigns as an interviewer and, Allan Hill takes a step back and becomes the interviewee... Allan shares some memories and bathes in the nostalgia, going back about ten years, from when he first decided to experience solo, long-term independent travel in the south-west of the USA to selling up and becoming a vagabond at the beginning of 2010 - His 26th birthday present to h...
Dec 25, 2020•1 hr 7 min
The Nostalgic Vagabond has always been impressed with very young travellers. Kids, not even twenty who go abroad, solo, to live and work and grow up in an accelerated fashion (but in a healthy way) somewhere, in a foreign country. That really takes guts and determination. On this episode, Felix Gebhardt Zooms-in from Halle in Germany to catch up with Allan in Liverpool, UK. Felix and Allan were hostel dorm-neighbours during their time in Toronto over the 2011/2012 winter season. They met at a pa...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The Nostalgic Vagabond this time Zooms, literally a mile away, to connect with special guest, Clay Petrocchi, in Liverpool city centre. In a pre-Covid world, this would be the opportunity to chat face-to-face but social distance restrictions and winter lockdowns meant that tech had to be used. In this episode, Allan talks with Clay to get the lowdown on his recent, crazy and bizarre adventure where he tried to fly to South Korea to study the language but ended up bouncing through a few European ...
Dec 14, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 22
