Indagare spoke to London-based author Celia Sandys, the granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, about her memories of traveling with the famous prime minister and about special tours she is planning in the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009.

What was the most memorable trip you took with your grandfather?

It would have to be the first one he took me on, where we traveled on board the Christina [on the invitation of Greek shipping baron Aristotle Onassis], in 1959. I was already sixteen, but I had not traveled that much…it wasn’t like today, where my children had been halfway around the world by the time they were twelve. The Christina was an absolutely amazing boat and we were on it for three and a half weeks. I had a whole new wardrobe, from my first pair of high heels to necklaces and hats, but it was sparse compared to the wardrobes of Maria Callas and Tina Onassis, who wore different dresses every night for dinner. We started in Monte Carlo, sailed to Portofino, then on to Capri and Piraeus, around the Greek Islands, and then we ended up in Istanbul, where the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church came on board and we sailed up the Bosporus. And then all the way back again.

What would you say was the most beautiful moment during the journey?

Sailing into Istanbul was glorious, but really the entire trip felt like a dream. It was more luxurious than anything I had ever experienced.

Editor’s Note: In the fascinating first chapter of Chasing Churchill, Sandys sums up the end of the now world-famous cruise: “We all went our separate ways, unaware that within a short while our summer holiday would become one of the most written-about cruises of all time, that two marriages were over, and that the tragedies of the Onassis family were just beginning.”

What are some other trips you remember vividly?

In 1963, I accompanied my father, then Commonwealth Secretary, to Africa, where independence was being given to Kenya and Zanzibar. I was going to spend Christmas in South Africa, so I traveled with him to these celebrations on the way. It was an amazing trip. The first day, my father drove me out into the Kenyan countryside and said to me: “This is God’s own country.”

What is the most important thing you learned about travel from your parents and your grandfather?

Always to remember that you are a guest in someone else’s country. I hate seeing people from my country behaving badly in other places and vice versa, so I think if everyone was a bit more thoughtful, we would be much better off.

If you could take your grandfather to a place today where he has never been, where would you go?

I think he would like Botswana. He would really like to be out in the wild, in one of those lovely tented camps on the side of a river. He would think that wonderful and it would certainly be traveling in Churchillean style. He used to shoot the animals with a gun, but I’m sure he would be quite happy to shoot them with a camera or to paint them now. Times have changed so much. As for myself: I would love to have him along on a trip to India, where I have never been, because he would be able to paint a vivid picture of how it was.

What are some destinations that will always draw you back?

South Africa. I first visited in 1963 and have been back a lot. Many friends live in Johannesburg and Cape Town and I spent a lot of time researching my second book. I feel at home there.

What are some destinations that have changed the most in your experience of going there?

Courchevel. I first went there in the 1960s when they had two main ski lifts and were very few hotels, and I have been going practically every year since; it’s become a habit. Years ago, I found a wonderful hotel called La Sivolière (www.hotel-la-sivoliere.com), which was an extremely luxurious bed and breakfast. They didn’t have an official restaurant, but the owner would come around and ask what you wanted for dinner, whether it was to be chicken for four or steak for three…it was so charming. Then, it was discovered by the King of Spain and that was pretty much the end of that era. It’s still very nice, but that particular charm is gone…and now they have a proper restaurant.

The other place that’s changed enormously is Mombasa. I lived in Kenya for five years and Mombasa was an absolutely thriving, exotic, fascinating town, mainly run by the Asian community. I went back a few years ago, while on a cruise, and the ship was met by a fleet of London black taxis held together with string. That was the first sight and everything after was the same. It seemed that the whole of Mombasa had disintegrated.

How has traveling itself changed?

Well for one, it used to be much more elegant. I can remember being asked how I wanted my eggs cooked on an airplane or if I preferred my steak medium or rare. Today, I still love going away, but I don’t necessarily enjoy the process of getting there anymore.

What are some of your favorite hotels and restaurants in the world?

I adore Fugitive’s Drift Lodge (www.fugitivesdrift.com) in Kwazulu Natal, in South Africa; it’s a truly fabulous place. Another great one is the Locanda di San Vigilio on Lake Garda (www.locandasanvigilio.com), a beautiful spot where my grandfather used to paint. A different type of hotel but also a favorite is the Ritz-Carlton Halfmoon Bay (www.ritzcarlton.com) south of San Francisco, because the setting is so striking. And in terms of restaurants, I love Dar Yacout in Marrakech the Le Bel Air Mountain restaurant in Courchevel; and Caraffini (www.caraffini.co.uk) in London.

Where do you go to get away from it all?

Well, that’s something I never do, unfortunately, but I would like to. But I probably go to South Africa. I also would very much like to visit the Seychelles. My ideal is to have a very luxurious shack on the beach.

If you could redo one trip with your grandfather, which one would it be?

Definitely the Christina. I would love to revisit all the places we saw. I might organize a Chasing Churchill tour next year where we sail from Athens to Istanbul, taking in some Greek Islands on the way. No one is going to go for three weeks these days, but it would be fun to revisit some of the same places on the same yacht.

What were some of your favorite moments with Winston Churchill?

We used to have picnics in the snow in the south of France during the wintertime. The sun would shine and he would paint. He was quite an old man by then, and those were wonderful and peaceful times. The best thing for me was to have to myself the man the whole world thought they owned. We did have some nice, quiet moments together, which was good.

Read about Sandys’ Chasing Churchill tours scheduled for this September and October.