My Favorite Places

"Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.  Be bold.  When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore.  Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory." 

Alan Alda

Probably everyone has heard of the book 1000 Places To See Before You Die.  Most of us will only see a few of those places in our lifetime.  There isn't enough time or money to visit them all.  I keep a list of only 10 places I want to see, but as I see them I cross them off and add new ones, because there are certainly more than 10 places in the world I want to see.

Quite often people ask me what is the place you have enjoyed the most.  For me that is always very difficult to answer.  I have enjoyed every place that I have been - really.  Whenever I go someplace new, I enjoy exploring that place and I find things I like about it.  But obviously some places I have liked better than other places.  I do have some favorites, but I can't really say that one place is my very favorite.  I can tell you my top 8 and why.

In no particular order, my top 8 are:
Venice, Italy
Crete, Greece
Moorea, French Polynesia
Paris, France
Great Britain
Beijing, China
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Philippines

Venice

Venice, Italy - The first trip to Europe that my husband and I took together was to Italy.  It was the one place I had always said that I just had to go to.  When we were finally able to go I was so excited.  It was our 25th anniversary trip.  I was almost afraid that it wouldn't live up to my excitement about going, but it did.  Everything about that trip was very special.  I loved Rome, and all the ruins.  The Forum and The Colisseum.  And then we went to Venice, and I really fell in love with that city.  I loved all the peeling paint on the buildings sitting in water.  I loved the boats and all the little alleyways between the buildings, and the bridges over the canals.  We also went down and spent a week in Sorrento, and visited Pompei and Capri, and enjoyed the beautiful town of Sorrento.  It was beautiful.  I loved every minute of that trip.

Crete, Greece - I actually loved all of Greece, and should maybe just put the whole country of Greece on the list.  But if I think about my favorite part of our trip to Greece, then Crete stands out. Maybe because we spent a week on the island and had more time to really explore it.  We did spend several days in Athens, and though it is a big city, I absolutely loved it.  I love the Plaka district, which is the old city, and I loved the Parthenon up on the hill.  And the people in Athens were all so nice.  And we took a tour over to Delphi and Meteora, both of which were wonderful, and not to be missed if you go to Greece.  I also loved the island of Santorini, where we spent 2 nights.  It is really lovely. 



Rethymno Harbor

But our week on Crete was fascinating.  We stayed in a condo near Rethymno, and our friends from Scotland joined us for that week.  I loved wandering around Rethymno's streets, looking in the shops and especially loved having lunch down by their harbor.  We drove all over the island, even went over and hiked the Samaria Gorge.  I did have blisters after doing that!  And we visited Knossos, which is a Bronze Age archaeological site.  We also had probably the best meal I have ever had in my life, at a farm in the hills above Rethymno.  They grow everything they serve on the farm, and we had a 10 course meal, on a hill overlooking the town, at sunset.  Even the feta cheese they served and the olive oil was made on the farm.  We swam in the sea and we explored the island, and it has to rank as one of the best weeks of vacation I have had.

Moorea, French Polynesia - We have a timeshare, and had to use the week we had deposited, or we would lose it.  I started looking online at places that were available.  A week in Moorea came up.  I had always wanted to visit Tahiti, so this seemed ideal.  I decided to go for it.  Since I worked at AAA at the time, I actually had some benefits that I could use towards the trip.  Air Tahiti Nui offers half price air to Tahiti for travel agents and I was able to take advantage of that.  And because I had sold a lot of Pleasant Packages, I had points with them that I could use for free inter-island flights and a free night on the island of Tahiti and 2 nights in an over-water bungalow on Bora Bora.  So we booked it and off we went. 

Cook's Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia

We spent our first night on Tahiti then flew to Moorea where we spent our week in our timeshare.  We had a condo with a balcony overlooking Cook's Bay.  We spent the week swimming, snorkeling and exploring the isalnd.  It was a relaxing fun-filled week on the beach.  The waters are sparkling clear, with lots of beautiful fish.  We took a catamarran trip to a motu - which is a small island, where we had a picnic lunch and did more snorkeling.  I thought Moorea was beautiful.  I had been told by others that while Moorea was beautiful, everyone usually liked Bora Bora the best, so we did 2 nights there at the end of our trip.  But for me Moorea was prettier, and there is more to do there.  I liked Bora Bora, but I loved Moorea.


Paris, France - Paris - the city of lights, the city of love.  Who could not love it.  My daughter and I breifly visited Paris back in 1989.  My husband and I went back in 2003.  I have not seen much else of France, but I do love Paris.  The city is beautiful, and vibrant.  Regardless of what people may tell you, I think the people are mostly charming.  There is so much to see and do.  I think I could live in Paris for a year or two and be quite happy.  As my husband says, "we'll always have Paris." 





Great Britain - England is the first country in Europe that I visited.  My daughter spent one semester of her sophomore year in London, and at the end of her semester I flew over and visited her, and we traveled around England, Scotland and Ireland, and even took a quick excursion over to Paris.  I have very fond memories of that trip.  And because it was my first European country to visit, it holds a special place in my heart.  I have visited Great Britain since that first trip.  I can't really name one place in Great Britain that I love more than others, although certain places stand out more than others.  


Crail Harbor, Scotland

I loved Cambridge, I found it to be charming.  And Penzance was a fun place to visit. And who could not love London, there is so much to see and do there.  I particularly loved Scotland, and we went back to Scotland this year.  We saw some new places, and re-visited a few places I had been.  I love the Highland cows, and all of the castles.  The harbour towns are very picturesque.  And the Scottish people are some of our favorites - we do have good friends there, so that helps.

The Great Wall
Just outside of Beijing, China

Beijing, China - I had been to Hong Kong years ago when we lived in the Philippines, it was a short hop away and a good place to get away for a weekend, but it was under British rule when we were there.  So a few years ago I suggested to a girl friend that a trip to China would be fun.  We went for a 12 day tour.  It was an adventure.  I knew I wanted to walk on the Great Wall, and we did that.  But I found all of China to be wonderful.  It certainly was one of the best trips I have ever taken.  We had a wonderful tour guide in Beijing.  His name was Tony, and we got to know him fairly well in the few days we were with him.  He took great pride in showing us around Beijing, and he was proud of the history of his country, and the sights he showed us.  He acknowledged that his country had problems, and he envied us our freedoms, but he was still quite proud to be Chinese.  I particularly enjoyed getting to know him.  And I loved all of China.  We went to Xian and Shanghai, and a cruise on the Yangtze, and re-visited Hong Kong.  But my favorite place was Beijing, and getting to know Tony, and learning about China through his eyes.  And of course walking on the Great Wall.

Tenerife, Canary Islands

Tenerife, Canary Islands - In 2003 our friends from Scotland invited us to join them in the Canary Islands for 10 days.  There are several islands that make up the Canaries, Tenerife is the largest, and that is the island that we went to.  They had a timeshare which was a 3 bedroom condo, so we had basically a full-size house, with a lovely patio, that we lived in for those 10 days.  We rented a car and we explored the island.  That was the first trip that we took with those friends, we have traveled with them since, but there was something special about our new friendship and the fun we had together on that trip.  I had never even thought about going to the Canary Islands, and I don't know if they ever would have showed up on a list of places to go to, but they invited us, and we went.  I absolutely loved everything about the place.  It is part of Spain, but actually closer to Africa, so it had a different feel about it then when we were in Spain.  We were close to a small village, and stumbled across one of their local celebrations, which we joined in on.  We swam in the ocean and enjoyed the beaches, and we explored the towns.  We had some wonderful meals also.



Banca boat on Capone Islands,
Philippines

Philippines - My husband spent 26 years in the Navy, so we moved around quite a bit.  Most of the times we were in the states, and quite a few of those times my husband was gone, to places where we could not go as a family.  We were only stationed overseas together as a family once.  That was the 2 years we spent in the Philippines - from Dec. 1978 to Dec. 1980.  We lived on a small base about an hour from Subic Bay. The base was called San Miguel.  One of the gates from the base led straight out onto the beach, where we could go and enjoy the warm waters of the South China Sea.  There were small boats - called bancas that we could get into and be taken out to the Capone Islands, where we could snorkel, or we could just stay at the beach and swim from there. 


In the two years we lived in the PI, we explored as much of the country as we could, taking trips to different areas, and seeing the sights.  The people near where we lived were all very nice.  We got to know some of them, and spent time in their villages, and their homes.  We were invited to celebrations as their guest of honor.  It was a wonderful two years, where we learned a lot about the country and the people.  Those 2 years hold wonderful memories for myself and my family.  I am so glad we were given that experience.

But even though these places stand out most in my mind when I think of the places I have traveled, I really have enjoyed every trip I have taken, and I have fond memories of them all.  And I know that with my future travels, some of those places will probably bump some of these places off my favorites list.  We are planning a trip to Africa for this coming year, and who knows, that trip may move onto my favorites list in the future.

Souvenirs of our Travels

"Souvenir collecting can be a lot of fun when you travel. Whether they're free, cheap, or pricey, the souvenirs you gather and the souvenirs you create become symbols of special places you visited or experiences you had."  

Susan Breslow Sardone

Bronze Statue from Thailand

Souvenirs – why do we bring home those knickknacks and mementos of our journey?  And why do they sometimes mean so much to us?

I always say that I am not going to buy anymore “things”, I have way too much stuff around already.  So this trip I am not buying anything!  It never works.  Inevitably I see something that is different, that I just can’t live without. 

Tree Root which stands in our entrance area

I have purchased some unusual things over the years.  We have a tree root from the Philippines that has been with us since 1980, when I saw it alongside a road.  It was an unusual shape, and it had been polished up, and when I saw it, I just had to have it.  A man was selling it for practically nothing.  Now I will have to admit, that if I had been traveling where I had to think about getting this root home in a suitcase, then I would have had to pass it up.  But we were stationed there for 2 years, and all our household goods would be shipped home by the Navy, so it became ours.  And it has always held a place of honor in our home.  It is one of my favorite purchases from my travels.

While we were in the Philippines I also brought home close to 100 baskets, some of which I have kept, and some I have gotten rid of.  Wood carvings were also popular there, so we have a large wood caribou statue that we use as a door stop to our bedroom, and a carving of a Ho Tai Buddha.  We also bought a small bar, that has a capiz shell inlaid top and when you open it there is a built in wine rack and space for glasses and other bottles - again something I wouldn't have bought if not for the Navy shipping everything home for us.

Plate from Rhodes, Greece

While in Greece a few years ago I purchased several souvenirs.  I love my little owl that is made of metal and stands on my shelf.  The owl is the symbol for the goddess Athena, and is also the symbol for the city of Athens.  And in Rhodes, Greece we discovered a pottery place that had hand painted plates that were made in their shop.  I bought several for gifts, and kept one for myself.  When I look at these items, I remember our trip to Greece.

 My husband doesn’t tend to purchase much in the way of souvenirs.  He seems to be mostly immune – I think it’s a guy thing.  But he does have a weakness.  Everywhere we go he drinks some of the local beer.  He then finds a beer mug that has the name of that beer on it, and he purchases it.  Most of the time he asks at the bar where he drank the beer if he can purchase the glass there, and about 95% of the time, they have given him the glass free.  He actually hasn’t had to pay for the mug very often.  He has a huge collection of mugs now, from around the world, and he is running out of shelf space in his den.  But that doesn’t stop him from getting another. He just brought back several from our last trip.

My dragon from York

I have purchased Murano Glass in Italy, and Waterford Crystal in Ireland.  And I have a full set of dishes that are oriental in style - service for 8, that I bought in Hong Kong back in 1980, but while I like those things well enough, they are not the kinds of things that become favorites.  It is usually the little things, the things that are slightly different. 

I have several other souvenirs that I am particularly fond of.  I have a ceramic dragon that I purchased in York, England back in 1989.  It is whimsical and it makes me smile.  I remember a song from my childhood, The Reluctant Dragon, and he reminds me of the song.  I also purchased a few cottages on that trip, and when I got home they grew into a whole collection.  I now have my dragon sitting next to a castle from that collection. 

Hand-Painted from the inside,
Bottle I bought in China

 And while in China last year I bought a glass bottle with a tiger hand-painted on it.  The painting is actually done with a very fine brush, on the inside of the bottle.  I watched the person paint one like it, and the talent it takes to paint such fine detail while reaching the brush inside the small bottle was fascinating to watch.  I will always treasure that bottle for the talent of the artist. 

I also bought a very small glass bottle on a little street in Hong Kong.  An old guy was sitting on the street in front of a makeshift store, and he was selling all sorts of unusual items.  Mostly knifes and tools.  But mixed in with this was a small bottle with green frogs and a red cap.  I loved it when I saw it.  It has absolutely no practical use, but it appealed to me, and I bought it from him for just a couple of dollars.  Some of my favorite purchases over the years have not necessarily been expensive, but they are priceless to me.

Frog Bottle from Hong Kong

Unlike the standard souvenir junk that is found in every tourist shop in every city – the T-shirt, dish-towel, keychain or whatever, a real souvenir is yours alone, and has real meaning.  When you look at it, it brings the trip back to you.  You remember the street where you found it, or the person you talked to as you purchased it.  It is a tangible memory of your vacation.

Now, I will admit, that when I travel I see a lot of crap for sell.  And like everyone, I have sometimes bought some of that crap.  There are times I have come home from a trip and looked at my purchases and think "now why did I buy that?"  And then sometimes you just can't resist, even if it is very touristy.  I remember that in the Philippines we came across a small barrel man, and when you pushed the barrel down, up popped a huge penis.  At the time we were part of a small theatre group on the Navy base, and we were putting on a play.  We decided to buy several of those barrel men, we took them back to the base and spray painted them gold, and after the play we gave them out to certain actors as awards – kind of like a Tony Award, only we called them Fred Awards.  We gave one to the actor who made the biggest goof, or who did something funny during rehearsals.  They were well received, even if they were really tacky souvenirs.

Metal owl from Athens

So, is it okay to bring home a souvenir if it makes you think about the area you visited, and about the culture of the place?  Is there a moral pass on a souvenir, if it makes you chuckle?  (Like the guy with the penis jumping out of the barrel in the PI)  This is one of the reasons you travel, for the memories and the fun.  Bringing home little fragments of the trip, makes you remember your trip for years after you are home.  So will I continue to buy things as I travel?  I’m sure I will.
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Delilah

Years ago, my older sister took a trip to Germany.  While she was there she purchased a small carved donkey.  She purchased it in a shop in Oberammergau.  Shortly after her return I visited her, and she showed me that donkey.  She told me she had named it Delilah, and she was obviously very proud of the carving, which was quite well done, and had probably been fairly expensive.  That visit was the last time I saw my sister.  I left for the Philippines a few days later. My husband was in the Navy and we were being stationed there.  My sister had said she would come visit us during our stay there.  But 2 months later she was killed in a car crash.  I flew home for the funeral.  While there my mother asked me if there was anything of Donna's I would like to have.  My first thought was of the little donkey Delilah, and her delight in telling me about her trip and purchasing it.  That donkey has always had a special place in our house and when I look at it, I think of my sister.  We all have a list in our head of what we would grab if our house was on fire, after family and the dogs, Delilah is the next thing on my list.  Some souvenirs just become very special for reasons you never would have dreamed of when you bought them!
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My next posting is an extension of this one - sometimes you don't know what to do with something you have brought home, but don't despair, hold on to them, and sometimes a brilliant idea will come to you.  If not, well you can always gift it.