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.

Destination - London

“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Samuel Johnson

London Skyline

I like London, it has charm, and cobbled streets, lots of history, and they speak the same language as us – well sort of anyway. My first trip to Europe was to London in 1989 when my daughter was going to school in London and I went over for a visit. So I have fond memories of that trip and all the fun we had. My husband did not go with me on that trip, so in 2003 he and I went back for a visit. I’ve only been there the two times, but I enjoyed both trips.

Changing of the Guard

There are certainly lots of sights to see, and things to do. I will hit the main ones that are not to be missed, and then I would like to talk about getting out of London, because there is so much to see nearby also.

Before I start I would like to point out that you can buy a London Pass which will cover the entrance fee to most of these things. It will save you quite a bit of money to have the pass. It will get you into 55 attractions, historic buildings, museums and art galleries, including the London Bridge and Tower Bridge experiences, Windsor Castle, British Museum, Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, St. Paul’s and the Thames River Cruise.

Tower Bridge

1. The Tower of London remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in London. Complete with tales of historical drama, infamous Beefeaters, the Crown Jewels and the Royal Armorys, a visit to the Tower is a must for all first time visitors to London.

St. Paul's Cathedral

2. Tower Bridge Exhibition. Built in 1894, this is one of the best known and most iconic bridges in London. Visit the Tower Bridge Exhibition and you'll not only learn about the history of the Bridge but you'll also enjoy breathtaking views of London from the high-level walkways - a perfect photo opportunity.

3. St Paul's Cathedral is another popular tourist attraction in London and it’s one of the most beautiful too. Climb the 530 steps from the cathedral floor to the Golden Gallery, also known as the Whispering Gallery, for panoramic views of London.

Cafe in the Crypt
St. Martin of the Fields Church

4. Trafalgar Square is named after Admiral Lord Nelson and his statue dominates the square from 167 feet above it. Four majestic bronze lions, each 20 feet long and 11 feet tall guard the base of Nelson’s column.
_______________________________________
TIP - Across from the square is the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. My daughter took me there for several meals back in 1989. It was a place she could go that was inexpensive and had really good food. They are still serving good food today. It is downstairs in the 18^th century crypt, thus the name Café in the Crypt. It is a favorite of locals and tourists. All dishes are freshly prepared on site and are very reasonably priced. They serve breakfast Monday – Saturday. Lunch, dinner and afternoon tea are served every day. They have Jazz Nights on Wednesday at 8:00PM.

___________________________________________________________

London Eye & Thames River

5. The London Eye is on the bank of the River Thames near Waterloo Station. It is the biggest observation wheel in the world. It will, over 30 minutes, make a full circle and thus give you a splendid view of London. Of course, the best time to ride this is on a clear day, something you can’t always find in London. Some say that this modern wheel is a blight on the landscape in the middle of such a historic city, but it is worth going up in, there are some wonderful views from up there.

6. Thames River Cruise. The banks of the River Thames are lined with iconic landmarks such as Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Canary Wharf and many more. Weaving through the heart of London the Thames River Cruise really is the best way to see the city.

Stage of the Old Globe in London

7. Tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an identical reconstruction of the original building which housed Shakespeare’s theatre in London. This open-air playhouse can be found on the banks of the Thames River and features an exhibition dedicated to the plays and the writer.

8. The British Museum - This national institution attracts millions of people each year. You will find almost everything under one roof starting with collections from Egypt, Greek and Roman art, China, old Mesopotamia, Antiques, coins and medals, prints and drawings, Renaissance and Anglo-Saxon Britain, etc. The sheer size of the museum (2.5 miles of galleries) should warn you to wear a good pair of walking shoes and be prepared to spend most of the day there.

Victoria & Albert Museum

9. The Victoria & Albert Museum - This is the home of applied arts. Due to the sheer variety and scale of exhibits there is bound to be something to grab your attention. It has the world`s largest collection of Indian art outside India, Chinese, Islamic, Japanese and Korean galleries, more Constable paintings than the Tate; seven Raphael masterpieces and a sizable collection of miniatures, watercolours and medieval and Renaissance sculpture, as well as a splendid collection of Samurai swords.

Harrod's food hall

10. Harrods Department Store is something you should definitely check out. For me this is more fun than any museum. What I love about Harrods is their food hall. It is the finest grocery store in the world, with such wonderful foods to explore. And if you are there around Christmas they have the best chocolates and other types of sweets all dressed up for the holidays. It is a very upscale market place, and I love to look at all the interesting foods and wines.

There are so many other places to visit, such as, The Parliament House, Tate Gallery of Fine Art, The National Gallery, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace (which you can see, but you can’t go into), and some fine parks throughout the city. You will want to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which can get quite crowded. We actually enjoyed the Changing of the Horse Guard ceremony more, partly because there were no crowds.

Tas Restaurant

You should definitely take in a play while you are there. It is one of the best places in the world to see a play. Going to London and not seeing a play would be like going to New York and not seeing a play. There is a half-price ticket booth in Leiscester Square. And if you want to have dinner before or after the play, I have a suggestion, a place my husband and I really enjoyed and it was near the theatre district. Tas Restaurant at 22-23 New GlobeWalk. Tas Pide is a traditional Anatolian dish based on a recipe dating back thousands of years. Freshly made dough, resembling the shape of a boat, is baked in a wood fire oven producing a crispy outer crust. A variety of highly flavoured, aromatic fillings provide the topping.

Windsor Castle

If you only have a few days in London then you will concentrate your sightseeing to the city. But if you are there for longer then I suggest you take some day trips to some places nearby. You have to remember what a small country England is. You can make London your base and see so much of England by making day trips out of the city. Some day trips that would be easy to make from London include Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Canterbury and Leeds Castle, Brighton, Stonehenge and Salisbury, Cambridge, and Stratford on Avon. Getting there is easy. The trains run regularly to every one of these places, and all are less than 2 hours away, most less than an hour.

Windsor Castle. Located just outside of London, is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. It has been the official residence of the British sovereign for over 900 years and the amazing State Apartments are a favourite with London tourists

Hampton Court

Hampton Court Palace was the home of King Henry VIII. Not only is this one of the most breathtaking and legendary of all London palaces, it also boasts stunning gardens, a world famous hedge maze and more than one ghost.

Both of those castles are open to the public for tours and besides reaching them by train, you can reach these castles by taking a boat tour up the River Thames. You should probably only take the boat one-way because it takes quite a bit longer, so return by train. Both of these destinations can be booked as a day tour through a tour company also.

Canterbury

My favorite nearby city is Canterbury. The big draw for many is the Cathedral which is quite pretty and you should definitly take a look at it. But for me it was the charm of the city with its tudor-style buildings, cobblestone streets and charming shops. We took in the city and nearby Leeds Castle in one day, the train stops right at Leeds Castle on your way back to London. Leeds is one of the most stunning castles to visit, set on 500 acres of beautiful parkland. Well worth a visit.

Leeds Castle - rated one of the top castles of the world

Stonehenge

Stonehenge and the city of Salisbury are also a short train ride away. Salisbury has a famous cathedral also, although not nearly as spectacular as others you have or will see. The main attraction in this area is Stonehenge. It is a short bus ride from the city, local buses or a taxi can take you out there. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones. They are believed to date back to 3000 BC.

Brighton Beach Pier

The city of Brighton is another day trip possible from London and the main attraction there is the Pavilion. It is only an hour train trip from Victoria Station. It is a famous seaside resort and charming city on the south coast of England. It has a wonderful pier that you should stroll out on, and the beach is right there. It is a very rocky beach, no sand. There are some charming shops in town. But the one thing you should see is the Pavilion. Built for the Prince Regent, later King George IV, in stages between 1787 and 1823, the Royal Pavilion is remarkable for its exotic oriental appearance both inside and out. This magnificent royal pleasure palace was revered by fashionable Regency society and is still a distinctive landmark for vibrant Brighton & Hove today. The Royal Pavilion is also home to some of the finest collections and examples of the chinoiserie style in Britain.

Brighton's Royal Pavilion

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Stratford Upon Avon is where Shakespeare was born and raised. You can take a tour of the town, and everything Shakespeare, or do it on your own. You can visit the house he was born in and grew up in. The other houses you can visit are Anne Hathaway's Cottage (childhood home of his wife), Mary Ardens Farm (childhood home of his mother), Hall's Croft (where his daughter Susanna lived with her husband), and Nash House which is where his granddaughter lived and which has the complete work of Shakespeares as well as beautiful gardens and grounds. You can also take a boat ride on the River Avon.

Punt boat on River Cam

Cambridge is a university town with a host of diverse and intriguing attractions to keep everyone happy. With its narrow medieval passageways and 801-year-old university, it is more than just a college town. It's easy to get around the city and there is always something new to see and do in the city. Historic and contemporary buildings to visit, world-renowned museums, fantastic theatre and live music. My favorite memory of Cambridge was punting down the River Cam in a flat-bollom boat. You glide by the "backs" of the beautiful Cambridge University. You can hire someone to do the punting, or you can take a lesson and learn how to do it yourself. When my daughter and I did it, we took the easy route.

So take a few day trips if you have the time, and see more than just London. But don't skip London, it has a lot to offer.

*Some pictures taken from the internet

Link to trips we have taken

In the past few years, when we have traveled, we have sent emails home to friends and family. My husband usually writes them. His emails are a sort of blog about what we are doing while we travel. We don't have any from our early trips. For one thing, when we first started traveling the internet wasn't an option. We really only started doing this in 2003. But we have done a bit of traveling during that time. The trip reports are sometimes long. Quite a few of our trips were 3 weeks in length, and he does report on what we do from day to day. If anyone is interested in reading them just go to the links on the right hand side of the page - Trip Reports from trips we have taken - and you can click on the trip that most interests you. The only one I wrote was the one on China, as my husband did not go on that trip.