posted on July 21, 2000 06:38:24 AM new
Middleham, North Yorkshire, England.
Center for thoroughbred breeding/training. We stayed at the Black Swan in the village square and were awakened the next morning by the sounds of horses, jockeys and trainers assembling in the square to - what do you call it, eventer? Anyway, train on the moors. Every third house has a Jack Russell terrier; apparently a lot of the stables keep them as "pets" for the horses. Just up the street are the ruins of Middleham Castle, stronghold of King John, if I recall correctly. There's a stupendous ruined abbey nearby, and the view of the downs at ANY time of year is stupendous. Constable did a reasonable job of capturing those skies, but his paintings still are nothing like being in the middle of it all. As it turns out, I'm reading a 19thc. copy of Dombey and Son that I got in a little bookshop there.
Fort Pickens National Park, Pensacola Beach, FL USA. Yes, just down the road apiece from here. Like Cancun, Pensacola Beach is a long, very narrow (-1/2 mile wide) island. Sand is pure white; first time I drove down the access road I could've sworn I was in Buffalo NY during the winter, because the place looks like it had just suffered a massive snowstorm. Nobody for miles. Beautiful fort (US stronghold during the Civil War), great swimming and scuba diving, good sailing too. Lately the waves are strong enough to body-surf. We head down there about 4PM Saturdays and there's NObody in sight for miles.
posted on July 21, 2000 06:57:24 AM new
Hay-on-Wye, a smallish town in Wales. Nicknamed "The City of Books," it lives up to that name quite nicely. Just about every other shop is a bookstore. One is even devoted to cinema & theatre books. New books. Used books. For a bibliophile, this town is a *paradise.* And yesterday I discovered that the town has its own website: www.hay-on-wye.com
London. Not only does it have lots & lots of bookstores (new & used), but it also has the *king* of bookstores (hope it's still there, its been years since I've gone): Foyle's. Foyle's is housed in a multi-story building . Last time I was over (about 10 years) they'd also bought the building across the street--so hardcovers were in the original building & the new one was for paperbacks....heaven. London also lots and lots of *theatres* and one can go to two plays every day of your vacation & not see everything playing. Even better, is the half-price booth in Leiscester Square where you can get same-day tickets dirt cheap.
posted on July 21, 2000 09:57:05 AM new
Paris, France. I lived in Aubervilliers, just north of the Peripherique. Josiah Bay, Tortola and Jost van Dyke, British
Virgin Islands. Totally relaxing. Saba-
GREAT diving!
posted on July 21, 2000 10:27:53 AM new"Cymru ydy camgwl chyflea. Lawer chan Lloegr sucks."
I may be bias towards Wales considering I have two Welsh nephews born and living in Cardiff, and my grandparents were Irish, the country most Welsh seem to favor over England.
The working class in England was fine, you can keep the rest. London sucks.
In general, food, weather, and roads in the UK could stand some upgrading.
posted on July 21, 2000 10:31:47 AM new
vogeldanl, Thousand Oaks IS pretty... I lived in Valencia for 15 years, so I've been there a few times.
And snowy, when I read the title of the post I was thinking Paris. I was 12 when I was there, but still remember it well...beautiful city.
But the creme de la creme for me is right where I now live. Maui. I'm sure most of you knew I'd say that, lol.
This is, in my eye, the absolute most beautiful place on the face of the Earth. Ahhhhhhh!
posted on July 21, 2000 11:51:51 AM new
Paris...I love Paris any time of the year. I get in that city and I just feel like walking and walking. there is always something to see and something to do.Strasbourg was wonderful too.
Tubingen,Heidelburg,Ulm, Neu Ulm Stuttgart......There are so many places in Germany I loved I just can't name them all.
Heidelburg I think was my favorite.
Ireland is a great place to visit. My roomate and I bicycled through the country side for two weeks one spring. It was damp but lovely. The air was so fresh and clean and I found the locals real friendly.
But my favorite palce in the whole world is still Vermont. God's Country as far as I am concerned.
posted on July 21, 2000 11:53:24 AM new
Okay,as long as we're talking Wales, how 'bout Portmeirion? NO, not for the pottery - for the little, bizarre, Italianate town-in-miniature that was the set forThe Prisoner?
It's off this little road, down a looong road into nowhere, then this utterly surreal townlet where actual people really live in microscopic houses with entirely too much Classical statuary. Weirdest part was the fact that the estuary on which it's built completely empties out at low tide. No fish, no seaweed, nothing but damp, rippled sand for at least a mile. True to "Prisoner" form, there's a boat moored along the boardwalk...at least that's what it looks like until the tide goes out. Then you discover it's not a boat at all - just an extension of the boardwalk made to look exactly LIKE a boat. A creepy but very, very (almost TOO) pretty place.
posted on July 21, 2000 12:15:03 PM new
Prague CZ, Cologne (Koln) Germany, Basel CH.
All great cities. Karneval in Koln and Fasnacht in Basel are something not to miss.
"Put more water in the soup pot, there's a better day a comin' "
posted on July 21, 2000 01:08:31 PM new
The Turkish Riviera.
We camped there for a week, the only people in the campgrounds. The Turkish park manager and his buds would come to our camp site and visit with us, even though they spoke no English and my Turkish was limited. They got a kick watching us play Frisbee with our dog, a tiny Sheltie, who could barely carry a full sized Frisbee in his mouth without tripping over it.
The Netherlands.
Lived there for four years in a small farming community. The weather can be crappy but the people were marvelous.
For those who know what I'm talking about-the Nijmegen march is in full swing right now...
posted on July 21, 2000 01:20:15 PM new
my backyard where one can watch the sunset
here's another one: when you take the Color Tour in Michigan, take the US 31 (best), US 115, and US 131 I'm sure there are other routes I missed but these are the best that I know of
posted on July 21, 2000 03:01:49 PM new
One of the BEST places I've ever been is MacKerricher State Park, just north of Fort Bragg on the Northern California coast. It's about 175 miles north of San Francisco ( from SF go north on 101 till you get to Willits-just 25 miles north of Ukiah-then take Rt. 20 over to Fort Bragg).
MacKerricher has an extensive campground with many amenities, for everyone from backpackers to the motorhome crowd. The park is well-known to locals but not so much to tourists.
What to see and do there: 1. See the park's main attraction - the herds of Roosevelt elk which are always around. Be careful! Just because you can get close DOESN'T mean they're harmless. They're unpredictable. Every year someone gets chased.
2. Awesome redwood forests.
3. Beautiful coastline - good beachcombing. It's about a 1/2 mile walk from the campground.
It's a little slice of heaven - cool and cloudy in the middle of hot summer inland.
posted on July 21, 2000 03:27:27 PM newPetuniaseven: I agree, that area of CA is absolutely stunning. I also agree that if the tom and I could afford to live there, we would. *sigh* I can dream, though.
posted on July 21, 2000 03:37:17 PM new
Hungry Mother State Park in the western part of Virginia, just outside Marion, VA. So many family get togethers over the years, watching the kids grow year to year from the pics and memories. It is a small state park nestled among the mountains of Western Virginia, with a wonderful lake and generous Southern Hospitality. Not been there for a few years---the kid's have grown and gone on their own way. We oldsters still keep threatening to get together there again soon, one of these old years. I wonder if Aunt Sally's Restaurant is still open in the little town south of there--(cripes--my brain is getting old--can't remember the town's name) but they had the best deal going--buffet included two desserts--we always chose the rice pudding and banana pudding--to lust for
posted on July 21, 2000 03:50:17 PM new
No doubt the nicest place I have ever been is Wrigley Field. No place in the world like it, sports related or not. I have preached in churches that did not have as much love as those who gather there.
posted on July 21, 2000 04:03:54 PM new
The red Sea
It's been years, I was a child. I'll never forget the coral reefs. Spectacular!!!!!!!
My sister and I tried to catch a lion fish once with a coffee can. Later we saw a slide show about the fish in the Red Sea and we found out then that the thing can kill you! If not kill you, the pain from the sting makes you wish you were dead. There were very large clams with different colored lips, beautiful corals, bright colored fish, these tiny yellow ones would harrass you.
The (we called them) shwarmi sandwiches to be had at stands in Jedda were the best tasting sandwiches I have EVER had in my life. The souk was fascinating and scary, we couldnt go there (on Sunday I believe) because thats where they cut off fingers arms or even heads for crimes committed.
Check out all these nice places you've all been to.
Another really nice place in California would be the Saline Valley. You will find it in Southern Cal, Inyo County, East of Lone Pine and Big Pine. It's a large desert valley surrounded by high peaks and the landscape is unusual and spectacular. Natural hotsprings, wild asses (the donkey kind), and the occasional old hippie. This place is very much off the beaten path and most people haven't heard of it, let alone know where it is. It's very remote, take plenty of food, water and other supplies. There is a chance of getting snowed in if you go in the wintertime, which is the best time to go because the temperature is mild.
There have been some hot tubs built around the source spring out of native stone and sunken into the ground. The few people that are there may tend to run around naked, so be warned. A very different place to experience.
I had just retired and my daughter was studying there for a semester. She invited me over to spend her 2-week Spring break with her. She gave up a trip to Africa for me (sniff, sniff). It was my first international trip.
Started out in Heidelberg, took a sleeper train to Berlin and then the day train back to Heidelberg so I could take in the countryside.
On to Munich for a few days. A day in Nymphenburg, a day in Dachau. Spent the last 3 days in Strasbourg, France.
Berlin was my absolute favorite. Spent 4 days there touring, taking in the museums, shopping and eating!!. I would like to have spent a full week there, as I know I still missed a lot.
posted on July 21, 2000 06:09:12 PM new
Oak Creek Canyon, north of Sedona, Arizona--an oasis in the desert, surrounded by beauty at every turn. For sheer beauty of a place, this is it for me.
Ridgway, PA...a tiny victorian town in the NW part of the state...built down the side of a mountain, surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, and bordering on the Allegheny National Forest, the Clarion River winds through it. But while the town itself is physically beautiful, and the setting is charming, it is the people who live there, somewhat isolated from "the world", fiercely independent and proudly self-sufficient, forward-thinking and progressive but respectful of longheld traditions in the various cultures (German, Italian, Polish) that settled the town, looking out for each other without hesitation, and coming together in both joy and need that make this place magical. Serenity, industry, pleasure, love, solitude, community...as you wish.
posted on July 22, 2000 08:25:36 PM new
Anywhere my family is..
Aside from that, of all the places I've ever been, my favorite is Taos, New Mexico. Great views, nice people, stunning sunsets, wonderful ski slopes, very high real estate, or I'd be living there now!
posted on July 22, 2000 11:03:56 PM new
A little place called Rochford, SD.
It is located int he Black Hills about 30 miles from Mt. Rushmore...
If you take the "direct route" it is 12 miles of logging road that twists and turns (and I DO mean TURNS) along Rapid Creek.
Rochford was a "Gold Rush" town, and the old mine building were ther until just a few years ago....There is a bar/cafe, a P.O./bait store, and about 20 year round residents.
It is the most beautiful and peaceful place I have ever been in my life!! The cabin I used had NO plumbing, and at one time, we had to put a "heat lamp" bulb in the outhouse to be able to stand the trip outside!!!( that was on a November deer hunting trip)
Keith
(BTW...it is only 25 miles from where Martha Jane is buried...get my drift Calamity...LOL)
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on July 23, 2000 09:13:40 PM new
Hiya Oddish!
One of the most peaceful places I've ever been to was in northern British Columbia. A local took me and some friends fishing at a quiet lake (we were traveling from Alaska and stayed at his roadhouse}. Crystal clear water, no sounds other than birds and the sounds of the fishing reels and the *plop* of the Mepps lures hitting the water. We caught trout and grayling by the scores, but only kept a few for lunch.
[ edited by loosecannon on Jul 23, 2000 09:15 PM ]
posted on July 23, 2000 10:05:12 PM new
We lived in Machrihanish, Scotland for 2 years. You may have heard of it, the "Other" Area 51. Anyway, is a very peaceful, beautiful little part of Scotland, way down the Argyll Peninsula. Paul MrCartny had a farm nearby. I want to retire there some day. If you ever want to go back in time, go there. The "locals" act and talk like WWII happened last week. When we were there, they had auctions every week. They practically gave stuff away. Got a ton of great Mahogany furniture.
We lived on a NATO Base, actually an RAF Base. Tattoogranpa was in the Navy on the EOD Team. To this day, I don't know what they had on this "secret" Base. (Or may still have.)
They still distill the best "single-malt" Scotch, oh dear, I am making myself "home-sick".
Tattoonana.
posted on July 24, 2000 07:33:17 AM new
Alaska's Kenai Pennisula, though I've only visited in the summer. We seriously considered moving there 17 years ago; Jean and I both had job offers from the Anchorage School System. Salaries and benefits were fantastic then, during the 80's when the oil revenues were gushing. We finally decided though that we wanted our son to be able to form a close relationship with his grandparents during his childhood. Today, thoughts of the dark and cold winters paint a less desirable picture.
The Taos/Santa Fe area has also always been a favorite. We just recently visited again after about a ten year absence and were amazed at the degree of development and commercialization that has taken place. That Taos now has a Walmart Supercenter and most major fast food outlets was something of a shock. Reduces the charm considerably. Still lots of good galleries and shops and spectacular natural beauty, though somewhat marred by lots of trailers and pre-fabs especially. Similar effect with Santa Fe.
Also visited Prescott and the Sedona area; Prescott is a neat town, reasonably moderate climate and very attractive, but also a rapidly growing area. Also visited Laughlin and Vegas, since we were in the area.
posted on July 24, 2000 09:48:59 AM new
Oracabessa, Jamaica. Along the north shore of the island, just east of Ocho Rios. We had the opportunity to stay at Ian Fleming's estate there called Golden Eye. (Oracabessa is Spanish for Golden Head.) The house was situated on 17 acres on the top of a bluff with a staircase that led down to a private cove beach with fabulous snorkeling. The vacation included a maid, cook & gardener and they even did all our laundry! That was back in 1982 and it was truly my most remarkable trip. I'd love to go back, but since our visit so many years ago, many celebs have stayed there (including Yoko Ono), so the cost has gone up dramatically. Would have to win the lottery first! LOL
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That's Flunky Gerbiltush to you!
