Travel destinations, what are your favorites?

All of my grandparents came from Lithuania......but being in a frigid area, I can see why!

Can't go wrong with that approach, Maria.

Bruges is a beautiful city in Belgium, one of the reason we stopped over because Michelangelo's sculpture of Madonna and Child was the only one that was sold by him while he was still alive.

What are your favorite places in Europe, Maria?? Especially - the non-touristy places. I like to get a true sense of a place.

Of all the places in Europe, the most favorite is Vienna and you know why Victor.Do you know it was judged this year as the best place to live in the western world.
Now please don't tell me I am prejudiced, he he he.

In Italy I liked Florence the best, In Belgium it is Bruges
In the Netherlands I liked lots of different places each city had something interesting to offer such as the Riiks Museum in Amsterdam where one can see lots and lots of Rembrandt's paintings, such as 'The Night Watch'
It amazed me how huge it is, if I remember correctly it is almost 15 by 15 feet. Then there is van Gogh, his paintings are quite contrast to Rembrandt so was his very sad life.

I don't mean to write a travel log, better stop now before I put you all to sleep

Not bring at all, Maria!

I did see that about Vienna.

Glad you saw that Victor. I was thinking what happened to London, Paris and Rom?
Have spent eyes now so I will say good night to every one till some one else will post of places far and wide or close by

Good night, Maria.

Robin - what do you mean about the French Riviera??

The beaches weren't sand...they had small rocks on them, called shingle....as I recall it didn't seem to bother the people...they sat on beach chairs.....I like a nice soft sandy beach!

I can't remember the beach now, but it was rough and grainy, and I loved walking on it barefoot, like getting a pedicure!

- I've always found variety & sometimes the close proximity of different types of beaches astounding. I've been to the black volcanic and the light pink crushed coral beaches in the pacific, (some are razor sharp black volcanic rock which are 'No mans land'). The soft sandy beaches of the Bahamas where a 15min taxi ride takes you to the gravel beaches on the same Island. Some beaches in both the Caribbean & the Pacific are small lagoons 15' deep completely encircled by coral reefs reaching just 3 feet below the surface full of sea life, ( and sometimes Reef Sharks usually on the ocean side of the coral, lol!). BVI has a multi-colored glass gravel beach at 'The Baths' composed of fused sand under tremendous heat millions of years ago. Even here Long Island has the rocky Northern beaches full of pebbles and the smooth sandy beaches of the South Shore.
- I even used to collect test tubes of different types of beach sand just as a keepsake. (lol)

Yes, we always went to the beach in Bayville, on the Sound, and the stones were a horror! I prefer nice soft sand too.

Maria pointed me in this direction. Might get here more often now that gardening season is winding down. Like Maria, I've travelled a lot. When the kids were young, we would accompany DH to conferences and take vacation time around it and more recently, I've attended Viola Congresses all over the world.

In regard to NE travel, I've always enjoyed my trips to New England, but NE Canada is quite similar in many respects.

I've never taken my kids to Disney but they drove the Alaska Highway before it was all paved, we spent a year in Germany and travelled quite a bit, we've attended conferences in Japan, Finland, and a variety of places in North America. My viola ("play the viola - see the world" as one friend put it) has taken me to Vienna, Markneukirchen, Krönberg (near Frankfurt), New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Scotland, and many places in North America.

I have pictures of some of the more recent trips in my SmugMug Galleries
Australia - http://violaann.smugmug.com/Travel/Australia-2007/3303719_mK6m8
SW USA (Utah & Arizona) - http://violaann.smugmug.com/Travel/Southwest-USA-2008-Part-I/5233356_nMgQe/1

On my ToDo list (someday when I get time, ha, ha) is to scan all the photos from earlier pre-digital trips and put them into travelogue form as well.

Ann

Thank you ViolaAnn for sharing such beautiful photos! I love feeding the birds out of your hands and the architecture is stunning! The vista's you saw....amazing!! Again thank you for sharing!!!!!!

How wonderful Ann to take time out to send your wonderful photos for us to see, thank you lots and lots.

I have always wanted to see Australia almost was on my way but had to cancel because of my back issues, thought I could never sit in a plan that lengths of time nor walking any distance. Seeing your pictures made me feel I WAS there

Oprah is taking her whole studio audience to Australia! - and John Travolta is flying the plane!

great pictures ann - have been to melbourne and sydney (lot's of nice pubs at the rocks) they brought back some memories - only saw ayres rock from a plane when an accomadating british airways pilot titled the plane sideways for a view.

the pictures of the southwest were great too - makes me remember need to get out there again and hike to the bottom of GC - i think i backpacked down the trail in Bryce to camp for a night.

Yes - thanks, Ann!

Wonderful photos, Ann! I especially loved the Australian birds, & the wildlife. The photos of the SW US were awesome......Thanks.

Lovely shots, Ann! I enjoyed your vacations and appreciate your taking me along!

Hi Maria! Nice to hear from you! Thanks for bringing Ann over!
Louise

You are very welcome, happy Ann is here

Thanks for sharing Ann, great pics

Thanks, folks. You make me think I should post more of what I have on SmugMug. I have digital pics from a trip to Scotland 2004, Iceland 2005, Japan in 2006, Düsseldorf from November 2008, Germany (Hamburg and Berlin) last November (09). I also have a lot of pics from a day 2 years ago that a friend and I played tourist right here in Ottawa.

The ones I want to scan that were pre-digital were 2001 and 2002 from New Zealand. The violists took us there first and the following year DH had a conference. We leapt at the chance to go back and had WONDERFUL experiences both times. While we enjoyed Australia, I would rather return to New Zealand for a third trip.

And I have FEW from a short trip to PEI (Prince Edward Island) a few years ago. Not great quality - we forgot the camera and bought a disposable one. Here's one of the bridge. We flew in; so didn't go over it. Were at a meeting celebrating 10 years (I think) of the bridge. DH had been a consultant on the pressures of ice when they were building it.

Ann

My late husband & I and friends took a bus trip to PEI, & went over the bridge....some folks were very upset, but the bridge is in so many sections, I felt safe....

have not been to PEI in many years - the place is infested with my relatives - need to get up there with my mother to introduce me to them

"infested"


LOL

yup - for years it was only a farming community and the cheapest labor was to make your own :)

My relatives infest all of Canada! LOL

Here's a PEI lighthouse in Victoria by the Seas.

Some fishing boats - Malpeque.

Good oysters

Even the water looks red in some places - very red soil in PEI.

remember the red soil - some of my relatives are lobstAmen. I remember as a kid one drown just off shore because he could not swim. How do you live on an island and not know how to swim??

Many folks don't like to swim in the ocean...me included.....don't know what's lurking on the ocean bottom. My friend's adoptive father was a potato farmer in PEI...that was one reason she wanted to go on the trip.....

alway buy pei potatos if i see them. "don't know what is lurking" you sound like my wife :)

HeeHee.....squeamish! Yes, I always buy PEI taters, too.....very tasty....

I bet you folks find the PEI taters more easily than we do. I think most of what I find are New Brunswick or Ontario.

one of the big supermarket chains carries them here - market basket - i remember when there was a ban on importing them a few years ago - my mother got stopped at the border and had to give up a 5 lb bag in the back seat - they did not open the trunk and see the two 10 pd. bags:)

A few years ago, I think they had a bad blight.