Do you know something? I don’t think that I have a favourite holiday spot. For me the holiday begins as soon as I close the front door behind me. Each journey so far, be it near or far, has been an adventure.
Down the years, I have travelled with family, friends and on many occasion on my own. Travelling alone might make me sound like ‘a loner’, but in fact, it is when I meet the most interesting people. I learned about fabulous unspoilt villages off the beaten track, interesting buildings & museums or sandy coves…. with sparkling water lapping onto un-trodden sands.
RESTAURANTS, oh the restaurants. I like to stay away from the tourist belts, and eat in the establishments that the locals frequent. The locals know where to find the best food!
Earliest memories are the long sun filled summers of childhood, when I was kidnapped in the closing week of the school term, to become an only child for a couple of months in Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. My uncle and aunt returned me to the fold at the beginning of September, an inch taller, dappled with freckles and a more glorious glow to my hair, all the benefits of long hours outdoors and the locks being washed in Mr Clark’s rain water……
Once I finished school and joined the workforce, holidays changed.
I went hitchhiking to Salthill in Galway, but that is a stand alone, story… I still have the scar on my hand to prove it. 😉
Three car loads of us went to a festival in Tipperary, we were camping. Fifteen bodies, fifteen sleeping bags and three or four tents, gear to wear, gear to cook with, not forgetting the sausages, bacon, eggs and tomatoes for breakfasts all in three cars! – Another stand alone story.
Girlie camping holidays, one where one newbie in our group, arrived with pink silk dressing gown and bedroom mules in palest pink with swans-down trim. In Ireland home of eternal rain!
First trip to mainland Europe was overland, an opportunity to see six or seven countries, learn and gather a little knowledge for further exploration.
A cruise in the Med, where I ended up playing match maker!
A self catering holiday on a pig farm – with no smell – in Denmark.
Island holidays to Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Malta, Mykonos & Crete
Five wonderful days in Cape Cod, was my only visit across the pond.
There is still over half the world to see, so I am no way ready to pin point any one place as my favourite.
Delores is far away from home right now, in China for an extended stay and perhaps that is why she chose My favourite vacation spot as our topic this week. Now, I need to pack my bag for a trip round our other active members, why not toddle along for some holiday fun: Delirious, Maxi, Maria/Gaelikaa, Maria SilverFox, Padmum, Ramana, Shackman speaks, The Old Fossil, Will Knott.
The natural smartass in me just has to ask – was it a long way to Tiperary??? 🙂 I think Europeans are more predisposed to taking real vacation jaunts than at least I am. While visiting several states is fun it must pale in comparison to the many countries within easy reach to you folks across the pond. Othetr that driving trips, my fondest childhood memories are of my visits to YMCA camp in the Rocky Mountains. Gool pld Camp Crockett in Colorado.
shackman – I am over 260 miles from Tipperary town. It would take about 5 hours with an estimated fuel cost of £43.78. (one way). Singing the song always shortens the journey. 😉
I still have many untried destinations on my list, GM, though off the beaten track is my preference too.
I’m glad I lived such a short hop from the “Continent” as I got to travel most of it. 😀
However, the Outer Hebrides is still on my list and for some reason Auschwitz.
XO
WWW
Come to visit us and we’ll take you to Yosemite and the giant redwoods and sequoias, Lake Tahoe and the Pacific. There are at least a couple of restaurants in San Francisco.
But all of that will have to wait until we have some time to hang out and just talk! Ah, this would be a dream come true.
Spending summers with relatives makes for great stories. your camp stories fired up my imagination too.
For awhile we traveled tracking down old hotels in remote places that had still manged to stay in business, in old mining or ranching towns that had emptied out over the decades. The people were great and we found out about the interesting ways people manage to stay afloat in out of the way places. Once we stumbled onto an abandoned Cold War air force base in the desert, a vertible ghost town except for a herd of horses.
I have traveled quite a bit, too. Lots of fond memories!
WWW – I have covered most of the European mainland. From Denmark south to Malta, and from mainland Greece back to Yugoslavia, as it was then known, and west across to the Atlantic including Spain and Portugal. There are newer members of the money-less European Community that I have not visited…. YET!
Fossie – That would indeed be a dream holiday for me!
Celia – Writing this post has recalled memories and given me material for future posts.
gigi – The wonderful thing about memories, is they are easy to carry and stay forever.
You’ve been to some wonderful places and enjoyed them all, I’m sure. I’m not particularly well traveled, but I do enjoy making a bit of an adventure wherever I go. I like to find little un-touristy places to eat and when possible, to visit neighborhoods and see where the locals enjoy themselves. More travel would be a delight, though.
I honestly can’t remember why I chose this topic. lol But I’m like you, I don’t have to go far for a vacation. I love “day trips” when we just have a picnic somewhere, or take a drive to a new location.
I too was (very willingly) kidnapped by an uncle in Sligo for weeks at a time during the summer holidays & became a only child (lol) got a great sun tan & was far more helpful to my auntie than I ever would be to my mother.
Once when I was on the train going home I was crying ‘cos I loved being in Sligo so much & a couple near me whispered “poor thing, she must be going up to Dublin to work” !!
About your approach to the off the beaten track, I think that we are kindred souls. And on food, I prefer street food to any fancy restaurants and I am yet to pop off due to food poisoning.
The holidays that you have had are fascinating and I look forward to those stand alone stories soon.
Debra – in recent years I have taken visitors around my own patch – County Antrim. It helps me to see things with new eyes and have a fresh appreciation of them.
Delores – Sometimes spontaneous outings can be very refreshing and I come home feeling like I have been on holiday for a week.
Barbara – I intend returning to the Sligo story mentioned above during the week, and also the Tipperary adventure, which I know You will enjoy, at a future date.
Ramana – You slipped in there while I was hitting publish on the last comment. Street stalls here seem to concentrate on greasy food like burgers, battered fish, chips or donuts, so I avoid them.
My favorite vacation spot tends to be the one I did last. Like you, I still have places to go and things to see. As far as food, anything I don’t have to cook is appreciated.
Alice – I do have plenty of undiscovered territory to uncover in the years ahead. and I agree, having meals prepared and served up to me adds to the flavour.