OUR FAVOURITE PLACES, PART TWO

 

You may remember that Anne C gave us her favourite places in the world a little while ago, and now it’s Anne H’s turn to give us the lowdown on her most memorable and enjoyable holidays.

First up for Anne has to be Vancouver and Vancouver Island, which she visited a few years ago with her daughter Lizzy.  As a city, Vancouver was manageable to navigate and easy to walk (increasingly important as we get a little older), and is such a beautiful location, situated on the waterfront, bounded by the ocean and its many inlets. Surrounded by mountains, this bustling seaport is a gateway between the great outdoors and a thriving and successful modern city. No wonder it is high on the index of best cities in the world – and for Anne at least, one of those places you could imagine living.  Further details about Anne’s previous trip can be found here. 

The same trip also encompassed Vancouver Island, which was probably her paradise on earth, with stunning scenery, a myriad of wildlife featuring birds, sea creatures and even bears. Fortunately the seals were not threatening and Anne and Lizzy didn’t encounter any bears (though there were some lurking in the woods). They were able to appreciate the stunning views of wild and unspoilt countryside, empty beaches and glorious sunsets.

They found Victoria to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with sea planes landing and taking off, hydrofoils heading to Seattle and lots to see and do.  More details here.

Next up on Anne’s list has to be Tropea in Italy, where she has family so is a regular visitor. One can’t visit Italy without mentioning the food, and Tropea has an abundance of fabulous restaurants dishing up the most amazing food. With its stunning hilltop setting, the beach is a bit of a trek down the steps, but offers crystal clear water and great beachside dining, a beautiful position, laid-back life style and sun, sun, sun! While Anne has family here and usually visits at least once a year, we have both holidayed there and absolutely love the laid back vibe. See previous visits here and here.

Staying with Italy, Rome is high on the list of favourite cities for both of us – though actually we have never visited there together.  What’s not to love about the amazing history, the stunning architecture and seeing for real all those fabulous landmarks you’ve only ever seen in the movies? And then of course there’s the wine, the food … and you can’t visit without mentioning Italian gelato which is to die for! And the shops – definitely la dolce vita! See previous visits here, here and here. Three visits - you can tell me love it there!

So where to next? There are so many different European cities which have such a lot to offer, that it’s difficult to choose where next to go… Madrid? Lisbon? Porto? Florence? Hamburg? Vienna? And back to France – where we have both previously enjoyed visits. 

For us Brits, Europe offers much closer destinations and it’s easier to get to as we get a little older (at least under normal circumstances and not during COVID restrictions).  Every city has a different vibe due to cultural differences and natural geography. It’s also nice to relax on a fabulous beach holiday from time to time, which gives us the opportunity to relax and recharge the batteries.

DRIVING THE NORTH COAST 500

 

With foreign holidays still causing  some difficulties for UK residents, staycations have become the norm for 2021.  Winding back before the COVID-19 pandemic, Anne H took to the high roads (with another friend, not Anne C) to discover the stunning natural beauty of Scotland.

Beginning and finishing in Inverness, the North Coast 500 is a 516 mile drive around some of the most stunning countryside in the UK.  Anne undertook this epic drive during late 2019 before the pandemic and any restrictions on English travellers to Scotland, so any visitors this year may well have seen an increase in road traffic on what can only be described at best as rural roads.

And if you would like to undertake this mega driving holiday, we recommend buying The North Coast Journey by Brigid Benson, available on Amazon, before planning your trip.

Plan your holiday

For that reason, her first piece of advice would be to avoid high summer, since the roads are narrow in parts, with well-marked but limited passing places – not great if you meet a motor home head on coming from the opposite direction!  Her second piece of advice would be to carefully plan the journey beforehand and ensure accommodation is booked in advance since there are no large hotels, and accommodation is largely in B&Bs.  And finally – avoid your trip between May and September – those midges love warm, damp weather and migrate towards shorts and sleeveless tops! However, that might mean you miss out on the good weather. Be warned, Scotland is lush and green because it rains quite a lot and the winters are cold, so you'll need to take appropriate clothing and footwear! But if you're heading there in Autumn, what could be cosier than a roaring fire and a wee dram to ward of the chills? Or better still - take time to visit one of the many distilleries in Scotland

That said, the scenery is absolutely stunning and well worth the trip.The journey can take anything between five and 10 days – depending on what you want to see and where you make a detour. Travelling counter-clockwise, the journey will take you north-east and then west, taking in Dornoch, Wick, Tongue, Lochinver, Ullapool, Kinlochewe and back to Inverness.

Beautiful Scenery

Picture above: Achnasheen Laide and below:Achnasheen Poolwe

If you’re not in a rush, and your pace is leisurely, you can detour to Loch Ness – and maybe do a little Nessie Monster spotting.  Take the ferry from Scrabster near Thurso to Stromness and check out its Viking Heritage, along with the 5,000 year old stone circles.

Above and below: Applecross

For those brave outdoor types (not us!!) head to the Isle of Skye for wild swimming in the Fairy Pools.  For those who are not so brave, at least there are some fabulous Instagramable shots to be had. You can either drive over the 500m Skye bridge or take the ferry, and dine at the world famous Three Chimneys or the Michelin starred Loch Bay restaurant.

The Royal Connection

The Castle of Mey

Scotland is also famous for its castles, and the links with the royal family go back centuries.  Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother owned the Castle of Mey as a holiday retreat, though this was later bequeathed to The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust and The Prince's Foundation.  She renovated the castle with her own money – which delighted the residents of Caithness because it brought running water and reliable electricity to nearby residents.

Staying with the royal connection, Anne’s visit to Scotland coincided with the Braemar Gathering, traditionally attended by Her Majesty the Queen.  This includes traditional Highland Games, Scottish Dancing, bagpipes and caber tossing. Her Majesty spends the summer at her Scottish residence Balmoral, which is close by, while Prince Charles (who uses the title The Earl of Rothesay when in Scotland) stays at Birkhall which is also on the Balmoral Estate.

And when the Royal Family visit Balmoral, they worship at the small local village church - Craithie Kirk, pictured below:

Craithie Kirk

Both of us have previously spent time in Scotland, and there is much more to see than just the North Coast 500.  Edinburgh (where Anne C spent part of her honeymoon) and Glasgow, apart from having plenty to do and see, also have some fabulous shops where you can stock up on tartan and beautiful woollen goods.  During a previous holiday together we visited the amazing Royal Yacht Britannia.  Who doesn’t remember those iconic photographs of Prince Charles and Princess Diana aboard the yacht during happier times?

Sadly the yacht was taken out of service in 1997, and is now docked permanently in Leith, Edinburgh, and open to the public to view.  It isn’t as luxurious as you might imagine, but is well worth a visit! 

Anne's itinerary and her Bed and Breakfast recommendations:

Braemar - Cranford Guest House.  Very nice B & B Highly recommend   

Inverness - Jacobite Rose.  Basic B&B -  fine for one night

Applecross - Applecross Inn.  Lovely place to stay . Lovely food and views. 

Gairloch - Gairloch View Guesthouse, Lacked a bit of character but clean, and good views.

Ullapool - The Sheilling,Garve   Friendly and lovely place to stay 

Kylescu - Kylescu Hotel  Fabulous. 

Durness -Mackays Rooms  Highly recommended 

Melvich - The Melvich Hotel

Wick - The Clachan

We found this was probably making trip one night longer than needed and would choose between this and Melvich 

Dornoch - Where we stayed no longer available but would recommend looking in centre - there are a few good B&Bs

Muir of Ord - Dower House.  Lovely place to stay, highly recommend. 

Lairg - Kylesku

Land's End

Lybster

OUR FAVOURITE PLACES

 

We haven't been able to travel for more than a year, or meet up for around three months, (all due to COVID) so please accept our apologies for the lack of new content on our Sensational Baby Boomers blog.

However, it's high time to dust off the laptop, and although it's too early yet to plan our next holidays, we thought it would be a good idea to look back at some of our favourite places.

There are sometimes very specific reasons or times when holidays create extra special memories - a special birthday, an anniversary, or even exceptional hotels and bucket list places, and our travels have incorporated some of these.

ROME

We have both been to Rome, though not together, yet both of us have found this to be a very special place.

This is Anne C and I visited Rome for the first time in early 2020, before the virus took hold. The trip was to celebrate my daughter's birthday and had been on my bucket list for a while, not least because Anne H had been a couple of times and said how fabulous it was.

We were slightly apprehensive about the time of year - we went in January - but the temperature was pleasant and it was good to get away from the bitter cold in the UK.

We got off to a fabulous start when our pre-booked transport arrived - a rather comfortable Audi - and as we approached the centre of Rome with its beautifully lit and well preserved ruins, "Nessum Dorma" came on the car stereo and the trip became magical.

I have already covered the trip in detail here, and Anne has also written previously about it here and here, but I can honestly say it is one of my favourite cities in the world.  The history is everywhere - and beautifully preserved while still being very much on public display.  The food, of course, is amazing and we were incredibly lucky with the hotel, whose staff went out of their way to ensure my daughter had a fabulous holiday - even bringing her a gluten free birthday breakfast (complete with cake) in bed on the day!

SYDNEY

I visited Sydney in 2014, and although I had never particularly yearned to go there, it turned out to be a wonderful holiday.  In context - my daughter had been saving through university to go travelling, and finally set off in 2013 flying off to Thailand and spending months in the Far East.  She ended up working on a farm in Australia, and since I was on a cruise with Anne H in the Far East (more of that later), I flew on to Aussie to see her for the first time in six months.

There are times when you actually pinch yourself because of where you are, and Sydney was full of those moments.  The first time I spotted the Opera House from the Botanical Gardens, and of course when I set foot on Bondi Beach - I absolutely could not believe I was there!

Of course, the fact that I had missed my daughter terribly made it so extra special, but also that our accommodation was lovely, the weather was fantastic, and there was lots of interesting places to visit.  I loved the laid-back vibe, while the friendliness of the locals and the fact that everyone spoke English made it such a wonderful trip. See full details of the Sydney trip here.

SANTORINI

I couldn't not mention our annual holidays in Santorini, which has almost become a second home for me.  I've even been learning to speak and read in Greek - no mean feat for a 67 year old!

Having visited several of the Greek Islands, and loved the sunshine, the food and the wonderful Greek people, it was around the year 2002 that we headed off to Santorini for the first time and fell in love with the place.  We stayed in a small hotel, and the owners had two young children, slightly younger than our own daughter.  But they played together and we tried to chat to the owners in their broken English. We have returned almost every year since, occupying one of two of our favourite rooms on a wide balcony over the dining room.  We have also taken several of our friends to stay there over the years - including Anne H and her daughter too.

Although most of the photos you see of Greece are taken in the capital, Thira, with its stunning west-facing sunsets over the Caldera, we stayed on the south east coast, in the lovely friendly resort of Perissa.  Thira is a bustling, Instagram-worthy town, full of tourists and cocktail bars.  It's great for a shopping trip or watching the sun go down, but it is quite expensive for meals and drinks (and jewellery), and if you're staying in hotels with a view, the cost is eye-watering.

Having now been going back for the past 20 years (though sadly not last year for obvious reasons), we now know many of the locals, and are on kissing terms with the bar and restaurant owners!  

Perissa is a small resort, not particularly sophisticated - no nightclubs or rowdy bars - and mainly attracts couples. There are no pavements or street lights along the main road, yet it feels entirely safe. It is almost a throw-back to how Greece used to be before tourism really took off.  Most people walk along the coast road, which is forbidden to traffic in the evening - where there are a few shops and bars, though nothing  too fancy.  It's a place to go to chill out, relax and just enjoy good food and sunshine. Santorini trips here and here.

THE FAR EAST

Lastly, but by no means least, one of the best holidays we spent together was a cruise to the Far East with SilverSea Cruises.  This was a special treat a few years ago to celebrate my 60th birthday, although in fact we went some months after the special day because of sailings, and ended up celebrating Anne H's birthday on board,  We certainly pushed the boat out because the ship - The Silver Shadow - was fabulous.  Everything about the trip was amazing - from visiting Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Hong Kong, to our fabulously comfortable - and spacious - cabin, to browsing the markets in Bangkok.  We had our own butler, a fridge stocked daily with champagne and fabulous toiletries stocked in the bathroom ( which also boasted a full sized bath). I had another "pinch myself" moment when we were sailing down the Mekong Delta - those faraway places we had only heard about on the news during the Vietnam war.  More on our far eastern trip here.

Well, these are my favourite holidays, but not exclusively those we have enjoyed, either together or separately.  Iceland was fabulous, and New York was amazing, despite having rather a bad accident there.  There are places I've seen where I would happily go back - Malta, Bruges, Croatia (and some of the above), France, and others I'm happy to have seen but have no desperate desire to return - Germany, Hungary  and Denmark, though never say never!

I still have a bucket list - Las Vegas, Hawaii, the Maldives, Canada and Niagara Falls, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily.  I have booked Vegas five times and for various reasons it has been cancelled through no fault of my own (three times due to COVID) and was due to sail to Hawaii this year but that is now looking dubious too.

Next time, Anne H will take you through her favourite places and holidays.