From Orlando to Kerry: Confessions of a Holiday Anorak (Top 10 Summer Destinations)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Top 10 Summer Destinations
Date:	26/07/05 (680 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely holidays

Disadvantages: They don't last long enough!

Ho hum...here’s another opinion before I clear off this weekend and visit the land of Leprechauns and pots of gold at the end of rainbows (whaddya mean it’s not true?). Holidays are lovely aren’t they? I mean, who doesn’t look forward to their annual sojourn to somewhere nice? It’s funny how things have turned out. Up until the age of 20 I’d only even been abroad once would you believe? That was to Northern Italy when I was 12. We was a very poor family y’see and then I only went ‘cos me mam won some bunce at the bingo. Since then I’ve taken every chance possible to go on a holiday now that I earn my own money so here’s a list of places I’m masquerading as a top 10 holiday destination op thingy. I’ve tried not to go into too much detail as these top 10 opinioneroonies can go on a bit can’t they? *reader rolls eyes*

At number 10 (as if you care) would be Ravascletto, Italy. Yeah..this was the scene for a wonderful week’s holiday when I was just 12. It was a school trip and it was the one and only time I ever went skiing. For anyone that hasn’t tried skiing it’s THE most awesome experience and being away from home was so liberating at that age. On our return to the airport we stopped off in Venice for the day which was something I still remember now. Those canals were pretty dirty if memory serves me right but the streets and plazas were spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. I even recall buying my mom a wee plastic gondola lamp thingy as a souvenir (ahhh). Italy in general is a wonderful place to visit and a great summer destination as well as the skiing available in the early months of the year. I really must try Rome one day.

9: Corfu. I’ve been to Corfu twice now and adored it both times. There’s just something tranquil about the Greek Islands in general and I’ve got many wonderful memories and photos of me and the missus before we finally got hitched. Corfu town is just adorable and is steeped in history (I like that expression and I'll use it again). Having been occupied by the Venetians, French and English, it has a wonderful cross-cultural charm what with it’s battlements and oh so English village green in the middle.

Corfu is just incredibly green and just has to be seen by boat on one of the many trips around the island which are so easy to hire. With the palace where Prince Philip was brought up, all the wee monasteries and that slow, slow Ionian lifestyle, Corfu holds many happy memories for me.

8: Orlando. Yessiree...I’ve been to the sunshine state twice now and loved it both times. Florida has so much too offer with it’s abundance of theme parks, sub-tropical climate and huge popularity among Brits in general. I’ve done Disney twice now with the last visit taking in Epcot, MGM studios, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. We really enjoyed the water parks last time out as they are such a great opportunity to chill out but the highlight would probably have been my son meeting up with Woody and Buzz from Toy Story (yes, yes, I know they’re just people dressed up). He’s been a Toy Story nut since the age of 2 and seeing him queue up with his granddad to get Woody and Buzz’s autographs was a joy to behold. He was soooooo excited.

Orlando does bring out the inner child in you and I can’t recommend it highly enough. The American people are really friendly in the main although when we caught a bus one day to take a journey down International Drive and we did see a different side of every day Americana. If you are considering going then you absolutely *must* visit Sea World which is just fabulous. They’ve added a dolphin pool when we were last there where you could buy small plates of fish for $4 to feed the dolphins with. They come right up to you and let you stroke their heads!

7: France. I’d always wanted to try France and finally made it by ferry and road a few years back. Staying in the North about an hour from Calais in Picardy, France was quite literally how you would imagine England should be like. Quiet roads, beautiful countryside, lovely beaches and a really chilled out way of life. Every time we got caught behind a car driving along the country roads, the car in front would pull off to the side, stop and out would come a picnic as the people in the car decided to stop the day for a couple of hours. I’m sure the only thing that was bought in the supermarkets was red wine, BBQ coals and meat to cook on the barbie.

We stayed in a caravan for that fortnight and drinking red wine along with eating French bread and boursin out in the open air really was the mutt’s nuts. I remember deciding to drive to Disneyland, Paris for the day. We got up at 6am and got home at midnight. Problem was we couldn’t get used to the turnoffs on the motorway so we kept getting lost. I’m sure we spent about an hour in Paris driving up and down before we finally got back en route again.

Paris itself is a fabulous place to visit although the traffic sucks the big one. We spent the day there visiting various sites including the wonderful Notre Dame. We’re thinking of going back to France next year. I’d love to see some of the sites of the battles from World War I which dominate the countryside as we never did get a chance during our last visit.

6: Spain. The last time we visited Spain was back in 1994 when my daughter was just 2. It was a resort on the south coast just an hour from Almeria airport. I had been to Spain before but can’t say I’d loved the experience staying in Benidorme for a week. The problem was it is just too overcrowded and when we went out at night we would be pestered endlessly by teenage kids trying to get us to go into some rip off night-club.

The beaches in Spain rock though. Those were the days when I was bothered about getting a tan and stayed, face down on the beach for hours applying sun tan stuff to go bronze. Not that I’d be doing that these days.

Spain is such a huge country and I would dearly love to go and see Barcelona, Grenada in general and try Madrid for the day. Steeped in history, I always think that Spain is such a proud country and with it being such a short hop on a plane and is so convenient for people in this country to go and visit.

5: Cornwall. I’ve been all over England on various holidays during my life. The parts of the country that stand out the most are Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and the whole South of England thing in general. We visited Looe Bay one year, right down in the South West of England. I just love the little seaside towns and fishing ports. Having a traditional Sunday lunch in one of the many pubs takes on a different meaning when you are on holiday. We actually stayed at a WestStar holiday camp where everything was laid on for the kids. This was one of a few times we stayed at their camps located along the South coast. I know that whole holiday camp thing is considered ancient these days but the advantage we found is that there was so much to so for the kids. Occupied children meant a happy holiday for me and my good lady!

4: Dorset. One of my favourite parts of England is Dorset. With the lovely Poole with all its associations with pottery and the fabulous and now trendy Bournemouth, Dorset really is a lovely place to go. It’s also so easy to get to from Northampton and the London catchment area in general. The beach in Bournemouth has won awards for its cleanliness and the Harry Ramsden’s Fish & Chip bar is a must see what with it being the biggest Harry Ramsden’s in the world! There's also the IMAX theatre just by the beach. Worth visiting before all those IMAXs go out of business!

3: New York. I think I may have used up all my words on New York with all of the various opinions I've posted about the place. It’s predictable but you just have to go and see all the sites. The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Central Park, they all rock hugely. I’m so sad I even watched the 1933 version of King Kong at the weekend just to see the closing scenes of Kong at the top of the ESB whilst a DVD of Hitch was best for the backdrops of New York.

2: Scotland. An Easter trip to Scotland last year was booked on a whim. I fancied a week away in the school holidays so off to Stirlingshire we went. We had this fantastic cottage by the side of a loch and simply drank in all the sites in the week we spent. Loch Ness, Loch Lomand, Stirling Castle, The Highlands, The Trossachs, all repaid our faith in kind with the most stunning scenery I’ve ever scene. The drive through the Highlands up to Loch Ness really was magical going through the mountains and seeing the cloud-hidden summit of Ben Nevis. In retrospect, I’m surprised I never did write about the experience but it did inspire the idea of visiting the west-coast of Ireland. Maybe one day?

...and finally...number 1 has to be Kerry, Ireland for no other reason than we are off there shortly. Our week in bonny Scotland set us up for a trip to the Emerald Isle and I really can’t wait. I’ve been scouring the Internet for places to visit and the west coast of Ireland appears to be steeped in history and tradition. According to http://www.kerry-tourism.com/ “In the 21st century, tourism in Kerry combines its heritage and the natural beauty of the area with a wide variety of outdoor pursuits and sports. Kerry is a natural centre for traditional Irish music and many of Ireland's finest musicians can be heard in sessions around the county” I certainly hope so!

Places to see include:

The Killarney National Park, the Ring of Kerry circling the Iveragh Peninsula providing breathtaking views of Ireland's highest mountains and Kerry's Atlantic coastline. Apparently there are loads of old castles and monasteries to mooch around in too. I should imagine I’ll give the 20 or so golf courses a miss although we may well have a go at the horse riding (well me wifee and daughter will). There are the wonderfully long sandy beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean as well as the dolphins that we may bump in to *sigh*. I’ll be thinking of you all when I’m staring out from a vantage point on the Atlantic coast imagining that if I swam directly across I’d reach America in just a few hours (depending on how quickly I swam). I’m sad like that.

Ooh...me new battery charger and re-chargeable batteries for my digital camera have arrived today in t'post from me Hinternet order *tears open package*

Thanks for reading this and I’ll see you all when I get back I’m sure. It’s funny really but I’ve really enjoyed Dooyoo as a site so much more since I got back from New York in March. I hope I feel the same again in August after I’ve returned and I hope y’all enjoy your hols too!

Mara :O)

Summary: Overview of my fav holiday destinations