First up, San Francisco.
If I had to pick the most beautiful city I've ever been to it would easily be San Francisco. I had wanted to visit there for years and when I finally made it in 2005 it didn't disappoint. I loved everything about it - the Bay, the Golden Gate, Muir Woods, the Pacific Coast Highway, Fisherman's Wharf - I could go on and on. I hope to make it back to San Fran someday.
While I'm out West, I can't forget to mention the Grand Canyon.
What can be said about the Grand Canyon except that it's without a doubt the most stunning thing I've ever seen. When I walked up to the edge I was literally left speechless. Simply spectacular.
Across the pond now to London.
When I visited London in 2002 I swore I was going to return again soon. I haven't made it yet, but I hope to someday. As a history buff, I was in awe of the history on display in London and in Bath, which I went to on the train. I loved my visit to this city and I'd love to return to England and see more of the country.
Ontario, Canada
Back in the 90s I went to Toronto with friends and then traveled north in Ontario to Rice Lake, Peterborough, and Coburt. This was the farthest north I've ever been and I loved the landscape. I think my favorite part of the trip was visiting the Petroglyphs Provincial Park and seeing rock carvings from the Pre-Columbian era. Fascinating!
Finally, Martha's Vineyard
I don't even know how many times I've gone to the Vineyard but it's safe to say it's been many, many times, going back to before I was even a year old. The Vineyard is a second home to me and there's really nowhere else I'd rather visit.
What are your favorite places you've visited?
It's also time for another round of the Celebrate the Small Things hop with Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.
I mentioned last week that I finally felt inspired to do some writing again after a summer long slump. And this week I'm celebrating that I actually did finally make some progress on my sequel to Polar Night. Things finally feel as if they are coming together and I'm excited to start connecting my ideas and make progress on the story.
I'm also celebrating that I was one of the winners of Nancy LaRonda Johnson's Salted With Fire blog tour! I won an ebook copy of Nancy's book and I can't wait to read it. It's always so fun to win something. Thanks, Nancy!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
*Top 4 photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons*
Glad you're past the slump and working hard on the sequel.
ReplyDeleteI've been to your first three choices. London is amazing. I'd take anyplace in England, Scotland, or Wales.
I love your vacation spots! I've been to all but one. Never been to the Vineyard. I've been close - even seen it - but never actually been there.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I hope you might consider joining my bloggers' book club. Details are here: http://armchairsquid.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-cephalopod-coffeehouse-august-blog.html
Congratulations on winning Nancy's contest! The pictures from your favorite vacation spots are beautiful. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour five fav. places are gorgeous. I've been to Martha's Vinyard and I loved it. Congrats on writing again. There's nothing like it.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, top five huh? Hawaii has to be at the top of the list. We didn't do any island-hopping, but met on Oahu for R&R when my hubby was in Vietnam. (Of course, under the circumstances, we would have found the city dump beautiful.) And four more off the top of my head: New Orleans, St. Augustine, Savannah, and the Pocono Mountains.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!
My fab five? Paris (tops), San Francisco, Key West, Everglades, and Giverny.
ReplyDeleteI need to see more of Europe: on my wish list are London, Scotland, and the Orkney Islands. I'd love to see Spain and Portugal, too.
There are still places in the US I'd like to see, and the east coast of Canada. I love seeing new places and exploring.
I love your 5 favorite places - I haven't seen any of them, and I'm feeling rather deprived. *sniff* Congrats on getting some writing done! I'm working on something new (standalone) but I hope that someday I'll get a contract to write a sequel. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat vacation spots. Glad you loved my part of the world (No. CA.) and I'm with you on London as one fabulous city.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting back into your sequel. Wonderful.
@Alex, I'd love to go all over the UK and see Scotland and Wales too. Someday!
ReplyDelete@Armchair, thanks for the invite! I will definitely check it out, I appreciate you letting me know.
@Deanie, thank you, and I hope you have a great weekend too.
@Nana, there really isn't. Thanks so much.
@Susan, oh I bet that trip to Hawaii was a special one. I've always wanted to go there, another one for my "someday" list.
@DG, you've been to some awesome places. I'd love to see Paris and more of Europe too. There are just so many places that would be amazing to visit.
@Lexa, oh, good luck with your new project! I hope too you'll get that contract. :)
@Lee, I'm jealous of you for where you live! :D Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOntario and London look lovely. I too won a copy of Nancy's book and congrats on getting the sequel to Polar Night goings.
ReplyDeleteThose are excellent photos. I'm intrigued by Martha's Vineyard because I'm guessing from the picture that it's not a vineyard..? I agree with you about London. We are an hour on the train from London and I love going there. There is so much to see and so much history everywhere you look. I also love the island of Zakynthos and Cornwall - Cornwall feels like my spiritual home!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to any of those places but they all sound like fun!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite (long distance!) places is Florence, Italy. I loved seeing all the things I studied in art history textbooks come to life, so to speak. :)
And, we had an unplanned stopover in Amsterdam, where we went to see Anne Frank's house. It's something I hope I never forget.
@Sheena, oh, congrats on being another of Nancy's winners. Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Linda, it's not a vineyard, no, it's an island off the coast of Massachusetts. But there are vineyards there LOL. I'd LOVE to visit Cornwall someday. That's one of the top places on my list.
@Madeline, I'd love to go to Italy. I can imagine seeing Anne Frank's place would stay with you, must be very haunting.
Beautiful vacation destinations! I've been to all but Ontario, and enjoyed all of them.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning Nancy's book!
And Congrats on getting back into your sequel!
Happy Writing!
@Tyrean, thank you! I am excited about the writing, I hope that continues. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're joining us!
ReplyDeleteI've been to San Francisco and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was such a awe-inspiring experience.
ReplyDeleteLondon is on my list of places to go someday. I hope I make it.
I'm glad to say I have visited all of these places apart from Martha's Vineyard which I'd like to check out
ReplyDeleteLove San Francisco too, been lucky enough to visit twice. And the Grand Canyon is awesomely inspiring, I did the Skywalk when I visited 3 years ago. Of course being from 'across the pond' myself I have visited London many times. Bath has so much history too. One of my favourite places I visited on my last trip to America was Lasson Volcanic Park, anyone know it?
ReplyDeleteGreat picks for your favorite places! I want to go to London one day. And I grew up in Ontario. Toronto seems pretty regular to me! Great that you got through your slump. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteI've never visited any of the places on your list, but San Francisco and London are high on my list of places I want to visit.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite places to visit is Lake Tahoe. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Another is New Orleans.
Happy Weekend!
London would be so neat!
ReplyDelete~Summer
great list, I love to spend vacation there also.
ReplyDeletenew GFC follower
here is my Celebrate Small Things
I'd love to go to London...it's one of my "must sees" along with Japan and Australia.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your slump is shrinking and hope the words start flowing easier :)
For once, I missed the summer writing slump, and I'm glad to hear you're over yours. I've also visited San Francisco and couldn't agree more. I'd love to go back. I also love Santa Fe--that whole part of New Mexico--and Cape Cod.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you in regards to San Francisco. One of the most fascinating and visually delightful cities I've ever visited.
As someone who was born in Chelsea in London, I always find a quite the buzz when I go back there.
My brother and his girlfriend are currently residing in Toronto. They are both from my other home, the city I consider to be the most beautiful in the world and that's Vancouver, Canada.
I'm heartened you are inspired to do some writing again. Well done on winning an ebook of Nancy's novel. Nancy a lovely lady and now another one of my adoring fans :)
A peaceful weekend to you.
Gary :)
I'm jealous about Martha's Vineyard. Looks heavenly!
ReplyDeleteAnd San Fran is on my list of to-dos in the near future.
I love seeing historical places or cool geography. Scott's Bluff in Nebraska was both for me.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the eBook win and on the writing progress!
ReplyDeleteThese vacation stops are making me want to stop everything right now and go visit them lol
From the list, I've only been to the Grand Canyon myself, it really is stunning.
Enjoy your weekend ;)
The Grand Canyon was gorgeous. I'm hoping to take my kiddos next year-ish. I've never been to San Fran as an adult, but some day there, too. I love the Oregon coast, but I also used to live out there, so it doesn't really count. Hrm.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
I love your favorite places post! Yes, the SF Bay Area (my home town, well Berkeley) is a beautiful place. And I've been to the Grand Canyon too, and it is definitely stunning. Your other sites, I need to get to.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were happy to get my book. I hope you enjoy it!
I did finish your book, and have reviewed it on GoodReads, Amazon, and added it to LibraryThing and Shelfari. I will post a review on my blog on Sunday. Writer’s Mark
England's great, you should definitely come back :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the progress you've made, I'm glad you've been feeling inspired lately.
Such wonderful opportunities! I'd love to visit England but especially France. So much fodder for a writer!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great when the clouds disappear and the writing commences in earnest! My vacation break got me back on track too, with book 3.
@Armchair, thanks again for inviting me, I'm looking forward to being part of your group.
ReplyDelete@MJ, awe-inspiring is a great way to put it, no doubt.
@David, I hope you make it to the Vineyard someday.
@Suzanne, oh, I've never heard of that park. I need to look it up now, I'm curious.
@Christine, LOL, I guess Toronto is kind of boring for you LOL. I just loved everything I saw in Ontario, it was a fun trip with lots of good memories. :)
@Carol, I've never been to Lake Tahoe but I can imagine it's beautiful. Thanks and happy weekend to you as well.
@Summer, it really was.
@Michie, hello and thanks for following! It's great to meet you.
@Mark, I'd love to see Australia but I don't know if I could handle the long flight LOL. Same with Japan. Maybe someday I will suck it up and try it.
@Jan, oh, Santa Fe is a place I'd love to visit. Another one on my lis!
@Gary, I don't know how you can keep track of all your adoring fans LOL. Thanks and happy weekend to you and Penny. :)
@Julie, I hope you make it to both! Your home turf of Colorado is another one on my wish list.
@Huntress, me too! I've never heard of Scott's Bluff but now I'm curious.
@SK, thank you! I hope you are having a great weekend.
@Shannon, I'd love to see the Pacific Northwest so the Oregon coast is another place on my list. There are so many LOL.
@Nancy, oh, thanks, I appreciate the reviews! I will definitely do the same for Salted.
@Laura, I hope I can come back. :) Thanks!
@Yolanda, oh, that's great! Sometimes a break can make such a difference. And I'd love to visit France too. :)
ReplyDeleteJulie, I am so glad you love my home city (London). I think it is the most cosmopolitan place in the world now!! My favourite place apart from London is Jerusalem! There is even more history there! Caro xx
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the writing progress.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on London. One of my favorite cities ever. :)
ReplyDeleteGood you've gotten past the slump:) Oh, San Francisco is on my fav. list of places I've visited. Loved it there.
ReplyDelete@Carolyn, oh, I bet! That must be an amazing place to visit.
ReplyDelete@Vikki, thank you.
@LG, :)
@Tania, yeah, I hope I make it back one of these days.
So glad to hear you're making progress on your sequel, cause I loved Polar Night. I've been in California, but not London, jealous! Just arrived home from vacation myself and trying to catch up.
ReplyDeleteWell done on getting out of that slump!
ReplyDeleteMy top five favorite places:
1) Berlin
2) Amsterdam/Rotterdam
3) Paris
4) London
5) Cape Town
I love San Francisco but haven't visited the other two places. Great pic of you!
ReplyDelete@Cathrina, I hope you had a great vacation!
ReplyDelete@Misha, oh, I'd love to visit the places I haven't been on your list.
@Brinda, thanks!
I'd love to go to San Fran! It looks beautiful! I was in London for about three hours for a layover, but from what I DID see it was just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite vacation spot is any lake where I can chill on a boat all day...but France is a close second :)
Glad you got out of the slump!
@Samantha, I'd love to go to France. And just chilling on a boat all day sounds good too LOL.
ReplyDelete