For our 30th, hubby surprised me with suggesting a trip to Greece. We went to Mykonos ( very quiet, charming, and relaxing), Santorini (more bustling, incredible sunsets), and Athens (fascinating). The trip was planned through Costco which made it incredibly easy and VERY comfortable. We were not on a tour, although we had something arranged for each location. We did as we chose. It was a wonderful trip.
We had done a similar style trip through Costco a number of years before to Italy: Rome, Florence, and Venice. That one we took our two girls, who were high-schoolers at the time. Fabulous (and very easy) trip.
Costco has a number of such trips available—and not just in Europe.
Pebble beach. You don’t have to golf but it you do it’s PEBBLE BEACh. We spent our 25th anniversary. there instead of going to Hawaii. Chef Roy has a luau each September.
It’s beautiful, you can have privacy or meet people from all over the world. I like their gym and exercise classes. Shuttle will transport you to the different courses and restaurants.
We love the Canadian Rockies, but we went in early July and the week before there was snow on the ground. I think Mid- July to mid-September may be the best time to go there.
We did golf at Pebble Beach once in the 1980s, with a woman who is now a US Senator. We were freezing and wearing down jackets. It was H, the US Senator and me. We stayed at a nice inn in Carmel with the attorneys in our law firm.
How about Utah, southwest Colorado & New Mexico? You’ll see some spectacular scenery, in New Mexico enjoy a unique cuisine, and experience the marvelous local culture that’s an interesting mix of Native American, Mexican & European. It’s all so different from the west coast, plus the mountains, deserts and high plains might seem exotic (and exotically landlocked!) after Hawaii.
Yes, we have enjoyed touring the SW. Have been to the national parks of those states in several road trips. It is lovely, and we may be touring the Grand Canyon with H’s HS classmates in 2016 as well.
Ever think of New Mexico? Santa Fe is beautiful and there is a lot to see within a few hours drive, Taos pueblo, Bandelier National Park and many things in Santa Fe. The area is beautiful, historic and feeling like you are somewhere other than the USA but still in the USA.
Yes, we have been to NM and hiked and camped there with our kids. We have a dear friend and her family living there. I find the altitude challenging for prolonged visits and it’s drier than we prefer. Have been to Carlsbad, White Sands, where the UFOs are famous, Albequerque, Los Alamos, & Santa Fe. Thanks for the thought.
So, are any of the suggestions inspiring you more than others? If you tell us which way you are leaning, we might be able to provide more suggestions along the same lines.
Honestly, am really thinking hard about Japan and also Banff and train ride through Canada. May choose one sooner and one later. Spoke tonight with my SisIL & brother who were just in Japan. They went to Kyoto, Tokyo, and Hiroshima.
Am also interested in the two islands (Bainbridge and Macinac), but those would be after Japan/Canada trips, I’m currently thinking. H seems interested in Canadian train ride and Japan too. We are thinking we may go after my meeting in mid-May 2016 to one or the other.
We’re thinking that Africa is probably dustier than we like for our asthma and other lung issues. We did hear a tour guide rhapsodize about Africa while on our Korea tour. I convinced H that he DOESN’T want to go there due to the dust. The poor air quality is why we probably won’t go to China either.
H has traveled considerably more than me, but only working and didn’t have much time to explore or for leisure at all.
Bangkok is also fun. While the temples in the jungles in Cambodia are ruins (you’ll feel like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft) , the temples in Bangkok are in-use and in an urban setting. https://www.google.com/search?q=temples+bangkok&client=ms-android-samsung&hl=en-US&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dBRHVcmzGIahugS8-4DYDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=360&bih=615
Great shopping (both upscale & street market), people watching, and glorious Thai food! Fun to ride the public river taxi on the Chao Phraya River. Bangkok is a jewelry-making hub, so u can find all kinds of beautiul things, especially colored stones.
Also worth seeing is the Jim Thompson house. The most atmospheric arrival there is by public water taxi in the canals. Silk is the other major indigenous industry-- Jim Thompson’ name is synonymous w the silk industry. Pick up gorgeous silk items for home and fashion.
Oh, and there’s Thai massage. Treat youself to plenty of this. It’s so wonderful and cheap! For 15 bucks, u can have a 90 min full body massage without being slathered w yucky oil. Last time I was in Napa, they were charging ~200 bucks for a 90 min massage-- it stressed me out just to think of paying that!
Another top destination on the HI side on the globe is Bali. Our family’s favorite. Because we’ve always gone w kids, we rent a 2 or 3 bdrm villa near the beach (usually Seminyak) so the kids can go surfing. One-bdrm villas are also available. Villa almost always includes a private swimming pool. Just stay away from Kuta beach-- tacky, overdeveloped, and overrun w low-budget Aussies. I’m not a beach person but I love the vibe there. Elegant restaurants, hip beach clubs like KuDeTa and Potato Head, and great shopping.
A very useful hotel booking site is wotif.com. I use the site to shop for price & availability, then I contact the hotel or villa management directly to book. I’ve use wotif.com to shop for hotels in Europe, too.
If we go to Bali without the kids next time, we’ll probably stay up in Ubud, the artsy heart of the island.
If you go to Bali, bring a couple of empty suitcases for all the housewares, art, jewelry, STUFF you will want to bring back. There are entire villages that specialize in one particular artisan craft: stone-carving, wood-carving, furniture, silverwork, goldwork, kite-making, and on and on and on. There are many outfits that specialize in int’l shipping. I have a colleague who randomly bought 2 petrified tree stumps and shipped them to Canada. The jewelry manufacturer John Hardy is from Bali.
Like the Mosel Valley, Bali offers a visually stunning landscape and a rich cultural experience.
