Where is the best place you have visited?

[andy didcott]

I’ve climbed that bas**rd through the night to see the sunrise and it was a bas**rd I can tell you, sunrise like no other.

[Nudga]

Tends to be isolated moments for me, rather than being overwhelmed by the overall impression of a place.

I was once at a meeting in Shizuoka in Japan. It had been cloudy all week. Then the weather lifted and the host stopped the meeting and pressed a button to open the blinds on the big window. Mt Fuji was emerging out if the clouds, 30 miles away. Absolutely spellbinding. The closest I've ever come to a spiritual experience.

Looked a bit like this, but with the mountain emerging from the mist, so you weren't sure if it wa...Oh good God! THERE it is!



In recent times, standing on the Golden Gate bridge had a similar effect on me.

I've got a real soft spot for the great train stations in Europe. Just looking at the departure board at Munich Hauptbahnhof and seeing trains going to Belgrade and Warsaw and Naples and Paris. The feeling of the history and complexities and possibilities of Europe. But you have to be listening to Empires and Dance by Simple Minds to really get it.

Agree with the Golden Gate Bridge, loved San Francisco, totally cool, lazy city vibe.

Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge to Saucalito, a beautiful harbour village on the opposite side of the bay.

Started off misty on the San Francisco side, then it was totally clear and red hot on the other side.
Looking down off the bridge you could see seals, sting rays etc coming in and going out of the bay.

We did a Californian Road trip last year and took in loads of brilliant places.
I would highly recommend driving down Route 1 to take in The Big Sur.

[bahrain rover]

I have been all over the world with my work in Exhibitions and Museums. But I have to say where I live now in Mindanao southern Philippines is absolutely the winner stunning really stunning. Mindanao gets a bad rap as its on most governments no go lists, but it really rewards those who do go there. But on my door step is one of my dream destinations Cloud 9 in Surigao, its a world class surf break
and a place I once only dreamed I could visit, let alone live there.

[Donnywolf]

I’ve climbed that bas**rd through the night to see the sunrise and it was a bas**rd I can tell you, sunrise like no other.

Yes and links back nicely to the Grand Canyon because each sunrise I go to there have been loads and loads of Japanese all there because I guess it is spiritual for them - being the Land of the Rising Sun. They were singing / humming or similar. Dont mean that disrespectfully I just dont know but the collective gasp or ooh when the sun first popped over the Rim was not coordinated but sounded "like it had to be done" or was instinctive



Mind you they were all at Pearl Harbor went I went there - probably a little less spiritual

[Highland Rover]

 For IDM
 Aberlour....Walker's shortbread factory still there and has expanded over the years , village also well known for it's salmon fishing as well .
 As to football , mostly at Elgin and around the Highland League particularly at Keith , Lossimouth and  Rothes
 
 

[IDM]

I remember going to the factory shop where they sold “seconds” dirt cheap.

I went to Elgin city a couple of times, and Ross County, but mainly Inverness CT just as they moved to their new stadium.  Funnily enough, the first league fixture (or one of, its a long time ago) there was called off close to kick off due to a frozen pitch.  But Clach’s game was on so I went there instead.. had some good times watching ICT in those days.

Getting back to the thread - anyone else walked along the “High Line” park in NYC.?

[StocktonRover]

I remember going to the factory shop where they sold “seconds” dirt cheap.

I went to Elgin city a couple of times, and Ross County, but mainly Inverness CT just as they moved to their new stadium.  Funnily enough, the first league fixture (or one of, its a long time ago) there was called off close to kick off due to a frozen pitch.  But Clach’s game was on so I went there instead.. had some good times watching ICT in those days.

Getting back to the thread - anyone else walked along the “High Line” park in NYC.?

Yeah
It's brilliant, just kept dropping down onto the streets below for different bars and to look at areas that took out fancy before going back up and following the whole route.

Took a trip out of NY on the train along the Hudson River to a town called Beacon. You would have thought that you were in a different era. Timber buildings, train lines in the streets, a waterfall,  hardly any cars, no chain stores or franchises and a brilliant museum.

[drfchound]

Strangely I have been to Las Vegas 9 times (not for years now though) and when people ask me what is the best bit about it I always say :

The Grand Canyon - then I add - even tough it is not in the same State of course and is as far away from Donny as Conwall is.

I have driven a few times and flew in a 9 or 11 Seater Plane once. The skies were black with Planes - they were literally everywhere. They weighed people and then selected the Passengers. Me and Mrs DW had 7 Japanese tourists so they played the commentary tape in Japanese and the Pilot just told us in English what we were seeing

Really funny hearing a sentence or 2 in Japanese with "Hoover Dam" or "Grando Canyon (no kidding) stuck in it somewhere.

I drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, did a short detour to Hoover Dam.
Incredible engineering.
I really enjoyed driving over there, apart from LA, it's a shit hole.

LA, I wouldn't go back for a gold pig.

Las Vegas however, loved the place and I want to go back without the kids.

Have always fancied LA, what was so bad mate?

It's like Blackpool on steroids, it's dangerous. We felt on edge all the time, even in the touristy spots like Hollywood boulevard.
Our hotel was only two blocks away bug we had to make sure we got back there for around 6 o'clock in the evening as the crazies came out.
Groups of street gangsters, pimps, druggies etc.
I'm glad we only had one day there.
The only bright spot I thought was eating at the HardRock Cafe, that place was cool.

Nudga,

I wonder if the writer of I Am Legend got his idea for the film after dashing home before dark in LA .

[BillyStubbsTears]

Scariest place I've ever been was Rio about 15 years ago.

First day there, I had my shoes nicked.

Second day, Mrs S-T was mugged.

Third day, a guy was murdered on the steps of our hotel. Went out to photograph sunrise over the SugarLoaf Mountain. Someone coshed him over the head for his phone and he never came round.

Fifth day I left the hotel grounds and someone was shitting in a planter by the hotel gate.

Had my suitcase broken into at the airport coming home. £750 of stuff nicked.

Then a week later, I'm flicking through The Times and there's a photo of the promenade outside our hotel. So I read the story. 4 days after we left there was a 3 hour gun battle on the road between police and local drug barons. 35 dead.

Jaw droppingly beautiful place but you needed 20 pairs of eyes the whole time.

I found out later that there were more violent deaths in Rio in 2005 than there were in Baghdad.

[Dutch Uncle]

Agree with BST – a great thread, and like BST I also have a special soft spot for structures – in my case bridges. As a young child in the 1950’s a had a favourite jigsaw puzzle of Sydney Harbour bridge and my top personal moment was seeing it and walking over it. I also loved the Golden Gate bridge, and more locally the Clifton Suspension bridge and even the Humber Bridge. And over here in Northern Ireland the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge on the North Antrim coast.

Most of my favourite places are in Europe, with special love of Tuscany, Greek Islands and Norway. IMHO Tuscany has incomparably beautiful cities/towns such as Florence, Sienna and San Gimignano, but also lesser well known hill towns such as Cortona and Montepulciano. And the food and wine are my favourites anywhere I have been. Norwegian fjords are stunning and I have been fortunate to see several, including in the north. Greek Islands (which I first saw as a student in the 1970’s, sleeping on the beaches) are also fabulous with special mention for Santorini (what a feeling to stand on the edge of such a cataclysmic event and imagine it) and Elounda in Crete.

Other cities I have visited and specially enjoyed include Verona, Krakow, Maastricht, Bruges and Freiburg im Breisgau.

It is easy to forget what you have on your doorstep. I lived 30 years just 10 minutes from Delft, and that is a beautiful town. Also the Escher Paleis, a museum in The Hague built in a small former royal palace is my favourite museum anywhere – I love Escher and his illusions. York is such a fabulous place, which I came to appreciate more after I left Yorkshire. Malham is very special as well, and BST – I have always had a soft spot for Knaresborough station.

IMHO the UK has so much. For a city it is impossible to beat the centre of Oxford at a time when no-one is around – e.g. 0700 on a sunny summer Sunday morning. For countryside (outside of all the Yorkshire beauty spots) I love the Gower peninsula, Pembrokeshire, the Lake District, and the Giant’s Causeway North Antrim coast.   One engineering sight I would love to see, having seen it recently on TV, is the Falkirk Wheel – look it up and see how much it raises barges. And much as I dislike life in London, it does have some fabulous museums.

Each to their own, and above is simply things I have enjoyed. As BST says – a great thread.

[Bentley Bullet]

Miles and miles of tranquil golden beach. Beautiful blue cloudless sky and a hot blazing sun beaming down as we drank cold lager in the beer garden next to the pier, listening to local talent taking turn on the outdoor stage.

Yep, Southport's great in a heatwave.

[Nudga]

How do I upload pictures on here from a mobile phone

[BillyStubbsTears]

How do I upload pictures on here from a mobile phone

1) Go to Desktop mode (button at the bottom of this screen)

2) Hit "Reply" to a post.

3) That gives you the option to attach a file.

4) FFS check carefully what you've attached before you post it...

[IDM]

Scariest place I've ever been was Rio about 15 years ago.

First day there, I had my shoes nicked.

Second day, Mrs S-T was mugged.

Third day, a guy was murdered on the steps of our hotel. Went out to photograph sunrise over the SugarLoaf Mountain. Someone coshed him over the head for his phone and he never came round.

Fifth day I left the hotel grounds and someone was shitting in a planter by the hotel gate.

Had my suitcase broken into at the airport coming home. £750 of stuff nicked.

Then a week later, I'm flicking through The Times and there's a photo of the promenade outside our hotel. So I read the story. 4 days after we left there was a 3 hour gun battle on the road between police and local drug barons. 35 dead.

Jaw droppingly beautiful place but you needed 20 pairs of eyes the whole time.

I found out later that there were more violent deaths in Rio in 2005 than there were in Baghdad.

Where did you stay.?  I was right on the promenade at ipanema beach.  Got a yellow cab from the airport to the hotel, and to the exhibition centre and back each day and saw no bother.

I did have a down day where I got a cab to the funicular railway to get to Cristo Redemptor, and after from there I got the metro to the Maracana and then back to ipanema.  Only went on the metro in daytime though - ventured only a couple of blocks around the hotel in the evening, but again, never saw any bother..

[Not Now Kato]

Miles and miles of tranquil golden beach. Beautiful blue cloudless sky and a hot blazing sun beaming down as we drank cold lager in the beer garden next to the pier, listening to local talent taking turn on the outdoor stage.

Yep, Southport's great in a heatwave.

Used to be a lovely town, Lord Street was reputed to be one of the most expensive streets in the country. We lived just down the road in Formby for twenty two and a half years, now that really is a lovely village with even better beaches.
 
Southport went down the pan when they built Liverpool One which connected the Albert Dock with Liverpool city centre and people preferred to go there rather than Southport.  It's a proper dead and alive hole now, sadly!

[BillyStubbsTears]

Scariest place I've ever been was Rio about 15 years ago.

First day there, I had my shoes nicked.

Second day, Mrs S-T was mugged.

Third day, a guy was murdered on the steps of our hotel. Went out to photograph sunrise over the SugarLoaf Mountain. Someone coshed him over the head for his phone and he never came round.

Fifth day I left the hotel grounds and someone was shitting in a planter by the hotel gate.

Had my suitcase broken into at the airport coming home. £750 of stuff nicked.

Then a week later, I'm flicking through The Times and there's a photo of the promenade outside our hotel. So I read the story. 4 days after we left there was a 3 hour gun battle on the road between police and local drug barons. 35 dead.

Jaw droppingly beautiful place but you needed 20 pairs of eyes the whole time.

I found out later that there were more violent deaths in Rio in 2005 than there were in Baghdad.

Where did you stay.?  I was right on the promenade at ipanema beach.  Got a yellow cab from the airport to the hotel, and to the exhibition centre and back each day and saw no bother.

I did have a down day where I got a cab to the funicular railway to get to Cristo Redemptor, and after from there I got the metro to the Maracana and then back to ipanema.  Only went on the metro in daytime though - ventured only a couple of blocks around the hotel in the evening, but again, never saw any bother..

Had a week in a hotel on Copacabana. Then a week at Leblon.

The cosh murder was at Copacabana. The gun battle was at Leblon.

Apparently the situation improved markedly in the few years after we were there in 2005. They made huge economic strides for a few years and there was a lot of investment in improving living standards in the favellas.

[IDM]

I went in 2015

[Nudga]

How do I upload pictures on here from a mobile phone

1) Go to Desktop mode (button at the bottom of this screen)

2) Hit "Reply" to a post.

3) That gives you the option to attach a file.

4) FFS check carefully what you've attached before you post it...

Haha, thank you.

[Filo]

This is about as exotic as it gets for me Barcelona

[Nudga]

Half Dome at Yosemite

[Nudga]

LA was shit but I met my kindred spirit.

Vegas is stunning at night though.

[NickDRFC]

I went to Vegas for the first time last year and not really sure what the fuss is about. Went to an amazing pool party but that could have been anywhere sunny with booze flowing, and Downtown was decent but I thought the casinos were really quite depressing and it was nothing like what I was expecting. Judging by what people have said in this thread I missed out by not going to the Grand Canyon (unfortunately I was only there 2 nights so didn’t have the time).

Somewhere not mentioned yet is the Norwegian Fjords which are stunning - particular highlight when I went was a hike up to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), a flat rock on top of a cliff face with amazing views out across the fjords (even on a cloudy day!)

[redarmy82]

If you want to experience real gambling, go to Macau. Been a few times, to Vegas and Macau.

All the same casinos in the Macau, but it couldn't be more different.

[mushRTID]

Some great travels in here everyone, just as I expected.

I loved everything about Vegas. Only went once with the mrs and been trying to convince the lads to go ever since, but no luck. My dream is to go watch boxing there sometime.

Although I didn’t do the Grand Canyon by helicopter, we did go on a helicopter ride up and down the strip on the last night. Probably the best experience Iv had that. Photo;




Freemont St blew my mind too, the light shows etc. Just amazing.

[Nudga]

Mush, Freemont Street light show.

[mushRTID]

Mush, Freemont Street light show.

Stunning!

[Donnywolf]

Half Dome at Yosemite

That is just stunning as I expected i would be

[Donnywolf]

I went to Vegas for the first time last year and not really sure what the fuss is about. Went to an amazing pool party but that could have been anywhere sunny with booze flowing, and Downtown was decent but I thought the casinos were really quite depressing and it was nothing like what I was expecting. Judging by what people have said in this thread I missed out by not going to the Grand Canyon (unfortunately I was only there 2 nights so didn’t have the time).

Somewhere not mentioned yet is the Norwegian Fjords which are stunning - particular highlight when I went was a hike up to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), a flat rock on top of a cliff face with amazing views out across the fjords (even on a cloudy day!)

Did the Fjords and brilliant it was. However the Grand Canyon is not called that for nowt. Serene majestic spiritual just a place not to be "crude" or disrespectful lol

[IDM]

I quite like going here..

[Nudga]

I went to Vegas for the first time last year and not really sure what the fuss is about. Went to an amazing pool party but that could have been anywhere sunny with booze flowing, and Downtown was decent but I thought the casinos were really quite depressing and it was nothing like what I was expecting. Judging by what people have said in this thread I missed out by not going to the Grand Canyon (unfortunately I was only there 2 nights so didn’t have the time).

Somewhere not mentioned yet is the Norwegian Fjords which are stunning - particular highlight when I went was a hike up to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), a flat rock on top of a cliff face with amazing views out across the fjords (even on a cloudy day!)

Nick, we spent the best part of 3 hours just walking around Ceasars Palace.
The attention to detail is magnificent.
And the Balagio at night is beautiful, the water fountain show brought a lump to my throat.

Vegas has something for everyone. It's just a fun place with loads of happy people milling around.
We walked 16 miles around Vegas one day and only spent a few dollars on drinks and snap. There's just so much to look at.