The summer season (Northern Hemisphere, thank you) is about to wrap it up and and that includes the memories of summer travel. Please post VERY CONCISELY (thank you!) where/what/ was the travel highlight of this summer.

I'll start with 10 days in the South of France, rented a farmhouse with friends in a small village in the mountains about 40 minutes our from the coast. Perfection.

Weekend trips to Maine and places Upstate NY. Glorious.

In bed with M....
Somptuous.

The visit to Albuquerque, NM.

Spending time with my Grandmother and cousins.

Floating the Guadalupe.

Returning to Barcelona to live.

Last night dancing at my favorite bar.

Paris and the Berner Oberlander.

Three days at the Smithy Fold b & b in Dentdale, Cumbria, England. Walking on the idyllic Dales Way. Eating Wensleydale Cheese and Honey-drenched Apple Cake. Hearing Evensong at York Minster Cathedral.

San Sebastian, Spain, first week of May.

The route through the French Pyrenees up to the Pont d'Espagne in the first week of May.

The ruins at Empurias and the fishing village of Calella da Palafrugell on the Coast Brava in the second week of May.

The Catalonian capital of Vic, with its extraordinary art museum, 2d week of May.

Two glorious weeks in Italy last week of June - first week of July

August: A week in Florida to visit relatives

August: A week in Las Vegas

September: Ferry ride on Long Island from Connecticut to Port Jefferson

La Serenissima

The Gower, Wales (and the ALWAYS GLORIOUS Caerdydd)

Chester, England

Melbourne & wineries in the Adelaide Hills with close friends

In 3 days time... a 10 day trip around the Greek Islands

Spent a wonderful week in Rome, where we picked up our daughter, who had been touring Europe post-high school graduation with 3 friends.

Then the four of us went on to the Greek islands. Fell totally in love with Crete, (Chania) Rhodes, and Santorini, which unbelievably seems even more beautiful than the Amalfi Coast.

Been home only two weeks, and already dreaming about when and how to go back!

Sipping Greek coffee in the tiny, cobblestone, medieval village of Mesta on the island of Chios - watching every man in town try to set up a flat screen tv in the main square so they could watch the world cup. Precious.

Good Travels,

Murphy

Two weeks in Spain and Portugal with a friend and her two kids. Loved the flamenco at Casa Patas in Madrid, drinks overlooking Barcelona from Tibidabo, and especially the wonderful evening sharing Portuguese food and fado singing with friends from this message board in Lisbon.

And celebratory weekends with groups of friends on Cape Cod, when the laughter around the dinner table drew comments from the neighbors.

Kayaking with the humpback whales in Icy Strait/Glacier Bay, Alaska for three days. We camped in the midst of an old growth forest on Chichigoff Island.

Traveling through Europe during the World Cup. Eating cheese and drinking local white wine on a hotel patio outside of Heidelberg, Germany. Finding a swap meet/garage sale in Dinkelsbuhl, Germany with its walled and moated surroundings. Watching the World Cup semi-final in Mulhouse with locals and celebrating with them in the streets afterward. Getting lost in the Roman suburbs and finding help in a Gelateria in Moska. Watching the Magic Fountain near Plaza Espagne in Barcelona, Spain with its light and classical music show. Watching the Queen Mary II return to the sea from Hamburg, Germany down the Elbe River at night while eating local fish.
Priceless!

Baldworth

Florence.

marthag, that sounds beyond wonderful. You have inspired my imagination.

Time to add Alaska to my "must travel too" list

Cheers,

Murphy

We loved our 10 days traveling in Northern Italy and Slovenia. One highlight of that would have to be the mountains in Trentino, and picking wild raspberries on our hike. We loved the dairy farmers (malghe) too...

Ljubljana was also beautiful, as was Trieste.

Also, spend two really fun days in Rome. I'm NOT excited that summer is ending!

We try to travel outside of the busy summer season. Hawaii in Feb, England in March, and next Spain in October. Summer at home in NorCal.

A week at our friends' villa at Lago Maggiore. Some of the many highlights were the kid-arranged, daily 4pm soccer games at the beachside field between kids from Germany, England, Italy and U.S.

Bicycling around the Northern Tuscan city of Lucca. Buying fresh foccaccia, olives, cheese and salami and sitting on the wall, having an impromptu picnic, while the kids played in the meadow below.

North America, this year

-Western Newfoundland, watching old men deftly filet some of the last remaining cod stocks, eating moose meat grilled over smokey fires and sighting ice bergs and whales

-Maine, fresh bluberries, lobster and crab caught and boiled the same afternoon,swimming off the rocks and sea-kayaking with seals and dolphins

Next year? Trieste and London and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia!

A couple of days in London
and two wonderful weeks in Northern Italy- Venice, Dolomites and an agriturismo on Lake Garda with the kids.

A week in Santa Barbara touring wine country without the kids.

The rest of the summer spent on Cape Cod.

My only complaint? It all went by too fast!
Cheers!
Vino