Places you've stayed abroad?

Similar to cmackenzie4 I'm fortunate to have got around the world through the RAF. Hard to pick a favourite place as many are good for different reasons. Iceland, although a bit cold was really nice and we managed to find time to head to Blue Lagoon and a night out in Reykjavik. Best night out has to be San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter, so these two probably top the list but with a fair few other places not far behind.

Quoted from cmackenzie4

I’ve been to Italy whilst serving in the Navy (1991) we went to Bari, Brindisi and Ancona, they were coastal ports with not that much to see, we’ve always fancied the Amalfi coast and that’s an holiday we will do eventually, the scenery looks breathtaking. Anyone else been there ?

I paid for my daughter and son-in-law to go there as a post-wedding present

They'd already had a honeymoon in the Caribbean but as I couldn't think of what else to get them I got them a "mini-moon"

The tales of their exploits and the photos / videos they took tell me enough Chris - it seems absolutely beautiful  

Re: Amalfi coast…

I’m struggling to think of a more beautiful coastline; certainly that I’ve been to. Lofoten and Senja in Northern Norway perhaps.

I’ve stayed in Amalfi town twice, as an adult. To get the best out of a visit I’d recommend staying on the actual Costiera Amalfitana, rather than travelling in from Sorrento (***) or Salerno.

Amalfi, Ravello and Positano are stunning, although becoming more and more expensive by the year. That’s before you start paying for the world’s best lemons, the best tomatoes I’ve ever had from Massa Lubrense, washed down with bottles of Taurasi.

The Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods) - I’ve walked it from Amalfi to the starting point in Bomerano and then done the actual walk on to Positano. Definitely take the boat back rather than being subjected to one of the most uncomfortable bus journeys I’ve ever been on.

I’ve only ever visited the Amalfi coast in Apr/May/Jun/Sep. I know people who’ve visited in August and hated it. It gets so busy and is sadly being spoiled by mass tourism.

I stayed in a hotel in Sorrento when I was a kid. Easter 95, with my parents and grandparents.

Three generations of the same family. Tension. Lots of tension. False smiles and more tension.

My Dad, livid at missing a Bank Holiday home match against Barnsley, eventually mellowed when he hunted down a three day copy of The Mail, to find out Town had beaten The Tykes 1-0.

Michael Aspel was reportedly staying in the hotel next to ours. My Mum hanging around the guarded entrance like a This Is Your Life groupie; craning her neck for a glimpse of the silver topped TV star.

The winds. The April libeccio winds. At times, Sorrento was more like a bracing Donna Nook than southern Italy. One strong gust flung the toggle of my Dad’s ‘Norris The Rubberman’ cagoule into his mother-in-law’s front teeth. An expensive, painful and long visit to a Naples emergency dentist did little to help the family tension.

Twenty-two years later, I returned to Sorrento with my mother-in-law, and my new family, on a day trip from Amalfi. It felt like package tour central. Tourist menus everywhere, sloppy, overcooked pasta, no sign of Michael Aspel. I made my excuses and whisked Mrs Voles back to Amalfi as fast as I could, to make sweet love under the leaves of a bitter, lemon tree.


*** I suppose one of the few benefits of staying in Sorrento is that’s it’s easier to visit Naples, Versuvius, Pompei, Caserta, Cassino, Capri, Ischia etc. You’ll still miss out though.

Cēsis in Latvia surprised me, about 60 miles from Riga.
We got the choo choo from the capital and I think the next stop was Moscow.
About the  same size as Brigg and I'm sure I heard it was the 9th largest town in the country.
We went down to the Gauja River one day through a ski resort and a steep forest to the river at the bottom of the valley.
Absolutely stunning scenery.
That in itself was bizarre as we hit the place during a heatwave in summer when the ski resort was obviously deserted.
Walking along the riverbank we were joined by a 'dog'.
It's a wolf I insisted only to be poo pooed by my mate until entering a clearing some geezer came out of a cabin, looked at the dog, backed back into it and slammed the door.
Yupz, wolf and we did the off.