Barstow, CA? Never been there, and looking at Google, I don't think I'd ever want to. When we lived in Lytham, the ELD was a short drive away, and we spent many a happy day there when the weather was being kind. In total contrast, Rome is one of the most amazing places I've ever been (probably #1). Great place to eat, too!
To move away from the name dropping, a favorite place of mine and my mate's when we were kids was to cycle from NHE throught Cott then down Eppleworth Rd.to the disused chalk pits. If feeling adventurous going on further to Brantingham Dale and racing down the hill.
Remember as a scout doing the Lyke Wake Walk. After a rest setting off a 2 .00 am in pitch dark and pouring rain praying that we would soon be at Ravenscar.
I don't understand why some people take beach holidays in the Caribbean. You get the feeling often they are just getting pissed in beautiful surroundings. You might as well go to a beach in Spain.
Robin Hoods Bay is a magical place, especially for kids - we took our ''modern'' (play stations, tablets, computer games etc etc) grand children, it was amazing to see them rooting in rock pools and exploring the beach like their dad had done thirty years earlier ................ a brilliant place.
I once went to watch England play Austria in Vienna (drew 2-2). To avoid the high prices of flights into Vienna, we arrived a couple of days before and got a hotel in Salzburg. We caught the old wooden train from Salzburg through to Vienna, took about four or five hours. On boarding the train, we found a compartment unofficially now reserved just for us four Hull lads, got our cans of Stella on the table and got the playing cards out ready to win big cash off each other. However....once we set off the compartment went quiet....the scenery out of the window as we meandered through the Alps was simply breathtaking. If anyone is "into trains" this really is a must do route. Salzburg is beautiful too, Vienna is so-so.
For me too - Spurn Point. Being there after my old man drove mum, my sister & myself on his 1950's Norton with his home-made sidecar when we were really little kids. Seeing stoats (any left ?) and all the different types of birds. Playing in the old concrete blocks that were defences from the potential threat of invasion from the North Sea. Attached photo (tiny 'cos I don't know how to enlarge into a visibly aesthetic image) of my mum & myself about 3 years ago when my sister & I took her to Spurn, which she loved, just before she passed away. One of her last requests - wann see the lighthouse at Spurn. She was knackered by the walk, but ome of the lighthouse guys gave her a ride back to our car on the way back. Happy memories https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=d735d2b8d28c5886563d294f58fbbaa0&oe=56CC4B92
Just NW of Nice...playing boules & getting pissed with the locals. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/St-Paul-de-Vence_(Lunon).jpg
The place down the road from me ain't bad . . . please log in to view this image We've been all over the world but the "Child-Bride" and myself thought Hawaii was the most beautiful.. I too can remember the bike rides to Brantingham Dales when I was a kid. Used to be beautiful there then.
The weather. In December which is peak time for the Caribbean the average temperature in Spain is 12 degrees with a low of 7 degrees which is a bit nippy for sunbathing. In the Caribbean it'll be somewhere between 26-29 degrees depending on the island at that time. I never really know how to answer my favorite place as everywhere is so different. I loved Vietnam and especially the echo's of the war in Saigon, Indonesia is a really interesting place and climbing Mount Bromo in the dark to watch the sun rise over the bowl of the still active volcano is magical, Thailand is obviously great and I once stayed in a tree house in Khao Sok with no windows or doors and the Monkeys would come in an join you. Tokyo can be overwhelming but a really interesting cultural experience actually so can China once you get out of the big cities although Taiwan is much more familiar I think. I love Malaysia and have traveled the length and breadth but there is an amazing luxury hotel called the Datai on Lankawi thats special. In South America Argentina is a cool place and very different to the rest of the continent and downtown Buenos Aires feels like someone lifted up Paris and added a bit of latin flair. Bizarrely the docks, which were built by the British, are the spitting image of the Albert Docks in Liverpool and have now even been converted to an entertainment area too. I wouldn't say I liked Venezuela but it's an experience in madness. Brazil is Brazil but I really liked a little hippy/surf town called Piper where you could swim with Wild dolphins in the Ocean. In the US NYC is a great city to explore and eat! I've always liked LA and SoCal generally Hermosa Beach is great. Seattle has a punky/grungy edge to it which is cool if you don't mind the rain. Places like Savannah in Georgia and Kansas City Missouri are cool but I like going to Denver then getting up into the Rockies for some adventure. In the Caribbean St Johns, St Lucia, Aruba, Antigua are all great for Winter sun but I went to Cuba about 15 years ago and had a great time in Havan in some completely dysfunctional Hotels and Restaurants with nothing on the menu except Rum. I've seen quite a bit of the Middle East/North Africa: Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Israel, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia but think it's mostly overrated with a few exception sites to see of course. In Europe there are loads of places I like the Grand Harbor in Malta, St Paul de Vence on the Riviera, Vienna, Rome with all its history just sitting there, Santorini with it's sugar cube houses and of course up here in the North the Stockholm Archipelago a place I liked so much I moved here. I think my favorite place though is Little Switzerland near the Humber Bridge. I used to go there as a kid with my dad when it was all overgrown and full of burnt out cars to explore and catch Newts. Then years later I'd cycle there with my mates taking cans of Stones Bitter to get drunk on.