A to Z of Places I Have Never Seen Yet! - Coffee & Conversation

I have been doing a travel series entitled  A to Z of Places I have visited and then I thought 

"What about the places I would like to visit that I haven't had the chance to go to yet?".

This of course meant I needed to make a coffee and sit and think.

So here is my list of 

A to Z of Places I Have Never Seen Yet.

Asturias in Northern Spain
(my husband worked there several times when the kids were young and I never got to go see it)

Baku in Azerbaijan  
(my husband has been there and says it is beautiful)

Copenhagen in Denmark  
(my husband worked here for a while in latter part of his career and again he never took me to see it)

Dundee in Scotland
(I have seen very little of Scotland and that needs to change)

Edinburgh in Scotland
(There is a castle there and our family like to visit castles)

Florence in Italy
(It just sounds like it would be lovely)

Granada in Spain
(I have always heard about it and now our oldest son has been there and sings it's praises too)

Helsinki in Finland  
(I have always been intrigued by this name)

Iceland  
(I have always wanted to go there and then our son did and our daughter wrote a novel about travelling there)

Johannesburg in South Africa
(I would love to see the expansive regions of South Africa)

Kenya 
(We have a friend who came from Kenya so I would like to see where she came from)

Liechtenstein  
(my oldest son has always wanted to go there so I'm copying him and we are both jealous because our son-in-law got to go there this year)

Here is a map to show where Liechtenstein is - just in case someone thought I had made it up.
It is bordered by Switzerland and Austria.

By Elevatorrailfan - This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this:  Location European nation states.svg., CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Malawi
(my oldest son spent three months there so I would like to see it too)

Nashville in the US
(OK it's not because of the TV programme of the same name even though I loved it)

UPDATE - My husband and I attended the Getty's Sing19 Conference there in 2019 and got to go to the Grand Ole Oprey too)

Oslo in Norway
(Would love to see Fjords and be in a very cold place that is meant to be very cold)

Piza in Italy
(Well I need to see this leaning tower)

Qatar 
(I don't really really really want to go there although my husband has been and liked it but I can't think of anywhere else for Q)

Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland
(not far from home but I can't remember ever having gone there and the wildlife is suppose to be great)

Sri Lanka
(No idea why I want to see it but it sounds like a lovely name)

Torquay
(I am an Agatha Christie fan)

US Virgin Islands  
(Who wouldn't want to go to the Caribbean?)

Victoria Falls in Africa  
(I love Waterfalls and I have been to Niagara Falls so it would be great to get to see the other major waterfall in the world too)

Westport in Ireland
(I hear it is a popular holiday location in Ireland)

Xanadu?
(Please don't tell me it doesn't exist.  😍)

Yet
(All those other places not seen yet that start with any letter because I haven't got any idea for Y.  😍)

New Zealand 
(We have been to Australia now I'd like to see it's neighbour to the south)

Have you seen these places yet?

PLUS 

Can I add in an object?

Bridge in Paris made of tubing and 3 trampolines.

A Pop Up Bridge - Xtra Special Day

One of the best things about having moved to live in the eastern half of Northern Ireland is the proximity to the Mourne Mountains. 

As we drive south along the A1 towards Banbridge  I laugh when my husband Fred says "Look at that view".  I don't even have to look because I know he is referring to the beautiful outline of the Mountains of Mourne.

Occasionally he doesn't make this remark but replaces it with "The clouds are spoiling the view of the Mournes today" in a very disappointed tone.

We often say it would be lovely to take a picture of that view but in a car on the dual carriageway that is not possible.

When our son Jonathan comes to visit we quite often find ourselves heading off for an afternoon to somewhere around or within this mountain range and that was exactly what we did when he was here a few weeks ago.

We had our granddaughter's birthday party on the Tuesday afternoon at 3pm but we still had the morning free so off we drove ready to get some good pictures (we hoped) of the latest point of interest in our Wee Country.

Yes we were off to see a Pop Up Bridge.

I'm calling it that because I keep hearing about Pop up shops, cafes and whatever and this bridge could be said to just have popped up because it literally just appeared suddenly.

The bridge is in the middle of a reservoir at Spelga Dam in the heart of the Mourne Mountains.

Normally no-one can see the bridge because the reservoir water level is high so the bridge is always under the water.

This summer has been so dry (even though Northern Ireland is known for it's rain) and without the usual rainfall the level of the water in the reservoir fell noticeably.   This picture below shows the different water level marks on the side of the dam and it is very obvious that the water level this month was much much lower than normal.

So for the first time in our lifetime this stone bridge (normally hidden by the height of water) was clearly seen

and it was possible to walk across it into the centre of the water in the reservoir.

From the car park where my husband Fred took the panoramic picture above the bridge can hardly be seen in the distance and the people walking along it were hard to distinguish but many people had been coming day after to see this spectacle and walk where there was normally water and no path.

We took quite a few pictures from the car park and then drove on round to find somewhere closer to the bridge.

We found a road down to a pathway to the reservoir and left the car there with many others to start the walk to the bridge.

This pathway was not part of the bridge.

This was the start of the bridge, the rough ground after the smoother pathway.

As you can see from the cyclist the bridge was at a lower level than the pathway and he was having a hard job to get his bike back up again.


Once on the bridge we could see the poor condition of the ground we were walking on but then it had been under water for many many years.

There were lots of people there that day to walk the bridge and they kept passing us
because we stopped to take so many pictures trying to get a good angle on the arch of the bridge.


After many stops we arrived at the arch of the bridge and of course stopped again to take more photos.

As quite often happens we took some of each other taking photos of each other - if you get what I mean.

Some little videos were grabbed as well, like the one showing exactly what happened after this last picture had been taken.


Then there was a very strange sight, Fred had gone on ahead more quickly than Jonathan & I so that he could do something different, something you normally don't do on a bridge

he greeted us from his seat on part of the broken pathway under a tree!

We took more pics here at this spot and then continued along the pathway for quite a distance until we got to the end of it.


Not only did we walk across it as far as was possible but I did what many people know I like to do - I had a little paddle (just don't tell anyone I had my bare foot in the reservoir water).

Killyleagh - A to Z of Places I Have Visited

I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.
Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.

Our daughter got engaged in March 2016 and decided that the wedding would be in August that same year because that was when she and Stephen could get back to Northern Ireland from their work in South Korea.  Obviously this did not allow us much time to get everything organised and because she was so far away most of the organising fell to Fred and I.

Finding a venue for the reception was one of the first things we needed to do so Linda made a list of 20 places by looking at recommendations online and we visited most of them, took pictures and face timed her while we were there if possible.

One of the places she had on the list was in the village of Killyleagh which we had never been to before.  It is about an hour away from our home in Banbridge towards Strangford Lough and north of Downpatrick.  From what we could see on the website it could well have suited her needs, so we rang them and made an appointment to go see the venue and talk to the owners.

The first thing we saw as we entered the village was a long high stone wall and we decided there must be a large house and grounds behind it but of course our main intent was to follow the directions we had and find the venue.

The village was really rather busy with many cars driving through the main streets and it was hard to find somewhere to park.

The street where the venue was located was on a slope and so was the street behind the venue and these two streets were the main streets in the village.

At the top of these two streets was where that high stone wall was and looking up from the venue we could see that there was a lovely big gate and turret type features to either side of it.

Unfortunately to the left of the picture there is the village library and car parking spaces which spoilt the view somewhat.  Add to that the fact that it was a very dull day when we were visiting but maybe we will get back sometime in much better brighter weather.


I got a bit closer to take another shot

Still cars in the picture but now we can see that there is the hint of a building inside the walls.

So of course I need to get a closer look but when I go up to the open gateway there is a sign saying that the public can go into the gateway but are asked not to further enter the grounds.

So a picture was taken from just outside the gateway.

which clearly showed the large house within.

Another one taken a step inside the gateway

and a third taken from about halfway through the gateway.

Killyleagh has a few other interesting places to see like some churches and Mary's Style.

These can all be found on the Killyleagh Heritage Trail
A brochure for this including a map with the Trail walk clearly indicated and showing the locations of all interesting places in the town can be got at the tourist information Office very close to the Castle.

However because Killyleagh is not a big town going round the Heritage Trail is not too long a walk and we would have been tempted to do it except for the fact that is was not a great looking day.

So we then headed out to the harbour area to have a little walk but it started to rain and photos were just not good there.

This one from Wikipedia does show the more quiet atmosphere in this part of Killyleagh.

Killyleagh harbour and St John's church

By Albert Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12331672

The local people who ran the venue told us that the Castle is still lived in by the present generation of the family who had always owned it and is not open to the public.

However they said the family were very good about allowing wedding pictures to be taken there.

They were of course trying to entice us to have the wedding reception there.

Want to see a castle that is still lived in?

Here's another picture from Wikipedia that shows how impressive the castle is from higher up and from an angle further to the right.  Even so again much of the buildings on the main streets are obstructing part of the view.

Killyleagh Castle seen from Church Hill

By Albert Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12974085

The village is lovely and if you are ever in the area and like to see castles then it is definitely one to see and remember it is very unusual for one to be lived in as the normal family home.


In the end the venue we had gone to see was not suitable for the wedding reception as it was not wheelchair friendly although the B&B associated with it did have a lift for people staying there.

If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria
H for HongKong
I for Islandmagee
J is for Jersey

Jersey - A to Z of Places I have Visited

I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.

Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.

In 1995 we returned to Northern Ireland from our 3 years of living in the US.

Shortly after this my father died leaving mum on her own.  She had always liked to travel so the following year my sister and I and our families and mum decided to go on holiday together.
It was decided that we would go to Jersey in the Channel Islands because mum and dad had gone there several years before and had really enjoyed it.

I was very happy to go there as we had never been to any of the Channel Islands previously and we had always heard that the weather was better there than in the UK.


One of the things I remember the most about that trip was going to the Jersey Pearl.  A place to learn all about how pearls form and about the grading of the quality of pearls.  It was very interesting for all 3 generations of our family.  Then Fred bought me a heart necklace with a little pearl set in it; a little pearl that I had chosen myself.  I still have that necklace today.

The Jersey Pearl has been open for over 30 years now and is evidently still one of the biggest attractions on the island.

It is at St. Ouen which is on the North West of the island.

The island of Jersey is not very large and we could comfortably drive the whole way round it in one day stopping off to see some sights.

Some of the coastal regions were similar to the rocky parts of the Northern Ireland coastline and we all enjoy the rocks.

The beaches were nice and with having 6 kids in our group (my sister and brother-in-law have 3 and we have three) we spent several hours on the beach. If you have read the CALPE post in this series you will have read more about my sister and brother-in-law there and my brother-in-law inspired one of my NEED HELP? blogposts.

Some of us are very fond of swimming in the sea and the temperature of the water was somewhat higher than we are used to in Northern Ireland thankfully.

The capital of the Island is St. Helier which is in the south of the island

and has a lovely harbour & marina.

Another thing some of our family are very fond of are castles.  Mostly we see a lot of ruins of castles but here on Jersey there was a very impressive medieval castle which is over 800 years old.

It is called Mont Orgueil Castle and overlooks the beautiful fishing village of Gorey on the east of the island.

We spent a lot of time one day looking round the castle

and the sea front is also nice to walk along.

 There is another Castle called Elizabeth Castle which can also be visited on a rocky islet in St. Aubin's Bay near St. Helier on the South of the Island but this one is only 300 years old.


There are also several sculptures on the island but they may be more recent than our visit so long ago and I do not remember them.  Which is a pity because if you have read the post in this series about ENNIS or an earlier post about TERVUREN in Belgium or one about FOUNTAINS you will know that I like unusual fountains, roundabouts and sculptures.

I have heard of the Jersey toad being a unique species of toad and there being a sculpture that and I believe there is  one to do with liberation and a kind of tree shaped one but maybe I just need to go to Jersey again to discover them all.

Where do we find pearls, toads and castles?

Another thing I remember about Jersey was all of the family enjoying ice cream together most days but then we would enjoy ice cream anywhere and always will at any chance we get.


We have not had the opportunity to visit the Islands of Sark and Guernsey which along with Jersey make up the Channel Islands but I believe Sark is smaller, very beautiful and known for it's wildlife whereas Guernsey is predominantly a fishing island.

Photo Credit:  Pixabay  &  Wikipedia  as my few pictures of so long ago were not able to be used in this post.

If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria
H for Hong Kong
I is for Islandmagee

Hong Kong - A to Z of Places I have Visited

I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.
Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.

I have always wanted to see Hong Kong but never thought I would.

Then it was given back to China and I definitely thought I would never visit it.

However when you have a daughter who decides to go to teach English in South Korea things change and your travel plans change immensely.


She went off in February 2013 and we started making plans to go to visit her that summer.  Then of course when we were going to go that far we decided to take a little trip from South Korea to Hong Kong because it would in the same area in the world.

So 4 days were allocated to Hong Kong in our itinerary and we could have enjoyed even longer.

You can read some more about our trip to Hong Kong here & here because I actually blogged while I was on that whole trip.


HOTEL

This was definitely not the best hotel we had during our whole trip in fact I think I may just be honest and say it was the worst.

This was the view from our hotel room.

I was depressed immediately because we really had not done enough research into Hong Kong to know the better parts of it.

The room was small but it was clean and as Fred always reminds me we were not going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel.

Hong Kong is made up of different parts - 

Hong Kong Island, The New Territories and Lantau Island.

We were staying on Hong Kong Island and it is very built up and by far the better area of it to stay in would is probably closer to the sea separating it from The New Territories as you can see in the screenshot from my ipad below.  The part of the Island where the hotel was is way off the map because the metro system does not extend on throughout Hong Kong Island.

EVENING VIEW

The first thing we did was to go see the skyline that is famous which is along the sea front.

Here is the view of the New Territories sea front taken from Hong Kong Island.

Fred managed to get a panoramic photo of it.

MORNING VIEW

The next day we went back to the sea front to see it in the daylight and walk along the Avenue of Stars.

We did not recognise many of the names of the stars but here is one that we did - Jackie Chan

It is a lovely walk but it was so sunny that we had to try to keep in the shade a lot of the time however I did come out for my action call by the director

BUS TRIP

We had a nice relaxing walk the following day as well, this time around a little beach area.

Not just so sunny so we were out longer.

THE CABLE CAR

I love Cable Cars and we have been on a few different ones in various parts of the world but none have been as long as this one.

We  travelled over bridges

and over the sea

and over the land

The route we took can be seen on the metro map just follow the orange line from Hong Kong Island to Lantau Island passing over part of the New Territories on the way.


This fantastic journey took us to an area up the hills that is all about a Buddah - I think, we didn't go up the steps to the Big Statue while we were there.

Fred found a very large tea pot in the village there which is just a tourist trap of shops.

It was a better temperature there so we quite enjoyed walking area the large area and seeing the colourful gardens.


THE PEAK

Well you cannot go to Hong Kong without going up the Peak.

This is what everyone says so we did but I didn't even know why or where we were going until we got there.

You must go up the Peak!

You queue up for a train that takes you up the hill to the peak and you wait and wait for your turn.

It is quite a pleasant place with showcases and pictures etc. on the walls to help you pass the time while you wait.

It is worth it for the view on the way up

to the Peak where we had something to eat and walked around the tourist attraction that is there with quite a few areas inside it and again a great view but the best view

is the one you get over the two skylines of Hong Kong.

Although we had a problem finding places to eat near where we were staying the food we did get was delicious but it does take more time out of your day than meals do in other places.


There were also a variety of markets on Hong Kong Island so if you are thinking of making this one of your holiday vacation spots then do look up about the markets which are on most days of the week.

We chose to go to only one but we spent a long time in it and I have to say the ladies selling on the stalls all seemed to be very helpful to my husband Fred.

We will not mention the incident about the belt will we Fred?

We still laugh about that now.

If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria