Feeling The Pull Of Wanderlust
The first full day of spring brought snow to N.C. and wanderlust to me – not sure why. Do you ever get the itch? You know, to pack a bag and hit the road – an escape – if you will! An adventure, a respite, maybe an interlude! Considering I won’t be able to take to the seas or the air anytime soon I decided to revisit a few of the places I have traveled via a few photos.
Being married to a photographer has it’s benefits when it comes to capturing the sites from every trip we take. Oh don’t worry, I take plenty of my own photos too. Needless to say we always have a ton of photos at hand to relive our travels. Be it a day trip to the mountains, a long weekend to the ocean or a real vacation, there is no shortage of pics capturing the moments.
Amsterdam canals are lovely and often narrow.
Our most recent trip to the Netherlands, Belgium and Paris is still fairly clear in my mind. I have a hankerin’ to go back to Amsterdam and stay about a month. Clean, English speaking, boats, (I love boats) pot shops, (adult recreation), the best apple pie (recipe) in the universe, canals, windmills and history. Oh, did I mention Van Gogh?
Grey Area – should say “green” area. It’s where you buy the green stuff that is illegal in most of the U.S.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Windmill outside of Amsterdam.
The first time we took our girls to Europe we visited Switzerland, Italy and Paris. It was a wonderful introduction to foreign countries for the kids and proved to be a fantastic itinerary for the adults as well. If I were to go back to one of these countries Switzerland would be my first choice.
Goldern, Switzerland was the first town we plopped down in and if you’ve never heard of it – I encourage you to look it up. It is teeny tiny yet surrounded with the most amazing views. Home to an international school, a lumberyard and a couple of hotels – yep that’s all! Talk about time out – it’s easily attainable in Goldern.
We stayed at Hotel Gleitscherblick and with a view as shown below I could easily savor an extended stay here. It is here we enjoyed some of the most delicious fondue we’ve ever eaten, as well as an amazing breakfast buffet with strong coffee to get you out and about.
View from Hotel Gleitscherblick in Goldern, Switzerland.
We did quite a bit of walking in this gorgeous area of Switzerland. One of the highlights of our trip was parasailing in the Alps. For someone who is fearful of heights I was extremely hesitant to go but decided I may never have the opportunity again and went for it. Turns out it was not scary at all and taught me that taking a risk such as this can be oh so worth it!
Selfie of my feet while parasailing Switzerland.
That’s me high above the alps with the blue sail!
Next we visited Murren where walking is your only form of transportation. I say “perfect, I can walk off fondue and beer!” It requires a trip into Lauterbrunen, followed by a funicular up to a train that drops you off in Murren.
Lauterbrunen, Switzerland
Seeing the mountains alone is breathtaking and caused us to sit and just take in the views often. The gentle cows with their bells grazing in pastures high up in the mountains was unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. No wonder these are happy cows, judging by the color of the grass here grazing must be heavenly.
Happy gentle cows above Murren.
Our hotel in Murren was the Eiger Guesthouse, located close to the train and with gorgeous views, a restaurant, bar and clean rooms. A trip up to the famous Schilthorn, featured in a James Bond film allowed us unprecedented, panoramic views of the Jungfrau region. Quite frankly with my fear of heights it was a little much for me to take the trail out and away from the restaurant, Piz Gloria. I chose to enjoy a cold beer while my hubby and the girls ventured out to see baby mountain goats teetering on the side of these precipitous cliffs.
Jungfrau Region, Switzerland
The Cinque Terre in Italy has become extremely popular as a tourist destination. Climbing 178 steps to arrive at our apartment in Rio Maggiore made us feel like locals on day one. You can bet we never left the apartment without triple checking to be sure everyone had everything they needed for the day – lest someone be chosen to hike the steps back for a forgotten camera, water bottle, sunglasses or purse!
View from our apartment in Rio Maggiore.
Staying in Rio Maggiore we felt like locals as we saw the same faces every morning when we went down to the plaza for coffee. Pretty sure they knew we weren’t natives! We ate tons of delicious food in Italy. Seafood abounds, as does of course pizza, good wine, heavenly coffee, sausages, lemons and olives.
Coffee in Rio Maggiore
One of the highlights of our time in the Cinque Terre was a day trip with Angelo’s boat tours
( no longer run by the same folks) to see all the beauty from the water. It was well worth it and definitely provided a new perspective on this hilly, colorful region. As the day came to a close we sipped on homemade Limoncello made from lemons harvested on the captains family land. I’ve never tasted any like it since.
Rio Maggiore Harbour
We traveled by local train to get from one town to the next which was simple. It was amusing after having traveled by train in Switzerland where they are on the money on time, to finding in Italy a train running a few minutes late or early was acceptable. We learned to laugh and be patient. We did do the famous “Cinque Terre”hike one day by taking the train to Monterosso and hiking back to Rio Maggiore. If you do this in the warmer months of the year my best advice is sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and more water than you ever think you will need!
Colorful laundry a daily site in Rio Maggiore.
There’s always California with it’s beautiful coastline and vineyards pulling me out West. Oh and my oldest daughter too! Visiting vineyards and learning the history and wine making process is of great interest to me. I will never become a wine maker but to discover the stories of so many of these family owned wineries is never dull.
No matter the time of year sampling and tasting all the varieties of wine while taking in some gorgeous views can easily wile away the hours. I’ve met many friendly winery owners, chefs and tour guides on these treks and I always leave feeling as if I’ve made a new friend or two.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy wine tasting is to take a pairing tour. Wine pairing is somewhat of a mystery to me and I should delve into it more. Sitting at a table in a beautiful winery, with a chef or other knowledgeable guide assisting in sampling foods and wines together is hard to beat.
Visiting the older family owned wineries always digs into the history of winemaking in the Napa and Sonoma areas but making an appointment with a smaller boutique winery such as Blackbird (above) takes it to a whole new level of interest. They too have stories as well as amazing wines!
Maine, now there is a destination I’d leave for tonight with no second thoughts! Don’t need to feel wanderlust to fancy a visit to glorious Maine. Rugged coastline, daily lobster dinner, chilly evenings, sunsets, lighthouses, and adorable cabins like the one pictured below.
New Harbor, Maine
An original log cabin in New Harbor, Maine
Hiking to lighthouses and imagining what it must’ve been like before power took over, to have been a keeper of a lighthouse, stirs the imagination. Sitting a spell and listening to the crash of the waves, the roll of the ocean, the cry of hungry gulls and calmness after the waves pound the rocks is another way to wile away the hours with nary a care.
Pemaquid Lighthouse – Pemaquid Point, Maine
Did I mention lobster? I am baffled – how are there any lobsters left in the ocean? No shortage of lobster boats go out daily and all return with unbelievable amounts of lobster to be deposited at the nearest steam house. We watched countless lobsters be sorted and carried up to Shaw’s Fish & Lobster Wharf where we each selected the perfect crustacean to be steamed and carried home for dinner. You in?
After going through all the photos to select just a few to share my wanderlust has only escalated. Did viewing these images stir a bit of wanderlust in you? If you could choose one of these spots to get away for a few days or weeks which would it be? Italy, Maine, Cali, Switzerland, Amsterdam? Where do yearn to journey? Where will your wanderlust take you next?
Love this post! Heading to Amsterdam in a few months so nice to know what I’m getting myself into!!
I am so jealous – we truly loved every minute we were there! Mikes Bike Tours is a great way to see what’s outside of the city and experience riding a bike while there! Also the the Royal Palace was quite stunning – good thing to do if you have a rainy day! Try the apple pie at Winkel 43 and visit the Noordmarkt across the street from the bakery! Enjoy!
Amazing photos! Would love to go to all those places!
Oh thank you Teresa! Which one will you choose first?
Oh please, don’t make me choose. I want to go to all of these beautiful destinations. Although it will be hard to top the Maine trip. The cabin. The lobster. The water. The friends. ❤️
The friends <3 The lobster definitely.......
I feel like you could have written separate blogs on each of these places, they’re that good. Amsterdam was definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe! Switzerland was like stepping into a painting–utterly picturesque. Yep, I get the spring wanderlust thing. Happens to me, too.
That would’ve been a good idea! Honestly writing about all of these places and reminiscing over the photos did not remove the wanderlust! Love AMS and Switzerland! Yummmm….fondue and beer! Where are you longing to go?