#8: The Ring Road (pg 325; 2nd Ed pg 354)

August 2005. We planned a trip to Sweden, but Dave discovered that if you fly on IclandAir, you could have a free layover (for up to several days) in Iceland. So, that's what we did! Here is Dave at Iceland's most notable monument in Reykajavik.
We went to the top of the monument and enjoyed a spectacular view of this charming city.

There are actually a lot of things to do in Iceland. And Whale Watching is one of them! Here we are on our whale-watching boat. A little chilly, but a ton of fun!

And you can't visit Iceland without visiting the Blue Lagoon, located ~35 minutes outside of town.

There are several thermal swimming pools and it is filled with silica-rich water and temperatures of ~100 degrees. It's AWESOME!!!!

Here is an overview of the Blue Lagoon.

Verdict: Iceland (page 325 1000 Places to See Before You Die) is an absolute must-do! I loved it, loved it, loved it. There are things here that you can see and experience unlike anywhere else in the world. So, next time you're enroute to Europe..... stop in Iceland!

#7: East Hampton (pg 673; Listed as The Hamptons in the 2nd Ed, pg 840)

So, I've always wanted to go to "The Hamptons", but always figured it was way out of my budget. Well, with a little research, I discovered that if you go off-season (we went November, 2008 over Thanksgiving), it's actually quite affordable! Granted, you won't be donning a bathing suit and sun-bathing, but you can still experience many of the charms East Hampton has to offer. For example, the Montauk Point Lighthouse......
Or, if you watch the Food Network, you can visit Barefoot Contessa's home, where Ina Garten lives and where her show is filmed.

Or you can walk in and around the many windmills

And, since you are in The Hamptons, after all, you never know who you might run into (notice Steven Spielberg walking to the right behind Lacey)

And the mansions lining the beach are, well, breathtaking.

And, of course, the beach itself. Even if you go off-season, the beach is a wonderful place to spend the day just walking and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Verdict: Page 673 of 1000 Places to See Before You Die. And yes, I agree. You've got to check it out at least once just to see what all the fuss is about and, if nothing else, to see how the "other half" lives. :)

#6: The Freedom Trail (pg 644; Listed as Boston in the 2nd Ed, pg 804)

My last several posts have been about mostly international destinations that I went to several years ago. But yesterday, as I was browsing the Travel Section, I came across an article all about Boston. I started fondly remembering our visit there just a few months ago and I realized that needed to be my next post! So, here's a post a lot closer to home and much more recent - The Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts! We found $19 each-way plane tickets from Maryland, so we couldn't let that deal pass us up! We were in Boston Nov 12 - 16, 2009. Our first full day there, we decided to do the Freedom Trail. Here we are at the State House, the first stop of the trail.

We started the trail around 10am. With 2 kids and lots to see, it was pretty slow-moving. We came across Quincy Market around lunch - time. Perfect!

Paul Revere's Home. He lived here during the time he made his famous ride.



We did it! The Freedom Trail is 2 1/2 miles long with 16 stops. That may not seem like a lot to most people, but try doing it with a 2 year old and 1 year old in the middle of November (cold)! Regardless, we were glad we did it and saw some beautiful, historic places.

Verdict: It's not exotic. It's not thrilling. But it's history - wonderful, amazing American history. It's the Granary Burying Ground where Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere are buried. It's Faneuil Hall and the USS Constitution. So.... ya gotta do it before you die! (Page 644 1000 Places To See Before You Die).

#5: Vieques (pg 884, 2nd Ed pg 1095)

November, 2006 - we spent Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. Commonwealth, but located in the Greater Antilles. I was 30 weeks pregnant with my first baby! Vieques is part of Puerto Rico, but it is a small island about 45 minutes away from the main-land by boat. We rented a car and drove to the city of Fajardo, home of the largest marina in all of the Caribbean. We then boarded a Catamaran and headed to Vieques!

Once we arrived on Vieques, we were hungry for dinner, so we stopped at Cafe Richards, a great little local restaurant. After dinner, we boarded this bus. Here I am with my in-laws ready for a great adventure! This bus had a broken windshield, holes in the floor, no door - I loved it! Then we went on an extremely bumpy, un-paved "road" that took us to Mosquito Bay. Once at Mosquito Bay, we walked aboard another boat, but this boat was basically a large floating platform. It was late at night and dark at this point -- perfect for swimming in a bioluminescent bay! Mosquito Bay is the second best (the first being in Taiwan) bioluminescent bay in the world with between 400,000 - 500,000 bioluminescent organisms/gallon of water. It was AMAZING! Unfortuantely, we didn't get any pictures of the bioluminescent creatures - it's hard to get anything to turn out in the pitch black! But let me just tell you about it: While on the boat, you start seeing glowing fish in the water. The fish weren't glowing, of course, but the boat caused fish to quickly swim away from the boat, which would in turn "disturb" the micro-organisms causing them to glow which made it look like the fish were glowing, so it was an awesome sight! And then, the best part...... the boat stopped and we were all able to jump in and swim! Every time you moved your body, that body part would light up and glow. I kept rolling around on my pregnant belly and seeing everything glow. It was unlike anything I have ever done before or since and I absolutely loved it!

Verdict: I absolutely agree (page 884 of 1000 Places....) that Vieques and Mosquito Bay is a must-do before you die!

#4: La Sagrada Familia (pg 266, 2nd Ed pg 261)

In September 2009, my husband took me to visit his beloved Barcelona. Dave lived in Spain for 2 years as a missionary and grew to love this country immensely. Although we met in Spain in 2004, we met in Andalucia, Southern Spain. So, Dave has always wanted to take me back to visit the cities where he spent time as a missionary - Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Albacete, Madrid. Well, we were finally able to go, thanks to my Mom and Aunt graciously agreeing to watch our 2 kids! Hands down, one of the most fascinating sights in all of Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia. It is covered in scaffolding, but in this case, it's actually part of it's charm, character and history. It is the unfinished masterpiece of the famous Antoni Gaudi. In fact, Gaudi is buried in the crypt, which along with the facade and apse, was completed prior to his sudden death in 1926.

Here I am on the roof-top of LSF!

You can see the outside of La Sagrada Familia from outside the gates, but how can you come that close and not pay the money to go inside and walk around and see the intricacies of the detail up close? You used to be able to walk up to the roof-top for free, but that is no longer an option. You can still go up to the top, but it is now only by elevator and they charge a small fee. When we were there, the line was quite long, but again, how can you be there and not experience this magnificent building from every angle? After going to the roof-top, you walk a long windy staircase back down. Here we are on our way back down.

The intricate details are absolutely amazing. This is definitely something you want to experience before you die! (See Page 266 of 1000 Places Before You Die).