#9:The Grand Palace (pg 498, 2nd Ed pg 622)

July, 2004 - I traveled to Bangkok, Thailand with three of my friends. What a fabulous, exciting, so much to see and do country! Our first stop was The Grand Palace. Notice my crazy skirt and MariEllen's (second from right) foot-wear. Capris (which I was wearing) and back-less shoes (which MariEllen was wearing) are not allowed. I knew some of the temples were going to have dress-codes, so I brought this sarong with me and just carried it around in my back-pack. It came in handy on several occasions! The Palace rents socks and shoes to those who come with backless shoes; this is what MariEllen ended up doing.
We decided to get a guide, "Mr. P" and I'm glad we did. It didn't cost very much and it was great having someone explain everything. The ornate details of everything is absolutely amazing. Not to mention the history; the Grand Palace, which houses the Emerald Buddha, was built in 1782.

The Grand Palace once walled the residence of the Thai monarch, but the current King does not live here; he lives in a nearby residence closed to the public. Here we are about to enter the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, one of the most treasured religious objects in all of Thailand. It is a 26-inch seated Buddha, carved from a solid block of jade. As you can see here, it is guarded by dozens of bronze lions.

Verdict: An ABSOLUTE must. I loved, loved, loved Thailand. Definitely one of my favorite countries I've visited. I can't wait to do all my other Thailand posts. The Grand Palace is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to experiencing this country! Page 498, 1000 Places to See Before You Die.

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

Update!  After a 20 year hiatus, we made it back to Iceland!  Last time I was here (see below) was with my husband of two months, with no kids. This time, we went back again, just two months shy of our 20 year anniversary and with four kids in tow!

We stayed in Reykjavik at a cook Air BnB right downtown.  And while we didn't see any Polar Bears or Puffins in the wild this trip, we saw our fair share standing outside the fun boutique gift shops around town.

We wanted a "local" experience, especially since Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon have become so touristy and expensive!  After doing some research, we made our way to the Sundholl Reykjavikur, the oldest geothermal public bathouse in all of Iceland!  First of all, you can't beat the cost.  The Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon now run you about $100/person.  This place doesn't allow cameras (for privacy and to help you immerse yourself more in the experience as the locals do) so you're not going to get the IG selfies but, you can't beat the price!  It's free for anyone under the age of 16 and just 210 kroner for 16 and 17 year olds and 1380 croner for adults.  So for our entire family of six (2 adults, 2 youth and 2 children), the total cost came to: $25.24!  (For comparison,  Blue Lagoon has varying packages which vary from $105-$170/person). It has multiple pools (indoor and outdoor), a steambath, hot tubs, plunge pool, sauna and more.  Very relaxing and a great way to start the day!

We also ate with the locals too!  Our favorite breakfast place/cinnamon rolls were Braud and Co.

We had dinner at the Posthus, voted Best Food Hall in Reykjavik for 2025.  It was fun and lively and eclectic (as much of Iceland is) and the food was decent, but it was expensive!  There was literally nothing for <$30 an entree.  And this was not a nice sit down restaurant.  Everything there was at least triple the price of what you'd pay for in the States, so it made feeling a family of 6 very pricey, which is my least favorite part of Iceland!

We re-visited our favorite sandwich shop from 2005.

And got hot dogs from Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, made famous after Bill Clinton visited here in 2004.  They are delicious!  And affordable, as far as Icelandic food goes anyway.  I recommend getting one with fried onions, sweet brown mustard and relish!

While Iceland has amazing waterfalls and natural sights, they also have some cook cultural sights as well, such as Harpa Concert Hall.

And the Sun Voyager, which overlooks the bay with Mount Esja in the background.

My daughter Riley channeling her inner Viking spirit!

We were hoping to see the Northern Lights on this trip, but sadly no such luck.  So I still need to go back ti Iceland again.  Next time, I will rent a car, make my way out to Lake Myvatn and Iceland's "Grand Canyon" and see the Northern Lights! 

2025 And.......

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!