Wednesday, January 14, 2015
My Alphabe-Thursday (5th), the letter "I" — Some places I've been starting with "I"
"I" is for some places, countries and cities starting with the letter "I" where I have traveled:
- Countries:
Ireland
Israel
Italy
- States: (I've been to all 50)
Idaho
Illinois
- U.S. Cities over 100,000 population where I've been:
Independence, Missouri
Irving, Texas
- International Cities:
Innsbruck, Austria
Lets start with the countries. I liked them all, not really a favorite. So, Ireland gets the nod, we've been there a couple of times. Both times we had a rental car (drive on the left side of the road). It is a pretty country, not overpopulated, and they speak English. Currency is the Euro which has a better U.S. exchange rate than the British Pound. A favorite thing to do is to visit the Blarney Castle outside of Kilarney. And you have to kiss the Blarney Stone while you are there.
For Italy we took a Grand Circle (travel company) tour of the island of Sicily for two weeks (link). Since it was by bus, we could explore each part for about a week.
First we stayed at Palermo for a week, then Argrigento (Greek ruins there) one night, and six more nights at Taormina, a small (population 11,000) hillside town on the east coast of Sicily with a nice view of Mt. Etna. We did go onto the slopes of Mt. Etna.
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Then we took a Grand Circle excursion on the Amalfi Coast for another week.
After that we flew from Naples over to Milan where we rented a car and toured Provence (France) and Tuscany a week each to finish our five week vacation.
I took a lot of motor scooter pictures when I could. A lot of women ride them in Italy. To the right we see Mrs. Jim sampling the goodies at the Market in Palermo, Sicily.
Independence, Missouri, is the home of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum (link). It is a wonderful presidential library. I have visited slightly more than half of them, seven (7) of the thirteen (13).
The libraries make a nice goal for seeing places in the U.S as surely if you go by car you will not only explore the state of the library you pick, but also the states along the way (List of all 13 links on left sidebar). We love to make a sweeping tour and try to not come back the same way we went. We have been to ALL 50 of the states.
- Countries:
Ireland
Israel
Italy
- States: (I've been to all 50)
Idaho
Illinois
Independence, Missouri
Irving, Texas
- International Cities:
Innsbruck, Austria
Lets start with the countries. I liked them all, not really a favorite. So, Ireland gets the nod, we've been there a couple of times. Both times we had a rental car (drive on the left side of the road). It is a pretty country, not overpopulated, and they speak English. Currency is the Euro which has a better U.S. exchange rate than the British Pound. A favorite thing to do is to visit the Blarney Castle outside of Kilarney. And you have to kiss the Blarney Stone while you are there.
Mrs. Jim went up there also but she didn't want to kiss the stone. I've kissed it twice. To read and see more please check the original 2007 post, found here.
The Isle of Man isn't a country so I can't put it on the list above. It is a self-governing British 'Crown dependency,' not a country. (Wikipedia link) It is located off the coast of Britain. Though there is a ferry that goes there, we flew. My grandfather's family came from the Isle of Man. We visited it in 2007 (prior blog posts).
The main thing we did in the Isle of Man was to go from Douglas, the capital city in the middle, where we stayed up to the north by train and then go to the south end via bus. Lots of site seeing. We did see evidence of the Corkhill family having been there. One lady at the information center (above, right) informed us that her maiden name was Corkhill.
For Italy we took a Grand Circle (travel company) tour of the island of Sicily for two weeks (link). Since it was by bus, we could explore each part for about a week.First we stayed at Palermo for a week, then Argrigento (Greek ruins there) one night, and six more nights at Taormina, a small (population 11,000) hillside town on the east coast of Sicily with a nice view of Mt. Etna. We did go onto the slopes of Mt. Etna.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
Then we took a Grand Circle excursion on the Amalfi Coast for another week.
After that we flew from Naples over to Milan where we rented a car and toured Provence (France) and Tuscany a week each to finish our five week vacation.
Above, to the left is looking out our hotel window to the north to the sea. Next, Mrs. Jim and I took a walk up our hill in Sorento (Amalfi coast) and could look over to the Isle of Capri.
I took a lot of motor scooter pictures when I could. A lot of women ride them in Italy. To the right we see Mrs. Jim sampling the goodies at the Market in Palermo, Sicily.Independence, Missouri, is the home of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum (link). It is a wonderful presidential library. I have visited slightly more than half of them, seven (7) of the thirteen (13).
The libraries make a nice goal for seeing places in the U.S as surely if you go by car you will not only explore the state of the library you pick, but also the states along the way (List of all 13 links on left sidebar). We love to make a sweeping tour and try to not come back the same way we went. We have been to ALL 50 of the states.
- Jenny is starting in now on her tenth series of Alphabe thursday. With 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet she is now in her fifth year. I am linked to her blog, GO HERE for more participants and their offerings.
Labels: Alphabe-Thursday [5th], Jim Does, Travel 2
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This is fun, Jim. I loved Italy and Israel as well as Innsbruck, but have never been to Irving, Texas or Independence, Missouri. What I wouldn't give for an early morning in an Italian cafe - strong coffee and a crusty roll. Heaven!
You have been to all 50 states? That is wonderful - so I was born in Illinois! And I have been to Italy - loved it and would love to go back. You have been blessed.
Great shots for I ~ loved Ireland ~ haven't had any desire to go to Italy ~ maybe soon ~
Happy Weekend to you,
artmusedog and carol
Happy Weekend to you,
artmusedog and carol
Ha! We used to live in Irving -- and joked that, due to the up and down streets, it must have been built on a fault line.... now they are having earthquakes, one after the other! I'm so glad we moved much closer to Fort Worth!
Looks like kissing the Blarney Stone would be a bit scary! I don't blame Mrs Jim for passing up that opportunity!
Looks like kissing the Blarney Stone would be a bit scary! I don't blame Mrs Jim for passing up that opportunity!
You are quite the traveler. I have been to Independence MO, guess that does not classify as world traveler. lolol. Enjoying traveling with you. Love your pictures. That church is beautiful! Hope you and yours has a wonderful week!
until next time...nel
until next time...nel
The British Isle are on my travel list ! In Austria, Italy and USA I have already been ! Beautiful pictures of your travels !
Fun! And, you have a wonderful travel companion to even make traveling more fun. You've got me wanting to do a presidential library adventure now.
I've done a bit of travelling myself over the years - your comments and photos either remind me of happy memories, or give me more things to add to my to be visited list :-)
Glad you featured Ireland...Love your theme within a theme this round...thanks for dropping by my blog♪
Hi Jim, just doing some reminiscing so thought I'd better pop in and say G'day, keep up the travels. Almost a year since we lost Merle, but she lives on in a lot of hearts.
Looks like you travel a lot.
I is a great first letter for countries! I had a lovely time with family in Ireland and Italy. Would love to go to Israel... {:-D
I is a great first letter for countries! I had a lovely time with family in Ireland and Italy. Would love to go to Israel... {:-D
My idea of traveling is from the barn into a nice hot shower this time of year. It's 20 degrees in upstate NY, USA.
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