FAVORITE PLACES I’VE BEEN TO, NOT COUNTING NY AND LA
The other night, for some reason, the Beatles song, In My Life, came to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the opening line, “There are places I remember…” And I drifted off to sleep thinking about the most memorable places in my life.
So, here’s a list of my favorite places, followed tomorrow by my least loved, which are memorable in their own way, though not good ones. Some are cities, some areas, one’s an actual location, and there’s even a whole country thrown in! (Albeit a small one.) Sadly, the current olympics city of London, England didn’t make the cut, although I’d love to be there right now, seeing sports up-close and personal and having afternoon tea! (Just like Spicoli said, in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, “learning about Cuba, having some food.”)
Los Angeles and New York, especially Brooklyn, go without saying. Here are the rest, in the order that they came to me:
The URI quad.
University of Rhode Island and surroundings—still my favorite place on earth. I love that area so much that it’s actually painful, (the way I used to feel when I was in love with Paul McCartney,) so I can’t write any more about it.
Aspen, Colorado–though it took me a long time to get into, I kept going back to see my family in the summers. After awhile, I basically became Miss Aspen, and I loved the place. On my last night there one recent summer, I had to choose between spending time with the cops, the cowboys, the hipster guys at the private club, or my peeps at the hoi polloi one. And I worked them all into my last few hours, as only a bon vivette could. I haven’t been there in several years, since my mother had to stop flying, and I miss it a lot, especially my kind and fun friends there. And the handsome cops!!!
Malta. I love that place!
Malta—even though I was in a serious car accident there, in a Mini Cooper, no less, (the only cars they had on the island,) and they had only basic ice cream, with no whipped cream(!,) and their national vegetable was something nasty called marrows, (I think it was a form of squash,) and their chocolate was made primarily of paraffin(!,) I still loved it. The people are so nice. And it’s where I learned to take afternoon tea.
Santa Fe, New Mexico—it took me a long time to get into this town, as well, but it was Mr. X’s second home, so I kept trying. And after just a little bit, I loved it, too! Shame that we haven’t had time to go back for many years. I can only hope that it will be somewhat the same when we finally do.
New Canaan, Connecticut—this is the first town that I went away to with my family when I was little, and I can still conjure up that wonderful feeling upon entering the general store. And I can still taste those yummy chocolate ice cream pops, too! Yum!!!
New Rochelle, New York—my mother’s cousin had a house here, right on the Sound, with a pool and…cabanas!!! It was heaven!
Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Hendersonville, North Carolina—this is one of the very few places that I’ve visited friends in as a grown-up, and it was so peaceful and stress-free. Sometimes, that’s exactly what I crave.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania and surrounding towns—OMG! I love this place! I can’t believe it took me so long to think of it! I used to spend two weeks here every summer with the fam, and I looked forward to it all year; the summer stock theatres, the carnivals, the swimming and shopping! But mostly the wonderful food is what I waited for. Goodnoe’s Dairy Farm, the New Hope Diner, and the cheese puffs at Peddler’s Village. OMG! I want to go there right now! And just may, before my time as a New York regular sadly comes to an end next year.
But making this list actually cheered me up about my east coast situation. It made me realize there’s so much more to the world for me to see!
How does your list compare? Please feel free to share in the Comments section below.
