Best day ever

I would say Guernsey. What a surprise it was. We had the perfect weather, warm, not hot, a gentle breeze. We went on a house tour of Victor Hugo’s house, toured Castle Cornet, went to a French speaking Mass in a lovely small church, had a great meal and just wandered around. It was a lovely one day visit. And yes, it was off a cruise ship. We always try to have a 2 night minimum anywhere we go on our own.

Thank you Allan for such a great question. I travel for work internationally and while I try to squeeze in a couple of days of touring, I am lucky if I get one day. I found that the one day approach allows me to focus on what is most interesting for me in that place and time which is sometimes not the traditional tourist places. Also for one day, I am more likely to take advantage of a guide.

That said, I am tied between my first visit to Istanbul where I hired an amazing guide (who I still keep in touch with after this many years). She showed me all the major attractions, plus spend extra hours shopping with me in the Grand Bazaar. My other favorite is my first time in Vietnam when I snuck out of a sales conference to take an afternoon cooking class in a village outside of Hanoi.

I am going back to London in April and I have only one day, so I will review the England page post for ideas.

Sandy

Cardiff, Wales. My sister and I were in London for a few days before heading to Scotland. We had been to London once before, so wanted to see new sites. Being huge Doctor Who fans, we decided to go to the Doctor Who Experience (DWE) in Cardiff. Took the train, went to the DWE, then went to Cardiff Castle. Toured the castle (which was so cool) then wandered around until time to catch the train back to London. We got a picnic lunch at Tesco and ate it along the harbor. That little taste (in 2013) has led us to planning a 2-3 week trip to Wales in 2022 for my sister's 40 birthday.

P.S. Thanks for starting this, @Allan. Looking forward to other responses.

I spent just one day in Bruges on my most recent trip to Europe. I did it as a day trip from Brussels but I went quite early and didn't return until about 10 pm. I had a list of things I wanted to see and do and I had to plan well to get it all in. I managed to do everything on my list and it was the best one day visit I've had - everything worked perfectly, the weather, the timing, the crowd avoidance.

My best day ever, well, it was the first of three days in a new place; Budapest. The short version, after arriving about 16 years ago and getting in a cab at the rail station:

.. The kid knew maybe six words in English, but after some of efforts he stopped insisting, “no tuuuuuur guide”, and he understood that we just wanted to be driven around town. Once he understood this was on the taxi meter he was happy to oblige. This was probably the first opportunity he ever had to run up a fare with the permission of the customer. https://www.szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/volan-taxi.jpg

For nearly an hour he drove through amazing neighborhoods, down great avenues and along the banks of the Danube. My face was plastered to the taxi window as we gawked and expressed amazement at how beautiful this city was. Old and dark and in need of a lot of love, but stunningly beautiful at the same time. I quickly realized that I had found what was lacking in Vienna.
https://www.justin-klein.com/blogmedia/post-images/2010/10_05_29-andrassy-ut-2.jpg

Then we crossed the Chain Bridge, drove through a great tunnel, and began climbing higher and higher as it got darker and darker. I suggested maybe we should head for the hotel, but the driver either didn’t understand or didn’t want to understand. Darker, higher, more remote. Now pitch dark and I knew the outcome. We were being hijacked for a mugging and robbery. Of course, we were behind the Iron Curtain and these were commies; what should I have expected?
https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/13_1137588.jpg?quality=85

As predicted he pulled to the side along a deserted stretch of road and ordered me out of the car. I did as directed. Then he demanded I turn with my back to the car. I was beginning to judge distances, watching his hand movements for a weapon and sizing up the options to fight back or flee. Now before I can explain what came next you have to know where we were: this was the outlook over the city from Gellert Hill near the Citadella.

https://live.staticflickr.com/5349/6998685050_f356622ae7_b.jpg

My mouth fell open. I stared like in a trance and all the events and worries of the last 15 minutes melted away. I knew my only mistake was not planning enough time for Budapest. Looking straight ahead, stunned by the vista, I knew I was coming back.

The one that comes to mind for me was out of my hands. We were couchsurfing with a couple in Bern in 2010 for one night and we didn't really have plans the next day, other than to maybe wander around Bern then head to Zurich. Well, our hosts had other ideas. It was a Sunday, so Bern was pretty much shut down anyway. They rented a car and took us out to a mountain somewhere, where we had our first EVER ride on a ski lift (this was early Oct, so no snow). At the top was a little restaurant where we had a lovely (albeit expensive - it is Switzerland) meal - rosti and something else. Then we hiked down the mountain, which took a few hours of meandering to a beautiful lake at the bottom. I have no idea where they took us, but it was totally unplanned and fabulous.

I'd say it was my best unplanned day ever - I found many of our 1 day stays just too hectic.

Cairo - spent the day at the pyramids, arriving on a camel. Amazing.

If I can cheat on my post a bit I'll write about my most unexpected best day ever. Off a cruise ship and into Cannes. According to Rick Steves you can by a gelato at one end of Cannes and be done seeing everything before your last lick. I beg to differ. We spent the morning wandering through the old town wondering where all the tourists were-apprently they read the RS guide and stayed on board. We got some very nice photos with unobstructed views and no crowds, and met a local who blew the whole 'french are rude' myth out if the water. In the afternoon we took a short ferry to Sainte Marguerite Island where the real Man in the Iron Mask was reportedly imprisoned, as a fan of Alexandre Dumas this was a big deal to me.

Best travel day ever: I was travelling solo up from Venice to Bolzano's Christmas markets in 2005. First time really solo and first time really having to rely on my college German - I did a junior year in Munich in 73-74. I had used an RS guidebook to find a hotel, but when I alighted from the train, no German words would come, and no one in the entire train station was speaking English. Finally I managed to ask how to walk to reach my hotel and got some gestures as directions. That worked. I did not feel off to a confident start.

That evening, I went to the Christmas market which was quite close to the hotel. It was delightful, and I did learn about paying for and returning the mug. I got a few questions about being American and solo, and then I got asked how to get to the local supermarket. Well, I was not speaking too well, but I guess, at that moment, I looked the part. Being of an age sometimes works that way.

The next morning, I found and rode the funicular to Oberbozen. Problem was, I had no idea what was at the other end. Everyone left the funicular car and literally disappeared. Many were carrying skis, so that was a clue, but where did they go? I walked around the tiny village for a bit - very cold, took some photos, and finally, finally located the local street map that most towns/villages have showing path, hikes, etc.

I started walking along a pathway/sidewalk. I suspect it was a well-to-do community, from the kinds of cars; maybe weekend holiday homes? I trudged along through the snow passing some well-dressed Italians who eyed my Cabela's Gortex. Hmmm, they appeared to be thinking. At last, I stopped at a tiny chapel and tried to read the community notices. As I was doing this, a young woman on a horse walked by. Not my typical experience, but I was enjoying being in the mountains and snow and very happy to be there.

Shortly after the horse walked by, I came upon an elderly gentleman shoveling his walk. It was mountainous to me, but there were street lights, so definitely suburban. The snow shoveler said to me in German: are you with that girl on the horse? I replied in German that no, I was not with the girl and that I was just taking a walk. He wanted to know if I were Italian and when I said, no, American, he asked (wait for it): what is an American woman doing on top of this mountain speaking in a Bavarian accent??!!

I was ecstatic. The vocabulary might be rusty, but the accent I learned in Munich remained after all those years!! Since then, I try to return to German speaking countries fairly frequently. It seems the arrival days present the most difficulty - getting my brain in gear and letting the words flow. Sometimes, a mishmash of German, French, and Italian comes tumbling out. But, after a good night's sleep, I can usually start to converse. Woohoo. That Bolzano adventure was scary but fun in the end.

1.) Having the Gap of Dunloe nearly all to myself on a November day a decade ago. 2 cyclists, 2 hikers, 3 vehicles, 1 trap and me. Hiked half way. Returned to get my car and drove the rest. Bright blue skies with a dark thunder cloud which never burst and the golden hues of Fall on the hillsides and in the meadows.

2.) Seeing the statue of David before the hordes were allowed inside the Accademia. The RS guide had arranged an art historian to meet us. Fabulous 30 minutes of admiring and learning.

3.) Wandering around Havana

4) Seeing Paris with college friends and being able to see the Eiffel Tower out our teeny attic window. My first trip across the Atlantic to Europe.

5.) Walking into Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.

6.) Finding the Horse Guards practicing early one morning in their Hyde Park parade grounds.

7.) Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge

8.) As a child enjoying the ranger’s call echo in Yosemite when he yelled “ Watch the Fire Fall.”

9.) Hiking into and out Chaco Canyon

10.) The crane migration on the Platte River

My favorite day in Europe was in Montepluciano. I traveled with a friend who drove while I navagated from Siena along the Sienese Crests. The first hour we didn't see much because of fog, but once it lifted, Tuscany's many landscapes came into full view. I no longer have an appreciation for Napa.
Using a Michelin map we eventually found the road to take us to Montepulciano, but decided to park the car and walk around a bit before going to our B&B, Mueble il Riccio where Rick stays. We saw artisans making fine copper pots which I already had a collection of. We then decided to find our way back to our car, but could not find it. We got so lost we crossed a busy street where there was a bar to ask for directions.
The two Italians we asked could not stop laughing as we got oriented with a map they had. We walked the way they suggested and found the car. Now we had to find Mueble il Riccio which wasn't easy either. Finally we stopped and asked a woman we saw walking. Luckily she worked there so she got in the car and said where to turn. Thank god because there were several.
For dinner we sat with two couples who had the same experience trying to find Mueble il Riccio. We laughed hard, ate great cuisine, drank good wine and made new friends. Afterwards, I sat on the window ledge in my room at Mueble and enjoyed a lemoncello while admiring Montepulciano's stunning landscape, priceless.
Today when I see a Montepulciano wine, I buy it or order it and it's always good, plus, it brings a smile to my face.

Allan, what a wonderful question — and fantastic responses you are getting. These are so much fun to read — I think I am most partial to James E’s discovering Budapest, though, as I fell in love with that city at first sight as well . . . gosh, 27 years ago it will be in August.

My reply is for one of my best days ever but not on a one days trip...if I may modify. In 2003, I took the now defunct Rick Steves’ Florence one week City Tour. It was my first solo trip abroad. I arrived before the tour started. The hotel suggested a city bus to the Piazzale Michelangelo. On the ride I met a couple from the US and their daughter studying there. When I arrived at the Piazzale, it was packed with tourists. I decided to roam up a small street. There was a wedding celebration going on at a restaurant up the hill. I stopped to enjoy the music. I kept on going and came to a mountain of steps. At the top was the church of San Miniato. As I approached, I heard singing and went in to hear the monks beautifully worshipping in the dark and cool church. When I come out, the sun was beginning to set. What gorgeous view of Florence....sun shining down on the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River with the Duomo Dome and Bell Towering across the river. Heavenly!!!

Garden of Ninfa, midweek private tour for two of us, worth every cent. Allowed to sit down where most people aren't allowed to sit down, my wife read, I wrote some love sonnets. September, try to remember.

The best day ever was our first journey to Italy in 2006. It was a culinary tour called "A Taste of Tuscany." We met our tour group in Rome. At our initial meeting our tour guide reported, "we have a change in our itinerary." We were supposed to visit Deruta, but instead we will be visiting my "home" in Gubbio. Needless to say some of us were disappointed to hear this. We had looked forward to visiting a ceramic business in Deruta. When we reached Gubbio our bus pulled into Piazza Grande. It's a unique medieval square with a beautiful view of the lower city and the valley. Our guide said, "welcome to my home." It was her ancestral palace, dating back to the 1300's. To our surprise she shared a tour of the "Noble Floor" that she had inherited from her father. We were also treated to lunch in the Grand dining room. Not only was this the best day ever, it was a trip of a lifetime. Did we miss Deruta? Nah. We can always return.

I would highly recommend a visit to Gubbio. The palace is also the home of the Civic Museum and a hotel. The highlight is the Iguvine Tablets, seven bronze tablets from the 3rd century BC with writing in a ancient (and now lost) Umbrian language. Gubbio is well known for year round cultural events. May is the start of Corsa Tre Ceri. Gubbio is truly a hidden gem without the crowds.

I've had a lot of best days ever in my travels. Probably the top ones were surprises, those that came without expectations. Holy Thursday in Zaragosa was one. We arrived in Zaragosa on a crowded Thursday and had to navigate through a maze of closed streets to find our hotel. We then stopped at the TI to ask about processions, the lady said there were (I think 26) processions that started in the afternoon and went through the night.

It turned out our balcony overlooked one of two main procession routes (but was insulated enough that we could sleep when we wanted to). The processions were incredible. The bigger ones were probably much more than 500 people in penitent costumes, either pounding drums or carrying floats, candles, incense or crosses. They were loud, energetic and the crowd seemed completely local (from Zaragosa or the surrounding communities).

https://www.newsweek.com/klan-reborn-spains-holy-week-robes-and-pointed-hats-look-shockingly-familiar-861717?slide=23

Looking at the weather in Italy and seeing it would be 60 and sunny at the cinque terre in early December. We headed there and got to hike the trails with almost no one around on a beautiful day. It was market day in corniglio when we arrived. But they were just packing up. When we asked if we could get some fruit the employee was a bit put out with us as he was trying to pack up. But an older gentleman popped out of the truck, chastised him a bit for not being welcoming and ended up making lunch for us.

Sitting on our balcony in Halstatt having wine, bread and cheese as we watched the train putt into the station across the bay and the fog roll into the valley. My husband still talks longingly about this wonderful hour spent in this beautiful village.

I have 3 "best days." The second two were short, overnight visits. The last one was in Europe.

1. Last May in the Galapagos--1/2 day trip to Los Tuneles. Snorkelled with many turtles, cow nosed rays, reef sharks, octopi, beautiful fish, etc. Saw an otherworldly landscape where lava tubes had cooled and collapsed, creating tunnels, arches, bridges and caves. Saw blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies. Swam with penguins and sea lions. Saw pelicans and many marine iguanas. Saw and heard a baby sea lion nursing. Rode on the bow of the boat while it went fast. The small group of 10 all got along, and we laughed and joked together throughout the trip, and the crew was a lot of fun, too. Ate wonderful food and drank coconut water straight out of a coconut that was bigger than my head. Saw a million stars, with both the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross visible in the same sky.
2. 2017 in Twyfelfontein, Namibia. Viewed prehistoric rock carvings. Visited a Damara demonstration village and saw wonderful dancing and other demonstrations. Drove through a dry riverbed and spent an hour in the company of a herd of about 25 desert-adapted elephants, with only one other vehicle around for about 15 minutes of it. Saw baboons and Ruppell's Khorans. Had a sundowner on a hill, with zebras and hyenas in the distance, watching the spectacular, African red-sky sunset. Had a fabulous dinner at which our guide, along with Salome Visser (author of My Island in Africa) arranged a birthday cake for my husband, which was delivered by the staff who sang Happy Birthday to him in 3 languages: English, Africaans, and Damara click language. Spent an hour or so as the only tourists who signed up for what ended up being a private astronomy evening with the resident astronomer. Learned how to identify the Southern Cross and saw the rings of Saturn and some of Jupiter's moons through his telescope.
3. Czech Republic, 2014. Hired a private transfer from Prague to Czesky Krumlov, so that we could stop at castles along the way. Left it up to the company to choose our route and stops. 1st stop: Castle Hluboka, a gorgeous fairy-tale-like castle. We speculated that it had belonged to Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, because of the many deer-head trophies adorning this former hunting-lodge castle. 2nd stop: a short hike to see Divci Kamen, the ruins of a castle built in the 1300s, now occupied by goats and visited by a handful of tourists,. We got to go inside the ruins. Last stop: Czesky Krumlov where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring this charming medieval town, admiring its castle from many viewpoints, and ending with a lovely dinner on a deck jutting out over a canal. A three castle, five star day!

April 29, 2011

My friend and I decided to visit London and see the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catharine Middleton. The plans for this trip all came together, as we were able to stay with another friend in her apartment in Islington. We got up early and were out of the apartment by 5:30 AM to meet our host's friends already in position along The Mall. We were first row and fought hard all morning to keep it that. The whole event was fascinating to see as the day progressed. The procession of cars going to Westminster Abbey was our first glimpse of William and Harry followed by Charles and Camilla and then the Queen. Kate came by last and the crowd went crazy. We were able to follow the service via loud speakers and our official programs. The real treat was seeing the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace! The photos I got that day are some of my greatest memories. We followed the crowd to see the Royal Family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and cheered along when the newlyweds kissed! We followed all of the wedding festivities with a special Royal Wedding Tea at The Ritz and ended our day with nightcap cocktails at The Dukes Hotel in St.James'. It was a long and wonderful day that my friend and I will always cherish. I have since returned to London 6 times since then and got to experience the Olympics and also the wedding of Harry & Meghan in 2018 in Windsor!

At first I thought I could come up with my 1 best day ever... but I have

1) One day in Copenhagen - took the local bus out to the now closed Carlsberg Brewery, then back to the Resistance Museum and spent the evening at Tivoli Gardens - Quite different activities but has to be my favorite day. We were in Copenhagen 3 nights ahead of our Baltic cruise so not "off" the cruise but prior to

2) OFF that cruise though Day 1 in St Petersburg. An amazing "private" tour with 16 other folks. I cannot even list everything we did that day but going to Peterhof was great!!!! Taking the hydrofoil was so cool

3) Our Day in Epernay strolling down the Avenue du Champagne and taking in a few champagne houses .... so much fun

4 Our trip to the Poor Knights Island off the Tutukaka Coast in New Zealand - such a different snorkeling experience