Best of the Best

The Adventure in Akureyri

The Adventure in Akureyri

During this contract, I was able to do and see some truly incredible things.  Since coming home, I’ve frequently been asked about my favorite places, and I’ve had trouble answering!  There were so many wonderful places, but I liked different ports for different things.  Looking back through my photos, I tried to break down some of the highlights of the past few months.  This is what I came up with…  The Best of the Adventure.

Best Hike

Pulpit Rock

Pulpit Rock

Best Beaches

Paradise

Paradise

Photo doesn't do it justice!

Photo doesn’t do it justice!

Just look at that water

Just look at that water

Best tours

Tuk tuk tour

Tuk tuk tour

Camels at the base

Camels at the base

Magic at the top

Magic at the top

Best Place for Beer

  • Beer Wall in Bruges
    • I made a special category for Bruges, because I had such a great day there!  The beer is fantastic, but the whole city is worth visiting!
Beer Wall

Beer Wall

Favorite Landmarks

Amazing to see

Amazing to see

I could visit every day!

I could visit every day!

Best Museum

  • The Guggenheim Bilbao
    • The architect, Frank Gehry, also designed the Guggenheim Museum that will soon be built in Abu Dhabi.  There was an interesting article in the New York Times about the new museum.
Beautiful Gehry building

Beautiful Gehry building

Favorite City

Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas

Favorite Country

Sunset in Reykjavik

Sunset in Reykjavik

Northern Lights.  Photo by: Daffodaleia Williams

Northern Lights. Photo by: Daffodaleia Williams

I knew the quality of the places I was visiting was pretty astounding, but I just recently added up the quantity!  I’ve now been to 39 countries.  I can’t wait to add more to the list in the New Year!

Casey’s Travel Map

Casey has been to: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, China, Curacao, Denmark, Fiji, France, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Sint Maarten, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, U.S. Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican, Vietnam.

Get your own travel map from Matador Network.

Beautiful Bruges

Bruges

Bruges

Canal

Canal

The final day of last cruise, we stopped in Zeebrugge, Belgium. A few friends and I took a tram and then a train into Bruges, a lovely town full of beautiful old buildings, canals, and lots of beer and chocolate!

Welcome to Belgium!

Welcome to Belgium!

Our first stop, after wandering around for about half an hour, was for lunch at a small pub. As we were sitting on the covered patio, the sun broke through the clouds, and the temperature warmed up.

Such a nice town!

Such a nice town!

Sunshine!

Sunshine!

After lunch, we walked to the Beer Wall, a pub serving 6 beers on tap and over 100 kinds of bottled beer. Each beer had a signature glass. I tried two, one hibiscus beer, and one cherry, and enjoyed both! We grabbed a spot at an outdoor table overlooking a canal. I happily could’ve sat there all day!

Very true words...

Very true words…

Beer Wall

Beer Wall

We left extra time to walk back to the train station, so we could see some more of the city. I never made it into the main square, but was impressed by everything else I saw. I would love to go back for a weekend trip. Chocolate, beer, and sunshine… What more could you want?!

Can't wait to come back

Can’t wait to come back