Three-For-Thursday

This will be the second edition of Three-For-Thursday. It is good because my creative juices are not flowing today...just a rough day. However, look forward to a lengthy post in coming days analyzing all of my dreams of the past week. I'm also considering making that another weekly post.

Anyway, last week I told you three songs I thought were worth listening too. I don't want to make this post merely my personal pop-culture barometer. So, to avoid this I will not do a television, bands, movies, etc...post this week. Those will definitely happen...but not this time. This time I will delve into my past, namely the cities in the world...large and small, that I have visited. Here are three places I think every person should visit once in their life:

In a particular order:

Caherciveen, Ireland

3) Caherciveen, Ireland - Me, my older brother and older cousin once flew to Ireland, rented a car and drove around for ten days. We started in Shannon, drove south to the Ring of Kerry and whipped up the coast to end in Dublin. Along the way we would stay in Bed & Breakfasts. One day we decided to stop in a small village called Caherciveen (pronounced "Key-herse-if-veen" we were told, say it fast). We didn't know what was special until, and this is a true story, we checked into the B&B, settled in and I went to go sit down in the little boys room. Before I...umm...began, I looked out the oddly gigantic window for a bathroom and soon realized why it was gigantic. What I saw was one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen...ironically seen from the crapper. The actual pictures I took (from the bathroom) are out in the shed and I'm not fetching them...but the picture here is from the same area where I was...except my view included a small sheep herding cottage in the picture. It was truly remarkable. Soon after that we went for a walk looking around, and it was just a stunning area. Perhaps it is the Irish in me that drives me to love this kind of green, fertile scenery...but it was amazing.

Click the pics - they are Hi-Res

2) Innsbruck, Austria - The year following my trip to Ireland I went on a school trip to several countries in Europe. Along the way we stopped for several hours in Innsbruck, Austria. I have to say, no city I have ever visited has intrigued me as much as this city. It was definitely odd...but in an interesting way, not an off-putting way. There was strange art and medieval architecture. The people were friendly and in a good mood, but oddly so...almost as if they were all slightly under the influence. I absolutely loved how cozy the streets were. They were so narrow it made you feel safe like the buildings were blocking out everything bad in the world. Innsbruck was also the home of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics and I am an enormous fan of the Olympics in general and in particular the Winter Olympics. It was really amazing to visit an Olympic site (I've also visited the Munich site - 1972 Winter Games)

and I got to stand on the medal stand at the giant ski jump site. I really hope at some point I can go back to Innsbruck and spend a couple of days in the city itself. I would love to explore more. The pubs and stores seemed amazing and the culture is beautiful.

1) Waterville, Ireland - This is the place I consider to be the single most beautiful, most amazing place I have ever seen/been too. It is also only about 10.5 miles south of Caherciveen. So really, just visit the Ring of Kerry in Ireland and you can't miss. This little town was the favorite vacation town of Charlie Chaplin...he even has a statute dedicated to him 100 yards from the water. It is a small fishing town that also has what is rated the 5th best golf course in the U.K. Golf fans know this is a big deal because the U.K. is where golf is invented and taken very seriously. This is another place I didn't get to spend a night, a decision we immediately regretted. The cliffs and the hills and the ocean and the mountains were astounding. It houses the greenest color green I have ever seen in my life.

I considered it a spiritually beautiful place. I always wanted to get married outside because I'm not religious and don't like churches. When we found Waterville I decided I wanted to get married there, but realized that is far too much to ask of my guests. So my plan was to get married, honeymoon in Ireland, and have my vows renewed on my honeymoon on a cliff in Waterville. I know, it's kinda sissy for a male to be thinking about these things, but, if you know me it makes sense.

If you are a person who loves views, and mountains and scenery this is the number one place I suggest for you. If you are not a beach person, this is the place to go (though Ireland does have palm trees...no kidding). I will go back here and stay in Waterville and once again say hello to Mr. Chaplin.

Here is Waterville: