Having just read the newly released Lonely Planet’s Top 10 cities for 2012, I thought I would create my own list. Would love to hear your thoughts on both!
1. DUNEDIN, New Zealand – has to take the number 1 spot, it is my home town and a fabulous city.
Dunedin is amazing for so many reasons aside from the more personal ones, (dunedin is still home to most of my immediate family and some very dear friends), some reasons for your to visit Dunedin when you are in NZ include;
beautiful scenery
Dunedin city from HighgateHarwood, Otago Peninsula - my brothers view!
the stunning and diverse range of wildlife, home to the Yellow eyed penguin, the Royal Albatross, Sealions, and seals to name a few… have a look at this link http://www.elmwildlifetours.co.nz/ if you would like to know more. We also have the recently opened Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a must for bird lovers http://www.orokonui.org.nz/.
wow! i could write a whole post about Dunedin, it really is number 1 for me
2. KORCULA – my current home town, where I met my wonderful husband and so much more…..
Korcula - Stari Grad (Old Town)
again, there are so many reasons that I love Korcula, you can see some of my other blog posts for more about Korcula and have a look at www.korculaexplorer.com for more island information and recommended places to stay during your visit.
Korcula is also the home of our small business,Seba Dizajn, home of fabulous Traditional Filigree Jewellery and so much more….
3. QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand
Lake Wakatipu - looking towards Glenorchy
With scenery like this, and a cute niece like this (below), what’s not like to like about Queenstown? It is also NZ’s self claimed adventure capital and tourist meca, offering literally hundreds of entertainment options and more bars and restaurants than any other small ‘city’ I’ve visited to date.
Like Aunt like niece...do u see the resemblance?
4. VICTORIA/VANCOUVER, Canada – a draw for 4th place
12 years ago I started my current travellers journey in Vancouver and headed on to Victoria on nearby Vancouver Island, both cities rank highly for me as I have GREAT friends living in the two places, therefore they are always fun places to visit.
Both cities also offer a fantastic selection of places to eat, easy to use public transport, & proximity to mountains and sea that are hard to beat. Try The Reef, http://thereefrestaurant.com/ for some extra tasty treats & cocktails and fabulous customer service. Yummy!
5. KATHMANDU, Nepal – oh so many reasons to love this vibrant city.
the PEOPLE of Nepal are fabulous, friendly, resourceful – once again I am reminded how blessed I am to have met such fantastic people in my travels;
An oldie but a goodie; Ram, Chiya, Susmiti, Sushmita and John Kathmandu - November 2007
the FOOD, Kathmandu has some of the tastiest places to eat you can imagine
the CULTURE, Nepal’s predominant mix of Hinduism &Buddhism create a colourful and vibrant cultural mix, and a calendar doted with frequent celebrations and holidays!
At a friends blessing ceremony, November 2010
Kathmandu and the Kathmandu are also home to our wonderful FAIR TRADE supplies, you can find out more about them in my ‘Who is Sewing Your Sequins?’ post.
And I have to make a quick mention of Verena, the wonderful bar keeper and owner at SAM’s BAR – always a friendly welcome, and a friend indeed during my many solo visits to Kathmandu, thanks Verena!
Fergus, Ruth & Verena @ Sam's Bar April 2007
6. GRANTOWN ON SPEY, Scotland – a little bit of a push on the ‘city’ category here but I make the rules!
Really the same rules as above apply to Grantown, friends and scenery make a ‘city’ special for me – ‘no comment’ on the Grantown food options! Although the Royal Chippy and a pint of Belhaven Best at The Claymore must rank somewhere in my most memorable ‘meals’ of Scotland.
Belhaven Best, chips, mayo, curry sauce & a wee blue WKD @ The ClaymoreCheers!
Boys will be Boys!
and of course there is the Scottish WEATHER as a draw card to Grantown???
Grantown winter 2009 – my hoose
7. BERLIN, Germany – family, food, culture, galleries, shopping…. a great mix of good things!
Birthday BBQ July 2010
the public transport, easy to negotiate, cheap and full of beautiful people!
A Colgate moment, Berlin undergroundU know who you are, more underground beauties!
Berlin also has fabulous NIGHTLIFE, especially if you have a FABULOUS GUIDE!
Berlin is also home to some amazing artistic talent, including that of Helen Bogun of http://helz-design.com/, look at this FABULOUS tree she did for our Christmas website….
8. PRAGUE/MLADA BOLESLAV, Czech Republic – another draw; Chocolate, architecture, FAMILY, and Skodas!
PragueThis one's for you Roy, I visited the Skoda factory purely because my brother Roy likes Skodas! Was interesting and there were a lot of classy skodas on show.
9. WELLINGTON, New Zealand – friends, food, scenery, seaside dwelling, the wind?
Wellington in New Zealand’s capital city and home to some VERY fine people, and it will always hold a dear spot in my heart, we hope to make it to Wellington next time we are in NZ as we sadly had to miss it last time round.
Homes on a Wellington hillside
Wellington is a vibrant buzz of a city, home to some amazing galleries, museums and artisans. Te Papa is of course the most well known museum and hosts some fabulous touring exhibits. The gallery I want to mention is located in Lower Hutt, just outside of Wellington, Expressions Gallery is a fabulous community that hosts a gallery, theatre, cafe and recreation centre all in one, http://www.expressions.org.nz/ IMPRESSIVE!
It looks like I need a new trip to Wellington to update my photos, something to look forward to for 2012.
10. ROME, Italy – the city of romance and rendezvous, fabulous food, wine, CHEESE, shopping and more.
I have recently written about Rome in my ‘5 Lost Years – where does time go?’ post, I met a dear friend in Rome 2 weeks ago and we had a blast walking the town and taking in the city sites and coffee! Rome holds a LOT of special memories for me, in 2010 we met my Mum and some friends there for a pre-wedding party, and in 2008 I was lucky enough to be there to meet more friends and my lovely now husband! Here are some of my favourite Rome photos;
A, D & H Nov 2008the angelic ShellieFour fabulous kiwis in Rome, January 2010Fab friends on a tram in Rome.
There it is, my TOP 10 ‘Cities’ – would love to hear you thoughts, what’s your TOP CITY and why? Where do you think I should visit next? Thanks again for joining us and remember you can sign for all the Seba Silver updates in the box at the top right of this page.
Family and friends make it for me everytime, of course great food gets a look in too!
Thanks to all of you, mentioned, photographed and not.
Hard to believe it is almost the end of October, the days are drawing in – becoming shorter and darker. Driving back from a day trip to Dubrovnik three days ago I saw the many shades of autumn sneaking into the roadside grape vines and small trees.
Autumn colours from the bus!
I am fully aware that I have been neglecting my blogger role, I have been having the most delightful time catching up with a Californian friend whom I had not seen for 5 years. Rava and I met at University in New Zealand 20ish years ago, last time I saw her was in Kerikeri, NZ. And last week I flew to Rome to meet her – having made a rash promise to come and meet her there if she booked flights here to visit us. I must admit that at the time I promised to meet her I was fairly sure that she would not fly over – I was so delighted when she sent me her ‘I’ve booked!’ email – how nice that someone would fly all this way just to see me, and of course meet Doka and see where we are living.
My flight arrived in Rome an hour before Rava’s and I watched the arrivals door eagerly for her smiling face; I think we talked almost solidly for the 10 days that we were together.
It was such a great time; 2 brief days in Rome,
Roma fountain
the overnight ferry from Ancona to Split,
exploring Split,
Split
then the ferry to Korcula that evening,
Korcula
Then we had 4 days together in Korcula, it is so fun to be a tourist in your own town. We paid the 15kuna to climb Veliki Revelin – the tower or kula at the entrance to Stari Grad and took in the city views from a new perspective,
ate good Korcula food;
yum!
and enjoyed the chance to catch up on five years.
Rava and I travelled together to Dubrovnik where we walked the city walls,
Dubrovnik view from city walls
ate a yummy lunch together and said our bus station goodbyes – she off to the airport and homeward bound and I on the bus back to Korcula.
As I wrote this it was raining here in Korcula, the perfect excuse to stay indoors and catch up on some paperwork, rest and read. Rava will be home now and her lovely husband and 2 beautiful children will be so delighted to have her home again, and Croatia will once again seem far away. Lots of photos and happy memories, until we meet again my friend this short piece is dedicated to you. x
