Finely part 2!! I wrote "Visiting Places That Suddenly Feel Like Home, Part 1" last October. Honestly, I didn't know it's been that long, as writing this post has been stuck in the back of my mind. It's been four months. :\ In that post I wrote about Bath England, Cardiff Wales, Orvieto Italy, and Venice Italy.
As a note, all these trips were taken pre-pandemic, and these recollections reflect this.
While traveling there are places that are nice and I would like to revisit, but then there are places that just feel like home, places I feel connected and could easily revisit again and again.
Enoshima, Japan
How much do I love Enoshima? Let's just say that I've been to Japan twice, and Enoshima thrice.
In 2015 there was no plan on visiting Enoshima two times during that trip, but my siblings and I loved it so much we spontaneously went again, giving up checking out another location, and then took the beach side train to Kamakura. In 2019 I had to take my Mom and other sibs to Enoshima, taking an even longer train and monorail ride to get there, but it was a trip highlight. Everyone loved it and said the effort to get there was well worth it. Even after getting back home we still talk about Enoshima.
Wandering around Tokyo is a must, always, but there is a stiffness about the city. This need for extra formality, stay quiet on the trains, and so on. Fantastic things and places to visit, but it is a little overwhelming. Enoshima is about an hour and a half from Tokyo, about two hours from Tokyo Disneyland, but the trip is so well worth it. If you go the right way you can take the Shonan Monorail, hung underneath the rail, which is a must (so, so much fun!!!).
When you get off the last Shonan stop on the monorail, or the other lines, there is just this really cool beachy chill vibe in the area. Everyone is more relaxed. Steven said it reminded him of parts around Osaka. On the Kamakura train people actually talked and were having a great time!
Enoshima itself is just great fun. There's a little bit of everything, and you feel like you're stepping back in time with the vintage architecture. There's a main shopping street, restaurants, a tower, aquarium, gardens, caves, etc. The views are spectacular, and on a clear day you can see Mount Fuji.
Tokyo Disney Parks
Not going to get into this as I've talked in length about the Tokyo Disney parks, Land and Sea, but I love, love, love these Disney parks the best. Pure magic. Just thinking about these parks make me happy. They're just wonderful.
Giverny, France
Home of Monet's garden and home.
Giverny is about an hour and a half car ride from Paris, the eastern side of Normandy, and completely in the country. When visiting this place we spent most of our time visiting Monet's haunts, and it was all so charming.
The gardens are beautiful, and the house is as it was during Monet's time. It was quite an effort getting Mom to leave the artist room. She loved this room so much she bought a little square miniature replication from the gift shop. What I was most surprised about was all the Japanese woodblock paintings scattered throughout his home. They were amazing. I wish we had more time to explore Giverny before heading back to Paris. The countryside is beautiful, and it would have been nice to walk about.
Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany
I went on a Germany/France tour with my Mom and Dad, and on this tour was a cruise up the Rhine River. It was the end of the season, and the river was lower than anticipated, so instead of cruising up the part where the castle ruins are, we had to dock in Rüdesheim for a couple nights and do a bus trip up the last portion of the river. We were disappointed, but because of the change we got to spend a full day in this quaint little town surrounded by hills and vineyards.
We took the air tram up to the top of the hill. Visited the musical cabinet museum. Walked through quaint streets and shopped for gifts.
I just felt so connected to Rüdesheim. This place looks like how you'd imagine Germany to be. Want to know the most amazing part? When I was on top of the hill looking over the Rhine, on the other side of the river was some hills and a little dip where a rode goes through. I just stared and stared, drawn to it, and really wanted to hop on a ferry to visit the little town and see what was down that road. Turns out, and I realized this on the last day of our cruise, that's where the Stufflebeam (Stoppelbien) originate!! About 8 miles from Rüdesheim across the Rhine and through that dip in the hill, a little place called Laubenheim off the Nahe river. No wonder I felt drawn and couldn't stop looking at that spot across the Rhine.
Ring of Kerry, Ireland
This is more like a smattering of places along the Ring of Kerry. It was a day tour from Cork Ireland, so a bit of a drive. It would probably be best to stay in Killarney. The day started with a horse drawn carriage ride through Killarney National Park, which is breathtaking. Then the rest of the day was stops in charming towns, views of the ocean, a beautiful waterfall, and then back to Killarney's National Park with Ladies View. Someday I would like to visit the Ring of Kerry again and spread it out over several days.
Mizen Head, Ireland
Found in another peninsula in South Ireland, and closer to Cork.
I loved all the little places we stopped. Gougane Barra took our breath away. It's just this little place on a lake with hills, but it captured our hearts.
Mizen Head itself is right on the coast with cliffs rising from the ocean, water splashing up on rocks. There's a bridge and an observatory of sorts. In the guest center is a little cafe with the best food. The toasty sandwich was so good. Right when we left it started to rain, so we were lucky, but I like rainy days, so it was a nice drive back to Cork.
What's interesting is that I have Mahoney (O'Mahony) heritage that dead ends in Newfoundland, so there's no way to trace that line back to Ireland. Our DNA connects us, and Mizen Head is one of the places the Mahoney's are from. I didn't realize this until getting back to the States, but close to Mizen head are the Three Castles, built by the O'Mahony princes. The O'Mahoney's were the Kings of the Kingdom of Munster, and as my Grandpa R connects to nine regions in Munster, that's the closest we can prove this line. It would be so nice to be able to trace back my Irish roots.
Sarah
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