Edith/Maddie here, writing from vacation in Rangeley, Maine.
It’s the last day of July, and I’m with family on a lake halfway up the state of Maine. So let’s talk vacations!
Wickeds, share five places you have been on vacation and give them a rating from five stars (loved it) to one (never going back).
Liz: Fun question! My top place right now is London. I could totally live there – I’ve been a few times and love it more and more each time. So, five stars. I am a huge fan of La Jolla, and would also give that five stars – it’s such a great town and the water views are incredible. Also Key West – another favorite! Five stars! I’ve been to New Orleans multiple times to visit a friend, and that’s always fun because I have an insider’s view of the area. That said, if it was just me going there alone, I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic – so maybe four stars? And locally, one of my favorite places to spend a few days is Newport, RI. Anywhere on the ocean is my happy place. Also five stars.
Julie: I’m only going to share five-star places. These are all places I loved, and that I would revisit. I’ve loved other places, but once was enough. Egypt tops the list. I had a fabulous trip there almost fifteen years ago, and would return in a minute. Vienna is another wonderful city I haven’t begun to explore. Florence–I was only there for a day, and need to go back. The Grand Canyon. The site that surpasses expectations. Picking just one more is tough, but I’d say Paris. I’ve only been there once, when I was sixteen, for eight hours. I need to go back.
Jessie: I only want to think about 5 Star places too! I loved Edinburgh, Scotland for it’s overal vibe, Oxford and York, England for history and architecture, Washington DC for fond memories of visits with one of my sons, and of course, OOB, Maine because the coast of Maine makes my heart sing!
Edith/Maddie: Okay, I’ll go along with only top-rated places. Portugal, where I’ve been three times – great food and wine, fabulous seafood, friendly people. Grand Bassam, a beach community outside Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, was so relaxing and tropical and different from dry landlocked Mali where we were living. Toddy Pond Farm in Monroe, Maine, in their large guest house with my family. New Orleans where I went for Bouchercon but turned it into a vacation of wandering the streets, eating beignets, buying walk-up drinks, and visiting historical sites. And Japan, where I lived, learned, loved, worked, and traveled for almost two years. But Rangely Lake is pretty nice, too, especially because I’m with Hugh’s entire family, including five little great nieces and nephews.
Barb: Only five? Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Key West, Florida, Stone Harbor, New Jersey, all places I’ve spent extended time. Travel destinations? The two I could go back to again and again and again (and have) Paris and Rome.
Sherry: I agree with, Barb — it’s so hard to pick just five. Monterey, CA — we did live there for eighteen months. It’s just so pretty. The Maine coast — I can’t pick just one of the many stunning towns. Lake Winnipesaukee, NH — thanks Julie for making me fall in love with this place after a Wicked event in Wolfesboro. Boston — one of my favorite cities and last but definitely not least — London.
Readers: Where have you been on vacation that was good or bad?
The Wickeds 
I will agree with Sherry about all her choices – I have been to all of them and loved them! But I have to add a couple more that are 5 star places to me. One is Bamberg, Germany, where we lived for 3 years – a beautiful city in Bavaria with friendly people, good food and beer, lots around there to see (my daughter used to say there was a castle on every hill, which was not quite true),and easy access to most of southern Germany places you would want to visit. The other is Normandy, France. We went there about 10 years ago and I would go back in a heartbeat. It is beautiful, the people were so nice, the food was amazing, and the history of the area, both somewhat recent (the beaches and the battle sites of WWII – the one of the most moving places I have been) and old, such as the Bayeau tapestry and the cathedrals. We spent two weeks there and it wasn’t long enough!
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Wonderful descriptions – thank you!
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Paris, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Nashville, and Toronto
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All rich cities!
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Oh, what fun – but only five! Yikes. The glorious islands of the Caribbean, Sint Maarten, Saba, St. Barths, Statia, Nevis – oops that’s five! May I add the Cornish Coast and the Lake District of England? And I can’t forget Marathon, FL. My most favorite place in the Keys.
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And there are so many more in the Caribbean!
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San Francisco, CA. I been there more than a dozen times but not since 2019. Love the eclectic neighbours, food, sights and people.
Boulder CO. Again, I have been there multiple times in summer and winter. Quirky boho Pearl Street shops and eateries, Flatirons (mountains) are great for hiking and cycling.
Singapore. Went for the first time in April-May 2024 for 11 days and was blown away. Stunning world-class modernity mixed with historic areas (Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam). Michelin-class food at rock bottom prices. Clean, efficient, safe. The heat & humidity (112F) almost did me in, though.
Yorkshire, Oxford & Cambridge, England. I agree with Jessie. Anglophile’s dream come true visiting these historic cities twice.
New Orleans, LA. I went for 2016 Bouchercon but spent an additional 10 days there. A foodie’s paradise, but I also went on swamp boat tours, plantation tours, cemetery tours.
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Great choices, Grace. I think Singapore would have done me in, too!
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I don’t think I’ve been to five places that would count as vacations.
As a kid I went to Vermont each summer for a few years. I enjoyed them overall but as I’m not an outdoorsy person anymore, I don’t know that I’d go back.
I went to Georgia a couple of times to visit my niece when she was little. TOO FN HOT, I’ll never go back.
I went to Philadelphia for a comic book convention in 2005. I had a great time at the convention. Didn’t really do anything else there except get an actual Philly cheesesteak. But I enjoyed my time there because I was doing something I loved.
But unless my memory fails me, I haven’t been anywhere else for a vacation of any kind or length of time.
I have travel destinations I’d like to go to (usually for a specific reason) but it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll ever actually get to any of them.
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Never say never, Jay! And eating good food while traveling always counts for something.
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As a person who just doesn’t like packing and rushing about, 5 vacation spots are beyond my thinking. I have fortunately lived in what count as vacation spots: Kodiak, Alaska; greater Seattle, WA; lake front in western CT; and now beachfront on the east coast of Florida. One business trip destination that seemed like a vacation was to New Orleans in 1970s, but probably it was so wonderful as I was being “courted” as a client and as a potential employee with fabulous meals, walking tours of the French Quarter. And that long ago, I was rather starry eyed. Enjoy your traveling and vacationing.
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All those places sound delightful, Elisabeth. I’ve been to all (or close) except Alaska.
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I haven’t been to a lot of places for “vacation.” Orland, FL has a place in my heart because I was there with my kids when they were young and have great memories. Most of the other trips I’ve take are for work or things like Bouchercon (which isn’t really a vacation, even though the trips are fun).
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Right. The conventions are only a vacation if you take a few extra days before or after.
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What a fun topic! I’ll start by agreeing with everyone who said London and San Francisco for the same reasons, then a cross-country drive with favorite stops in Cooperstown, NY and Acadia National Park in Maine; fourth, an Alaskan cruise with my family was filled with so many adventures and new experiences from hiking, playing with sled dogs and a training ride with them, to all the wildlife and amazing late night sunsets and finally my usual trips to Western Colorado where I have a boatload of family and the views are stellar.
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Fabulous choices – and experiences!
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Only 5 top vacations? After a lifetime of travel, I am bursting with over-the-top destinations. I will start with my answer to the question a friend/client asked me recently: What is your topmost favorite country you have been to? I must say Thailand (yes, the whole country). I have been there about 10 times and would go again tomorrow. Second is Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil…paradise on earth…I have been there about 6 times Third is Rio de Janeiro…amazing views, amazing people, delicious food, beach, music…I have been there countless times. Fourth is Cambodia…I have never been so electrified as when i was privileged to see the sun rise from behind Angkor Wat (one of the most imposing temples in the world). Finally…I struggled with the fifth, since it meant leaving so many destinations behind…A day cruise in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam…Look it up: it is an idyllic cruising experience among rock formations shooting up from a turquoise-colored sea. Thanks for sharing your wonderful vacations, and for the opportunity to relive my experiences as I wrote them to share with you. JOY! Luis at ole dot travel
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You are rich in travel memories! I agree about Rio but I never got to Pernambuco, and my only Asian countries were Japan and a single day in Busan, South Korea on my recent cruise.
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You brought back wonderful memories, Luis, since my husband and I have traveled in Thailand, been to Angor Wat, and taken a cruise in Ha Long Bay. All amazing places. Now it sounds like we should visit Brazil!
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Vielen Dank, Kim! Sie würden in Brasilien verzaubert sein!!!!
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As a kid I spent long, lovely summers at Mousam Lake–near Sanford, Maine. Got “weathered in” for a couple of weeks in Bimini once. It was awesome! Went on a cruise of the Greek Islands–a great learning experience and wonderful food. I live in Florida but still count Key West one of the best vacation spots. And I agree with Jesse about Edinburgh, Scotland and for the same reason. Yes, I’d go back to any and all of them–have gone back to Mousam Lake and Key West and still love them both.
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I love Greek food and had most of an idyllic week with a Greek friend in Thessaloniki and the coast up there many years ago.
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Presently on a bucket list trip to B.C., Canada/Alaska, which will end up taking us to see the redwood trees of CA and the national parks in Utah on the way home – LOVING it. In the past, there was the trip to the New England states in the fall – FIVE STARS, the trip to the Grand Canyon for the first time after having been driven by it 18 times (9 trips going each way) as a child and never seeing it – FIVE STARS, trip to Yellowstone the first time – FIVE STARS, and trip back to Yellowstone that went on to the Grand Tetons, Glacier and the Badlands – FIVE STARS. Being retired and able to mark locations off our bucket list – FABULOUS!
Honestly not had a bad trip. Now there might be bits of a trip that were off or disappointing but not enough to ruin the whole trip. Like this one, instead of packing a lot of food we figured they bound to have a store. Well, yes they do, but WOW! Example a loaf of bread is $4.50 and a gallon of milk is $9.50. But you can’t let a small bit ruin and awesome experience. So you shift plans and move on. 🙂
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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I didn’t know you had embarked on your fabulous trip, Kay! Say hello to the Giant Sequoias for me, and safe travels to you and your husband.
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I went on a cruise back in March to New Zealand and really enjoyed the Fjords. I love Edinburgh, Scotland with the various we visited and we were able to walk to alot of the museums. Going to Barcelona in October (2nd time around and really enjoyed it and this time on a Cruise Ship), then Rome in November. In 2025 we are going to Iceland and looking forward to that upcoming trip. I still want to go back to Tokyo and it is so breath taking, the people were friendly, easy to get around and this time plan to include Kyoto and Osaka. sherrie36@hotmail.c
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You are getting around, Sherrie! New Zealand and Australia are places I would love to visit, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get there.
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I grew up camping at a redwoods state park on the California coast. I haven’t been in years, and I miss it (and the redwoods in general). I need to figure out how to get back up there.
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I hope you can!
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In spite of how much my husband and I love traveling in Europe (and don’t forget how easy that is for us since we live in Switzerland!), I’d say our vacation highlight was seven weeks in New Zealand, driving at leisure around both islands and having the time of our lives. The place I enjoyed least was Tunisia, mainly because there were almost no women on the streets everywhere we went, and the men around us (although I was with my husband) made me feel so uncomfortable and even threatened that I ended up not wanting to leave our various hotel rooms. I know this sounds crazy, but, honestly, I’m a tough cookie and not easily intimidated, and I was still miserable. I want to add that this problem is not because Tunisia is a Muslim country; I was comfortable traveling in Jordan and Turkey.
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I understand that feeling, Kim. How was your long stay in Japan?
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We had a wonderful three weeks there, Edith, and there were so many highlights, especially all the different the temple gardens, large and small. And we really enjoyed the different kinds of food.
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My husband and I have done a lot of traveling over our 55 years together. Choosing my five favorites is hard but I’ll say traveling the Ring Road around Iceland, a river cruise down the Rhine, camping trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, cruise to Alaska and camping in the UP of Michigan.
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What a great range of places, Dolores.
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Only five? Peru (where I returned 26 times), Toronto (another many visited place), Boston (lived there 18years and still miss it), Bisbee, AZ, and anywhere in New England.
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Awesome!
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Sherry I just signed up to go on a bus trip to Monterey at the end of the month! I can’t wait to smell the air and walk along the wharf!!
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