Lexa Cain's Summer Blog Hop - What's Your Favourite Summer Vacation Spot?

Welcome to Lexa Cain's 

Lexa gave us the following guidelines:

Is your favorite vacation spot 
a sunny beach, a bright city, 
or a secluded cabin? 

A romantic getaway

or a place you loved as a child?  

We want to see it 
and know why it's your favorite!

If you want, you can join this fun Summer Vacation Hop!

1) Sign up on the Linky list.

2) On Saturday May 30, put up a post "My Favorite Vacation Spot" and tell everyone about it!

3) Link to the 6 Blog Hop Co-hosts: 
Lexa Cain: http://lexacain.blogspot.com/
Melanie Karsak: http://www.melaniekarsak.com/
T.F. Walsh: http://www.tfwalsh.com/blog/
Vanessa Morgan: http://vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com/
Jolie Du Pre: http://www.preciousmonsters.com/
Stuart R. West: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/

4) On May 30-31, visit the other blogs and see where their favorite getaways are!

Special Giveaways! 
Summer Reads that Thrill & Chill

There will be a giveaway featuring 

6 exciting novels on the Co-hosts blogs!

HERE IS MY ENTRY - NEW CALEDONIA

My favourite holiday (vacation) spot is whatever destination is next on my travel list. So, on June 25th, Geo and I are flying to New Caledonia (Nouvelle Caledonie), yet another little pearl in the Pacific. It doesn't get much of a write up in travel magazines, so I'm planning to get some travel articles published when I return.

So as you can see, from where I live in Queensland, Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, is only a 2-hour flight direct from Brisbane. We've wanted to visit this island for ages. It's still 'ruled' by the French colonists and French is the official language. A positive bien sur. 

My initial research has shown that there is a lot to do in the two weeks we have allocated. Noumea itself has tour ships arriving quite often, so there is a lively market in local trinkets and artisian chocolate and the very popular Noumea Market where everybody buys their fruit, veges and snacks. 

(This will be my first stop. Just like in Paris, a delicious treat each day. You can also do a chocolate-making course. Yummo!) 

Our hotel (Le Hotel Paris, of course) is close to the waterfront where we can jump on boats and explore islands like the Isle of Pines which is supposed to be world class. Not that there's really anything there but the scenery. Sounds like my kind of place. (Maybe I could move there and write and sell coffee to the tourists!)

For those of you who are interested:

Top 10 Things to do in New Caledonia

1. Ile des Pins
Dig your toes into some of the finest, whitest, softest sand on the planet. Known affectionately as “The Closest Island to Paradise”, the water is transparent and perfect for swimming, snorkelling and diving while history buffs will enjoy visiting the ruins of the penal colony that once stood on the island. Enjoy the cool shade of the pine trees as you plan a way to stay here forever.  

2. Nouméa Markets
Get your haggling hat on and head out in search of the best deals for local produce, meat, fish and souvenirs. Epitomising the market culture with artefacts, jewellery and unique art pieces on offer, the Nouméa markets, located beside the Port Moselle marina, run every morning with their busiest days being Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Go for an early morning stroll and pick up something for an afternoon picnic.

3. Amedee Lighthouse Island

One of the tallest lighthouses in the world is located on one of the most beautiful stretches of reef in the world! Today there are day trips to Amedee Island where guests can visit the lighthouse, take a trip in a glass-bottom boat to witness the magical underwater sea life or go snorkelling with turtles. This is considered a “must visit” during your stay in Nouméa.

4. Chomp on chocolate
Who doesn’t like chocolate? Get your tasty fill as you learn about the chocolate-making process in Nouméa at Chocolats Morand. Try them all to determine your favourite and come home bearing gifts – if they make it back uneaten, that is!

5. Swim, dive or snorkel in the Lagoon
Snorkel and swim through the crystal clear waters of the South Lagoon, surrounded by New Caledonia’s claim to fame: the 2nd longest double-barrier coral reef in the world (second only to the one in Belize, Central America). A picture is worth a thousand words, so go swim for yourself!

6. Nosh on nem
Save a few bucks and dig into the local street food! Located in shops known simply as “snacks”, you can find anything here, from fancy French food to strongly Asian-influenced menu dishes. An inexpensive and tasty favorite is nem, similar to a fried spring roll stuffed with goodies.

7. Hide out in nature
Grotte de la Reine Hortense is said to be the cave where Queen Hortense, wife of a local chief, hid in 1855 to escape inter-tribal conflict on the island. It is now one of the most visited and best maintained caves, where visitors can learn about the history and shine a light in the dark depths of the interior.

8. Be a pearl
Considered to be Tahiti’s specialty, New Caledonia offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the unique styles and colours of pearls and even purchase some as souvenirs to take home. Even if you walk in completely clueless about pearls, chances are you’ll be blown away with what you discover in a short visit to Maison de la Perle in Nouméa.

9. Fly high
Whether it’s from a whirling helicopter or a floating kite, why not see New Caledonia from a new perspective? Try kite-surfing lessons on Anse Vata beach or book a tour with Helitourisme for a birds-eye view of paradise.

10. Peer into the past at a local museum
Immerse yourself in history as you step out of the tropical sun and into the cool Tjibaou Cultural Centre, featuring displays of Kanak painting, sculpture and artefacts, as well as live dance performances twice weekly. Also open to visitors and well worth a couple hours is the New Caledonia Museum which provides a thorough introduction to Kanak and regional Pacific Islander culture.

So there's plenty to do in New Caledonia. Thank you for coming by and reading my entry. Please click on this link to visit more participants.

My 'From the Couch' series continues next week. Tune in Wednesday for my next recliner...

And this is a link for a Mills & Boon and WD Smith romance writing contest which closes mid July.

What I did on your Summer Vacation - September 23. I went to South Korea, Madrid, San Sebastian in Spain and Biarritz in France, just for starters...

If you're looking for my #RomanticFridayWriter story, it's here today.

Well I know you guys in the Northern Hemp are saying goodbye to summer's tornadoes and floods and saying hello to winter's snows and winds, but down here in the Southern Hemp we're just saying goodbye to winter's beautiful weather and hello to spring which is actually like summer already. So I had to do a think about Michael's Summer Blogfest, but then, aha, I remembered I actually visited the Northern Hemp this summer, so let's grab out a few of the, ahem 30,000 or so pics and post them! Done!

My followers would know that during the southern winter, northern summer, I travelled to Spain, France - (country and Paris), Andorra and Morocco. I'll post a few pics from each country. I must say except for Spain and Morocco, summer seemed to be strangely absent. It was the same temperature in Paris' summer when we flew out as it was in Australia's winter when we landed at Brisbane airport.

First stop, Seoul, South Korea. Always strange not to see bright blue skies. Here is Songdu City, a new satellite city out of Seoul, where everything is new, green, and strangely empty. I was intrigued how they prop up their trees. Must be a story to that, maybe simply very strong winds.

One of those lucky breaks - happened on The Walk of the Royal Family at Incheon Airport. The South Korean national dress is gorgeous. Pity I can't show more, but...

Welcome to Madrid, Spain, the gypsies sang! They were just so great I stood for ages and listened, clapped and smiled. And yes, Alex, I gave them money!

Blue skies again you'll note! We just happened on a multicultural food and music festival in the Grand Square of Madrid. Here a Bolivian band struts their stuff. Madrid is alive with music! All day, all night! The people own their city!

Did I tell you the Bolivians are tres colourful? We were really blessed to be part of this festival with like a million or so others. Was very hot summer weather so these guys must have been frying. We enjoyed strolling around drinking real cidre (cider).

Watching the flamenco dancers in sumptuous settings and eating sumptuous tapas and drinking sumptuous wine was a treat just up the street from our hotel in Madrid. Went on into the early hours of the morning, then we had to pick up a hire car and get ready to drive north to San Sebastian , heading into France via Biarritz and Bordeaux.

I think I've used up my quota for this 'fest and I didn't even get out of Spain. Never mind, you can always check them out on my other blogs. I've left links to more below, but really, I haven't even started yet!

Ah, what the heck! One more. It is a summer blogfest after all, so I'll leave you with a photo of the carpark at the stupendous hotel we stayed at in San Sebastian, looking north to Biarritz and France. Woo hoo, here I come!

And in case you're too busy/lazy/uninspired to check out my snaps on my travel and Paris blogs, I just want to tell you Biarritz, France, is drop-dead gorgeous! Can see why it used to be a surfie mecca in a past life. It's just being regenerated now and regaining some of its past glory.

And we haven't even gone to Morocco  yet! Well it's hard to beat this for a summer pic. On top of the Sahara Desert in Morocco looking towards Algeria (7 hours by camel) with my 2 Berber guides and smelly, snorty camels who're no fun really to ride, but boy is it a great experience to see the sunset after the climb! I've already posted some Morocco pics on L'Aussie Travel and have just posted more on my Saharan Desert climb. I've just downloaded this memory stick and are there ever some stunners here!

All photos are private. Please enjoy but don't steal. See my copyright warning! 

If you've really enjoyed my pics, I've been posting photo essays on both my L'Aussie Travel Blog and Pichets in Paris blog since returning from my travels. Go there for more deliciousness if you wish.