Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

Pink Day is tomorrow, and the TT team is asking for romantic TTs. So, I’ll tell you about thirteen places that I think are romantic. Many of them I went to alone, so I’m not really thinking about dates here: I’m thinking about places that make my heart sing and that I’d take a special person to any day.

1. The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. I went there for one of my birthdays–24th, maybe, or 25th–and I was absolutely enchanted with it. I sat there and some of the best poetry I’ve ever written bubbled up out of nowhere…

2. Duntulm Castle on the Isle of Skye. When I first visited you could go inside and look down a sheer cliff at the rocks below. It’s moody and beautiful and absolutely wonderful. Now, the walls have become unstable, and you can’t go in any more. One day, no doubt, it will simply be reclaimed by the sea.

3. Stac Pollaidh. It’s a bit of a hike up there, but the views over the surrounding countryside are amazing.

4. Easter Aquorthies Stone Circle. This tiny little place had a wonderfully wild feeling to it.

5. La Rochelle, France. It’s just the prettiest old walled town and ideal for walking around with lots of little old streets and cafes. And, mmm. Petits pain au chocolat. ;)

6. The Shambles, in York (the original one). Not only is York an amazing city, the Shambles is a step back in time full of interesting little shops. A great place to window-shop or go to the pub.

7. Tolminska Korita in Slovenia. I love this deep gorge and traversing it is like exploring Green. The walls are green, the water is green, and you feel as though you’re in some different world. And speaking of which:

8. Skocjan Caves, also in Slovenia. These are truly worthy of Tolkienian dwarfs, and are the most spectacular caves I have ever seen. Since my last visit, they’ve been made into a UNESCO World Heritage site.

9. Ben Nevis. This great big glob of rock is the highest mountain in the British Isles and can be climbed via a dull but non-technical four and a half mile path. It’s a slog, but if you hit it on one of the rare sunny days the views across endless mountain ranges are to die for. I climbed it on my (first) honeymoon.

10. Goldwell Open Air Museum near Beatty, Nevada. This is an incredible sculpture park on the edges of Death Valley and would be a fantastic place to spend a sunset or, as I did, a sunrise.

11. Pulgas Water Temple and Sunol Water Temple. Both have their charms and in fact Pulgas is often used for wedding photographs. Nice big lawns are a good place for a picnic.

12. Divje Jezero near Idrija is a wholly enclosed little lake with almost primeval foliage. You might as well be on a different planet when you go there, and the water goes so deep that it exudes a very special kind of peace. It’s a good place to sit and contemplate the nature of the universe.

13. Anywhere, absolutely anywhere, that you can take a walk hand-in-hand.
    

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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• Thursday Thirteen #25: 13 countries I have visited
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