Top 5 Vacation Spots With Julia Talbot

Hey y’all

I love to travel. I imagine that shows in my stories if you read enough of them, and I have a lot of places on my bucket list that I haven’t seen yet. Somehow, though, there are a few places I love to go back to over and over. Here’s my top five.

1. Estes Park, Colorado: I love the drive up from Denver, with the kitschy tourist trap on the side of the road, and the twisty section where you half expect the road to fall on you. I love the Stanley Hotel and how they play the Shining 24/7. (They have no air conditioning. Don’t stay there in July.) I adore Rocky Mountain National Park, where you still see snow fields in June, and herds of elk fill the alpine meadows.
2. Ruidoso, NM: You might see a theme. Ruidoso is also in the mountains, though in pine filled forests instead of high meadows. It’s a redneck resort more than anything fancy, but it’s got food, the museum of the horse, and the Inn of the Mountain Gods. It also has black bear, deer, ravens, and hundreds of other animals to see.
3. Glenwood Springs, CO: The drive from Denver to Glenwood is a modern marvel of highway engineering. Glenwood Canyon feeds my soul. The hot springs pool is the biggest in the US, and there’s also cabins with private hippy pools. Cave of the Winds, Doc Holiday’s grave, Hanging Lake… Lord, what more could you ask for?
4. Rome, Italy: I could live in Rome. The first time I went, we walked down the forum to the Coliseum and I burst into tears. There’s San Clemente, with its ancient Mithraeum, and the Cappucin crypt with baroque bone arrangements. Just walking down the street echoes with thousands of years of history, and the food is to die for, even for the gluten free crowd like me. (Italy has the highest population of celiacs in the world). Must sees: the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Forums, the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the gelateria of necessity, which is near the Pantheon and will rise out of the rain when you need it.
5. London, England: Free museums! Need I say more? The British Museum is free and you can go in and out at will. Same with the Victoria and Albert. Sir John Soanes you have to pay for, but the collection is worth it. Westminster Abbey. Big Ben. Tower Bridge. The Tower. But even better is the warren of weird shops and restaurants. Gluten free tea. Mediterranean restaurants with naked lady murals in the bathroom. The taxi driver who sounded just like Michael Caine. The fact that you really can order something from the trolley on the train, a la Harry Potter. I love the people, the hustle and bustle, the Tube… I love it all.

Oh, man, I wish I had time to get into Malaga in Spain and Edinburgh and maybe Nassau or Cancun...

Now my feet are all itchy. Let’s go!