Crushin' on 22 VA Peninsula spots; Ga- Ga For Greece; "Sorry, Vienna"
Radar 22 Listicle & Travel Guide Post and Poem (audio)
To wander is to experience the outside
in order to discover the you within. - Marinarena
Crushin' on the Peninsula in 22 ways
What is this “Peninsula” I speak of ? It’s the lesser sung part of Hampton Roads, Virginia that may get missed by some visitors who flock only to current “it” girl city, Virginia Beach, or just visit the big city of Norfolk for popular HR events.
Peninsula is comprised of the major cities of Hampton, Newport News (NN) and Williamsburg, as well as smaller towns of Charles and Kent County, the sellement of Jamestown, Yorktown and the city of Poquoson.
The Peninsula’s personality is more “chill” or subdued side. Great to go here on a slow boat or kayak ride , or if on land, to take a suburban hike. Nature wonder is a plenty throughout at landscaped parks. Also, the Peninsula is quite the early America aficionado, home to well-preserved wide array of ole colony historical sites.
Here are 22 Peninsula spots to crush:
Mariners’ Museum and Park- where I most frequent for walk and nature discoveries along Noland Trail; ship/naval fan venue; museum is stately and family-friendly and affordable JUST a $1 ENTRY for visitors
Jamestowne Settlement, Williamsburg Absolute can’t-miss, famous historical site
Historic Colonial Williamsburg- Virginia and early American history made fun! Interactive , live characters in costumes, horse rides, etc See events
Governor’s Palace area, Williamsburg- a check-off for historical tourist
Yorktown- Battlefield (national park) For you war history buffs out here!
Phoebus (Hampton) just off the off shore ol’ towne USA area
SHOP & EAT LOCALLY See eventsPoquoson: Off the beaten path Cute lil’ spot off the beaten path off the water for walks and getting away from the buzz of Hampton Roads
Busch Gardens, Williamsburg Tops For family and amusement park travel… Come for Christmastown , Mardi Gras and other holiday and special events; Best to go for special food & holiday events
Hilton Village, Newport News Classy, old British style village stretch of NN Chic, SHOP LOCALLY
Newport News Park, 7,711 (angel numbers!) acres of God’s splendor to explore; birding paradise
Sandy Bottom Park, Hampton’s big nature park for walks, hikes, fishing, birding and all the rest
Buckroe Beach, Hampton- Classic beach, if nostaglic about the 50s and have penchant for Black America historical spots- do come!
Fort Monroe, Hampton- Pretty, vast nature area with the marina and beach; has a charming lighthouse (Old Point Comfort); Casemate Museum, Hampton A small and charming historical home FREE
Hampton Peninsula Center- the ultimate town centre for entertainment, including modern cinema house and bowling alley ; chess and tic-tac-toe games pieces in center for unique play; lots of top city eateries and shops.
City Center at Oysterpoint: Big center fountain spot- perfect spot to saying “what’s up and meeting up, not as magical as the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas but still delightful; prime spot for seasonal concerts, etc
The Living Museum, grand escape especially for kids but all nature lovers; within a woddsy areas for birding and urban hikes
Yorktown Beach- quiet beachfront experience
Hampton marina area- scenic tranquil area
Huntington Beach and Park area, Newport News - intimate little beach (seasonal for water activities), picnic and tennis at the park
York River State Park, York County A most tranquil spot to escape from it all
Ferguson Center at CNU- quite a classy spot for pop and classical music concerts plus Broadway-style productions and more at Christopher Newport University See events
Hampton Coliseum- the city identifier of Hampton with its iconic Greek architecture. See events for concerts and shows within.
Ga-ga for Greece
Speaking of Greek…
Okay, jealous is too strong of a word to describe how I feel about one of my nieces recent trip on the Greek islands! How I would love to experience the glorious blue and white paradise myself and step foot on the “cradle of West civilization”, via Athens. Until then, this girl will settle for the many Greek festivals in Hampton Roads
Greece has been quite the buzz destination lately. In fact, Trip Advisor named it as top trending international destination in 2021. These days, I have been stumbling upon feature article after next on the Mediterrean mecca on all of my fave go-to travel websites and hubs. Greece tourism hit the marketing campaign hard in the post-pandemic era.
Here’s my curated list of Greece bookmarks for trip planning:
Matt Barrett’s Greek Guides on Greek Islands at Greektravel.com
Frommer’s Calendar of Events for Greece
Upcoming 2024 events in Athens, Greece
If you or anyone you know in planning a Greece vacation,use these links for trip planning (support Marinarena.com by booking booking via these affliates)
CheapoAir
Auto Europe
POEM
“Sorry, Vienna”
Sorry, Vienna—
but we shall meet once again,
indeed for coffee—
make it a melange.
I’ll save room for sacher torte
and perhaps strudel.
So bad for the hips
but you’re stunning to the eyes!
Auf Weidersehen!
Commentary of Poem:
3 haiku here, in one piece.
It would have been divine to have written this piece as I departed Vienna to Hungary via river cruise bship, back in 2018. However, here you go, a piece written across the Atlantic, in the commonwealth of Virginia.
Vienna (Wien) cafe culture is a major thing! I wanna go back there and have a melange, a coffee speciality, with half steamed milk and half coffee. What shall I go…maybe at Cafe Diglas (with the cute pink fixture, as seen after clicking next link below)?
See “The Most Instagrammable Cafes in Vienna”
Try this: Sacher Torte Recipe from Austria.info
Book your Vienna trip here and save big time: Go City Vienna
PLAY this:
Besides “Sorry, Vienna” (Auf Wieidersehen), check out recent Marinarena poems and musings, including others from the Place and Time series:
Fairfax and Santa Monica
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