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The best vacation ideas

Anything to avoid revision (again!) and this category first caught my attention a wee while back. My wanderlust means I have struggled to keep this to only ten choices.
But here goes with my whistle stop world tour:
Heading slightly North from Ayrshire first and we arrive at:

Orkney
We headed here in 2002 although I have wanted to explore the Orkneys and Shetland for a long time before that. I only managed to do a one day whistle stop tour but it has whetted my appetite for a longer stay. Orkney has plenty of historical monuments and place of particular interest are the Standing Stones at Brogar, Scara Brae which is a 5000 year old village which pre-dates Stonehenge and the Pyramids. St Magnus church and St Magnus Cathedral both date back around 1000 years, and the Italian Chapel which was constructed during the 2nd world war by Italian Prisoners of War, in a Nissen Hut is an amazing act of love and faith. Orkney is of course a haven for divers, with plenty of ship wrecks in the Pentland Firth area. If you have ever seen Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland, you will recall the scene where he danced around the Standing Stones at Brogar butt naked.

Still in the UK, but heading south again:
Devon/Cornwall

I used to holiday down here a good deal, and my eldest sister has lived in Cornwall for something like 17 years now. I last visited in 2003, after a gap of almost five years. I know a lot of Devon and Cornwall is extremely geared for tourists and attractions can be quite expensive, but I love the place for the things you can do for free or quite cheaply, and I just adore driving through picturesque villages and towns, having lunch, walking along river banks and in parks. Last year I visited in October, and I plan a trip to Devon again this year, but definitely just out of season to avoid the crowds that clog up the roads all summer.
Crossing the channel and the whole of France to the South and look for:

St Paul de Vence
St Paul de Vence is the most picturesque medieval perched village. We visited on two or three occasions. (See pictures). It is a favourite spot for artists, and there are about 60 boutique art galleries in the village. The village still has its ramparts, as protection. As you approach the gates to the town you will see the Lacan Cannon still embedded into the rampart walls. As well as art galleries, the village has an imposing church and local history museum. This has to be one of the quaintest and most attractive places


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