http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19672 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19672 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19608 www.villasanraffaello.com]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19608 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19445
The park was built in the Jin Dynasty (1186). The park is open all year around but the best time to visit it is in autumn, when all the leaves turn red/orange colour and it will just leave you mesmerized. Běijīng Zhíwùyuán (Beijing Botanical Gardens), are located next to the foot of Xiāngshān. It's a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, and would be ideal for anyone who wants to while away their time in beautiful surroundings, including the greenhouse and a special rose garden that contains at least five types of rose flower. Quite romantic too!

After spending the day at Xiāngshān and Běijīng Zhíwùyuán, it would provide a nice ending to the day if you visited the town of Wu Dao Kou - an area near the Tsinghua and Beijing Universities, popular with tourists, foreign students and expats alike. There are a myriad of restaurants of all different types of cuisines (including Indian, Italian and Mexican). There are also some nice Japanese and Korean restaurants where you can drink authentic Japanese or Korean beer over a nice meal.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19445 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19303
The oldest known one (which is not marked, to protect it) is nearly 5000 years old. At about 10,000 feet altitude, look for the Schulman Grove visitor center, about an hour's drive outside Bishop.

Without a doubt, this is the most magical place I have ever been in my life. If you stay for sundown and don't camp, be prepared for a really windy, dark drive down the mountain.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19303 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19264
Book a catamaran tour with Catamaran Tours: the captain will take good care of you, the snorkeling is excellent, and you'll most likely spot dolphins.

Book Erwin for a personal tour: Erwin has the best stories in the world. Plus he knows the islands and their inhabitants inside and out.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19264 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19190 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19190 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19174 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19174 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19163
First and foremost: the landscape. You can see it coming from a mile off; weird bulbous rock formations bulging out.

On the way up, there's a fantastic Romanesque chapel with amazing frescoes, and the whole area is riddled with hermits' caves.

The church itself is vast, 1000m above sea-level, and (oddly) reassuringly hideous in scale and detail.

Still, it's a mighty impressive spectacle and the surrounding countryside is simply breathtaking.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19163 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19072 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19072 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18917
Other 'tour' options are becoming available. The people working at Uncle Tans are super friendly, informative and great with children. Uncle Tans can be reached easily from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan.

Sabah is in easy and inexpensive reach from Kuala Lumpur through Air Asia for example (airasia.com).

This has to be one of the highlights of many trips to southeast Asia, a real fantastic, family-friendly opportunity to see crocodiles, wild pigs, gibbons, lizards, proboscis monkeys and if you are lucky, elephants and orang utans.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18917 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18904
You can eat here, joining dozens of families picnicking on the sloping park ground adjacent to this weekly festival. The Sicilian style restaurant ‘La Medusa’ serves a Wednesday dinner that has been cooked up using only produce purchased fresh that day from the stalls in the market (book ahead).

Within a short radius Columbia City has a pub (great local microbrews), a bookstore (Bookworm Exchange), a gallery, restaurants, a bakery (which serves coffee and treats), a cinema, as well as ethnic and independent shops that beg to be browsed.

If you are in town on the first Friday of the month then come along to ‘Beatwalk’ which starts kicking in around seven in the evening; many of the places described above are open until late, each with their own band, one five dollar payment gives you the freedom to wander from venue to venue people-watching and relaxing (you might even enjoy the music too).

It’s a lot of fun and not set up with tourists in mind, many of my neighbours arrange to meet up or just wander down knowing they will bump into friends. The 'south end' is the 'social end'.

If you have a car (or ride Metro 39) go down to Seward Park and walk the perimeter path that follows the lakeside around this peninsula, looking across towards the downtown skyscrapers, it is hard to imagine that you are in a major US city. Within Seward Park there is old growth with the biggest Douglas fir inside city limits, bald eagles nest here and one particular nest is easily viewed from the internal drive that goes up by the amphitheatre.

I have lived in Seattle since 1989 and I love the south end, it doesn’t get the ‘travel show’ attention of other more northerly neighbourhoods but it’s a quiet gem of an experience waiting to happen.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18904 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18684
There are hawks skimming the reed tops, flamingos, all sorts of ducks and waders, geese and other water fowl. It's run by a small volunteer group and welcomes visitors as it holds out against the enveloping town. On the way back have a delicious local 'calafate' berry ice cream on the main street for a perfect afternoon.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18684 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18561 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18561 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18421
Also enjoyable local culture with traditional music, dancing, arts and drama.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18421 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18415
Spectacular scenery, unique cultural experiences and a wildlife safari on top! How can you resist?]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18415 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18372
The Fantasia Houseboat is very well heated always, and Nageem lake is much more quiet and restful than Dal lake. Excursions take you to the centre and to the other lake and the city is worth visiting. Very near (60 Kms or so) you have Gulmarg and Panhalgar covered with snow, streams of water on the valleys, ponies drinking from them. One may also enjoy a trip on the lakes in a Shikara (row boat) comfortably installed (with some blankets when I was there).

The homemade food is very acceptable because one does not go there counting on a Michelin star restaurant. And if you are lucky enough to have Rahim himself as guide it is a complete experience: helpful and gentle, discreet, not imposing his knowledge, allowing nice, interesting conversations, with good manners and humour. And he's a very good driver, very careful also, which is a tremendous advantage in India.

Rahim will also collect you from the airport.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18372 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18366 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18366 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18276
The cherry ferry across the Firth of Clyde

The start of the glorious gardens of Argyll and a gateway to the west coast.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18276 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18255
Every season has something to offer in Gredos – from winter snow and ice, through the verdant and flower-rich spring to the pleasant temperatures of summer and the beautiful colours of autumn.

For those who like to be active, the Sierra offers walking for all abilities, climbing and scrambling on both rock and ice, cycling, mountain biking, paragliding, horse riding and both cross country and extreme skiing.

For others, there are rivers to swim in, historical sites and cities to visit and many beautiful natural spaces rich with an abundance of wildlife and nature to discover and explore.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18255