Stone Henge

No. 12 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

The oldest on our bucket list
by some margin I’d suggest
So it’s fitting that to Wiltshire
we should some time invest
A place I must be honest
many times when just a boy
I came to with my parents
to explore and to enjoy

But then as we grew older
and its history we consumed
it was added to our bucket list
and the visiting resumed
By then of course the monument
was more protected than the past
and though the stones were out of bounds
we all still had a blast

An early bucket list tick ticked
and regaled to you in rhyme
concluding here the series
with a little snip in time
But our bucket list continues
as more travels are in store
For the world has many places
we would still like to explore

But for now this little series
ends here I’m sad to say
until another bucket list
of places comes your way
Jemverse of course continues
with each day a little rhyme
to capture life in moments
as a snapshot caught in time

©Jemverse

Photo – Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK, April 2001 – Jempics

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Korcula (aka ‘Korcula revisited’)

10 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

To Korcula by tender
Inside the city wall
I climbed the tower of St Marks
some thirty metres tall

The view across the rooftops
full of terracotta red
took my breath away, although
the drop filled me with dread

But I made it back down safely
to walk streets of ancient stone
on this island in Croatia
Marco Polo once called home

©Jemverse

Photo – Korcula island – Dalmation coast – Croatia – August 2018 – Jempics

[Jemverse originally posted “Korcula” on 6 September 2018 as a part of the ‘Venetian Vistas’ series]

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Lands End

9 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

A cold day in February
two thousand and seven
when we finally got to Lands End
on the southernmost tip
of the fine Cornish coast
awaiting us just like a friend

John O’Groats signposted
a long way to the north
we’ve yet to get there but here
Its southernmost relation
was waiting to bring
each of us plenty of cheer

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics [Lands End had long been a top UK ‘bucket list’ item]

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Venice (aka ‘Gondolier revisited’)

8 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

Our gondolier sang songs
as he took us into shade
Cool waters in our gondola
combined with serenade

The ancient walls around us
and narrow waterways
Venetian history spoke to us
on this happiest of days

It was beautiful, exquisite
and we had a moment there
Tears of joy from what we saw
in Venice everywhere

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

[‘Gondolier‘ was first posted on Jemverse on 11 September 2018 as a part of the ‘Venetian Vistas’ series. Venice had always been high up on our bucket list until we finally visited last year. And we liked it so much that we’re going back for another visit in October this year]

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Jublains

7 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

Although the sun was shining
it was minus fifteen there
and absolutely freezing
in Jublains in open air
Northern France, December
Two thousand ten all wrapped up warm
we visited the fortress
on the hilltop all forlorn
But we really didn’t linger
but walked swiftly round the walls
of this fortress that the Romans
used when conquering the Gauls

©Jemverse

Jublains, in the Mayenne region of North-Western France, is also the site of the Roman capital fortress of Noeodunum. Photo – Jempics

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

The Minack

6 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

Shakespeare wasn’t present
on the bleak Atlantic coast
when we visited The Minack
(though we gave him there a toast)

We quoted from ‘King Lear’
and ‘Macbeth’ as there it seemed
the thing to do in this fine place
as its creators dreamed

And yes our bucket list to England’s
shores and places reaches far
as there’s plenty here to see
which is quite spectacular

©Jemverse

The Minack theatre was the brainchild of Rowena Cade, who moved to Cornwall after the First World War and built a house for herself and her mother on land at Minack Point for £100. In 1929, a local village group of players had staged Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in a nearby meadow at Crean, repeating the production the next year. They decided that their next production would be ‘The Tempest’ and Miss Cade offered the garden of her house as a suitable location, as it was beside the sea. She and her gardener, Billy Rawlings, made a terrace and rough seating, hauling materials down from the house or up via the winding path from the beach below. In 1932, ‘The Tempest’ was performed with the sea as a dramatic backdrop, to great success. Miss Cade subsequently resolved to improve the theatre, working over the course of the winter months each year throughout her life (with the help of Billy Rawlings and Charles Angove) so that others might perform each summer. Photo – Jempics.

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Santorini (aka ‘Six hundred steps and an ice-cold beer again’)

5 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

Sitting on the harbour wall
with an ice-cold beer
Watching cool blue waters
in Santorini here
I’ve climbed six hundred steps
to Thira at the top
avoiding several donkeys
who looked fed up and hot

And then I walked back down again
taking pictures on the way
Getting warmer by the minute
at the hottest time of day
So an ice-cold beer is just the thing
sheltered from the sun
Before heading to the tender
as the day was far from done

©Jemverse

This was originally posted as ‘Six hundred steps and an ice-cold beer‘ on Jemverse as a part of the ‘Aegean Shores’ series in August 2017. There are over 600 steps up a winding path from the harbour wall in Santorini to Thira at the top. Most visitors either take the cable car or risk a donkey ride; but I walked up. Santorini was at No.7 on our bucket list but, like Rhodes, we’ve since had the good fortune of visiting twice. Photo – Jempics.

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Rhodes (aka ‘Mandraki Harbour revisited’)

4 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

On Rhodes, the ancient city
built in medieval time
reflects the yellow of the sun
in every way, divine

Windmills on the harbour wall
once caught the southern breeze
Their ancient sails now still of course
beside Aegean seas

And in Mandraki harbour
where Colossus may have stood
I walked beside those windmills
because today I simply could

©Jemverse

Photo – Mandraki Harbour, Rhodes, Greece, August 2017 – Jempics

[Jemverse originally published this as a part of the ‘Aegean Shores’ series in August 2017. Rhodes had been at No.3 on my bucket list – but we’ve now had the good fortune of visiting twice.]

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

The Parthenon

3 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

The Parthenon up on the hill
overlooking Athens city
Part of the Acropolis
in ruins (more’s the pity)
But there for two millennia
plus five hundred give or take
it’s looking pretty marvellous
for its age make no mistake

And it was high up on our bucket list
until we visited to see
the grandeur of its marbled walls
my soulmate, Sal and me
Greece is I’d say a favourite
as this series has to show
for several ticks its taken
from the list I’ll have you know

©Jemverse

Photo – The Parthenon, Athens, Greece, August 2007 – Jempics

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)

Paris

2 of 12 in the Jemverse “The Bucket List” series

We climbed the Eiffel Tower
by the steps not by the lift
with energy and stamina
right there within our gift
And the view of Paris from the top
was worth the climb indeed
made better by the going down
we later did at speed

Notre Dame and Pompidou
and a boat trip on the Seine
Champs d’Elysees, L’arc de Triomphe
to Montartre on the train
The first tick off our bucket list
Eighteen years now past
We’d gladly do that all again
as Paris was a blast

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

“The Bucket List’ series features the following:
[1] Pompeii (190904)
[2] Paris (190905)
[3] The Parthenon (Athens) (190906)
[4] Rhodes (190907)
[5] Santorini (190908)
[6] Minack Theatre, Cornwall, UK (190909)
[7] Jublains (France) (190910)
[8] Venice (190911)
[9] Lands End, Cornwall, UK (190912)
[10] Korcula (Croatia) (190913)
[11] Parc Guell (Barcelona) (190914), and
[12] Stone Henge, Wiltshire, UK (190915)