In my previous post, I wrote about the several islands that my wife, Mary Pat Treuthart, and I have visited. To save time, if not space, I had to leave a few out.

I didn’t mention Sardinia, for example, the Italian region that is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean (after Sicily). Because the island is so big, we were able to spend only a few days there when we visited in 2008. And all we managed to see were a few places around the medieval city of Alghero, which sits on the island’s northwest coast.

But what we did see was choice. As I explained in that previous post, we hadn’t gotten to tour Capri’s Blue Grotto, so we were particularly excited to see a Sardinian equivalent, Neptune’s Grotto. Said to be discovered by fishermen sometime in the 1700s, the grotto has become a popular tourist attraction – even if the part that visitors are allowed to visit is only a couple of hundred yards wide.

Even so, coming up on it from the sea makes for a stunning sight. The only way you can get inside is by being part of a guided tour, so we had taken a boat from Alghero to the grotto’s mouth as part of such a group. We could have entered by the headlands at the top of the cliffs overlooking the sea, but that would have required us to trundle down a long, long series of steps.

So, we opted for the boat because … going down those steps is one thing. Heading back up is clearly something else.

Here’s what one website recommends: Look in the first room for La Marmora Lake, said to be “one of the biggest saltwater basins in Europe.” Among the stalactites that protect the room’s entrance is what’s called the Holy Water Font, a 2-meter-plus-tall formation in which birds make nests.

I remember the stalactites, and I recall dodging the bird droppings. As for Sardinia itself, I’d return in a heartbeat because there is so much more that we didn’t get to see. But the world is a big place, and there’s a lot of it we still haven’t explored.

The same holds true for an island group in the South Pacific. Little known fact: New Zealand comprises an estimated 700 different islands in all. Our only visit to NZ came in December 2012 when we took a Celebrity cruise that began in Sydney and made stops at various ports on both of NZ’s main north and south islands. We first sailed into Milford Sound, which was scenic. But it didn’t feel particularly special for any Pacific Northwest resident who has seen British Columbia’s several glacier lakes.

Side note: What we’ve gradually come to realize is that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most scenic spots in the world, sitting a couple of hours west of the Cascades, with Canada to the immediate north and Glacier National Park a half day’s drive to the east. Our stops around the world have confirmed that fact time and again.

But … back to New Zealand. Other stops that we made on our cruise include cities such as Dunedin, the earthquake-damaged city of Christchurch, and while we bypassed the capital Wellington, we were able to spend a couple of days in big-city Auckland. Our final stop was at a place called the Bay of Islands, an area that offers any number of outdoor activities such as sailing and big-game fishing. It’s also where the country’s historic 1840 Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

The thrill for us, though, involved – predictably – a stop that has been featured in several movies. One of the day trips that we were able to make took us to a place called … Hobbiton.

Readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s three-part novel “The Lord of the Rings” – published as “The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” – will be familiar with the place. It’s the Shire home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, among other Hobbits, all characters in Tolkien’s fiction.

But thanks to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, Hobbiton is a real place, too. When Jackson decided to film what would be his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and later his three-part “Hobbit” series – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” – one of his location scouts spotted a stretch of countryside from a helicopter.

The year was 1998, and the place was the Alexander sheep farm, which featured all the traits that Jackson thought perfect for his purposes: grass-covered rolling hills, a pure natural setting, all set under blue skies. Jackson’s company contracted to use 12 acres of the farm, and over a nine-month period he oversaw construction of some 39 Hobbit holes.

After filming of the first trilogy was complete, the set – built mostly of polystyrene and plywood – was mostly torn down. But when it came time to film the “Hobbit” films, more permanent structures were built. And a tourist attraction was born. By 2010, the Shire and its 44 holes had stretched out over more than 100 acres. And by 2015, Hobbiton was attracting some 20,000 visitors a year.

A number of companies offer Hobbiton tours, including the Celebrity cruise lines that we were sailing on. And there are variations, from simple walks through the set, to evening banquets to something called “the Second Breakfast Tour” (which refers to something that LOTR and Hobbit fans will no doubt understand).

We opted to take a day tour from a company that took us by van from the port where our ship had tied up, set us up with a guide through the Shire (the individual holes are merely picturesque facades) and ended with our having a drink at what’s called the Green Dragon Inn – before returning us to the ship.

That evening we were back in our stateroom, hungry as your average Hobbit and eager for dinner. But the images of Hobbiton lingered with both of us.

Those images were then, and remain now – wait for it – precious.