Oh, the Places I Want to Go

I love to travel. Love, love, love to travel. I love going new places, seeing new things, learning new history, and eating new food. New to me, anyway. When I was younger, I read about James A. Michener and how he researched an area before he wrote about it. His books Centennial and Chesapeake are two of my favorite books ever, and I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. 

So when I read that he would move to a location and live there for two or three years, getting to know the area, getting to know the people, the climate, understanding the weather and the culture, I thought how amazing that would be. That's what I wanted to do too! 

I wanted to live for a little while in a small town on the coast of Maine and spend another few years on the west coast in Oregon. I wanted to live in California and Vermont and maybe even travel to places more exotic. Of course, I didn't factor in money or how much I might miss my family. I just knew I wanted the experience. 

I've been lucky in my lifetime so far. I've traveled more than I probably should have been able to, but there are still places on my list that I long to see someday. I was looking up pictures for another project earlier and came across a few shots that stirred up that old longing. So today, in no particular order, I give you five places I want to visit. 

1.  Philadelphia, PA for all the obvious reasons. Or maybe they're just obvious to me. I am a history buff, and my favorite time period is probably the American Revolution. One of my dreams is to someday write the great American novel set around the time of the Revolutionary War. One of my favorite books in the world is John Adams by David McCullough, I've had the good fortune to visit Boston and Braintree and Quincy, MA, and I've paid a few short visits to Washington, D.C. (although I still haven't been able to see anything there.) but Philadelphia has so far eluded me. 

2.  Italy. Rome. Wherever.  I don't care what part of Italy I get to first, I'd just like to go. I have no particular reason for wanting to go, I just do. Okay, there's the obvious historical reason to want to visit, and it seems like the kind of place someone who loves to travel ought to go. It's the site of all the interesting stuff that happened during the Holy Roman Empire, the site of amazing architecture, art, and music. And wasn't Much Ado About Nothing filmed in Italy? Who wouldn't want to go there? 

3.  Hawaii.  I've never been. I think I ought to go, although, admittedly, after living in Florida for the past six years, it seems slightly less exotic than it used to. But it's still on my list and will undoubtedly remain there. I've read a few books set there and those add to the mystique. And, of course, there have been movies, but honestly, I think the appeal of almost anyplace I'd like to visit comes from a book. 

4.  France. Again, no particular reason, but it's France. Paris. The south of France. I read and loved A Year in Provence and ever since then I've wanted to ... you know ... spend a year or two in Provence. Then, of course, there's The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers and there's the food. I mean, I hear it's amazing. I'd like to find out for myself. And because having spent a long time working on my family's genealogy, I've learned that I'm related to various Kings Louis and Charlemagne, so it would be nice to visit the land of my people (as my granddaughter says.) 

5.  The Holy Land. Again, the land of my people -- which is pretty much true of everyone, right? It's the land of the descendants of Abraham (both branches of the family) and claimed by Christians, as well. So much interesting history has happened here -- and continues to happen. I'd love to see it some day. I'd love to visit the temple for which the Psalms of Ascension were written, to see the Mount of Olives, the Tower of David, and the Garden of Gethsemane. 

I'd love to stand on the Temple Mount and walk along the shores of the Red Sea. I'd just like to see it all, breathe it in, and gain a better understanding of the divisions that have existed between people for so many centuries. 

My wish list is much too long to share the whole thing, but these are the top five on my list. Do you have one? Where in the world would you like to go?