7 Places I Want to Visit in the Next 10 Years

Why 7? Because I couldn't decide on 5, and 10 in 10 seemed like too lofty of a goal for a girl with enormous student loans/a lack of true disposable income :-)

disclaimer: Why am I posting this? Well, a few reasons. Mainly it's been rainy for days now, and lately I've been thinking about how much I miss traveling. And I'm working. And I still have on week left before my 3 days off. So I'm wistfully thinking about being anyplace but Boston :-)

7.Ireland (Again)

With my dad being from Ireland, I've been a lot (8 times), and seen a large amount of the West coast (Galway, Mayo, Clare), and done day trips throughout the country (a few times to Dublin, Kerry, Cork). But I haven't been since I was 17, due mainly to price, and to the fact that when I was in London my grandmother was sick, (not dying or anything, just frail), and so when my family came out to visit me, only my dad went over for a night, because we didn't want to overwhelm her or stress her out. It was fine, but I was dissapointed, mainly because I had waited to go to Ireland with my family that weekend, so I had missed my opportunity to go back at all!.

But I miss it, a lot. And There is so much more that I want to see. I want to explore the East Coast, the central counties, and venture up to Northern Ireland a bit. I'd like to explore the west more, actually go out (because I've been underage everytime, and my sisters/cousins were all under 13 the last time, so I wasn't about to go out by myself! haha) and experience the nightlife. It's funny, because for a person who has seen so much of the country and been there so many times, I do feel like there are so many parts I haven't even touched. So I would like to go back :-)

6.Chicago


taken from wikipedia.com



I was supposed to go to Chicago for a friend's wedding back in 08. I really regret not going (I had to bail out at the last minute. I was having severe financial issues, due to some not so smart decisions in London, and couldn't afford the flight to Chicago, let alone hotel, a present, etc. I was young, and stupid, and to this day still feel awful for how I handled it. I should have realized from the get go that it wouldn't be a possibility, not let her know a few weeks before.  You live and learn. I will never make that mistake again.), mostly because I wanted to see my friend get married. But also because I've heard the city is beautiful, and fun!

And full of history. I'm a big history person, I love reading it and learning about it, and seeing it hands on, so Chicago would be a city I would love for that reason alone! I am also reading Eric Larson's "Devil in the White City", which takes place in Chicago back in the late 1800's. I am just starting it tonight, but I'm sure this won't help my want to travel there!

5. San Francisco



wikipedia.org



M and I have semi plans to travel next fall to San Francisco. It's high on my list of places to see in the US, for no other reason than the pictures of it look just breathtaking!I love coastal towns, and like Chicago there is a great history aspect to the city. And I've never been farther west than Toronto, so it seems like a great way to see part of the West Coast as well. As it gets closer to our vacation and we actually book dates and the like, I'm sure I'll talk more about things I want to do and see in SF.

4. France

Namely, Paris. And Southern France, but mainly Paris. When I was abroad, the fact was that I just couldn't get to everywhere. Paris was unfortunetly left aside, as it was pricey to get to (I believe the chunnel train ran about 200 euros round trip. Considering I flew to Italy and back for 70 euros, it was a bit pricier), and I spent so many weekends traveling (6 in all), I decided to not make any other trips and enjoy London. But after seeing friends pictures and hearing about their experiences, I wish I had gone to Paris, just so I could have experienced it all. My favorite part of traveling is experiencing the culture of a city, it's so much more important in my mind than sightseeing (although that is fun also). And with a city like Paris, half the fun is the culture, and I really hope that someday I can get there and actually experience it for myself!

I don't have any Paris pictures, hopefully someday I can take some myself!

3. Spain


wikipedia.org



While abroad, I did go to Barcelona for a weekend. Which was a blast, and a gorgeous city, but from what I've heard very different from the rest of Spain. I'd love to go to Madrid, and Sevilla, and see all the monuments and areas that I spent years learning about in my spanish classes. I'd love to go to El Prado, and all the old castles and churches, as well as soak up the sun and enjoy some Spanish wine :-) I liked Barcelona, but I never really felt like I was in Spain while I was there. It was it's own entity, they didn't even speak full Spanish! I mean, 8 years of Spanish, and i don't even get to test out my knowledge :-)

2. Germany
My friends went to Berlin the weekend I went to  Prague. I don't regret not going then, they went in the middle of awful weather and basically stayed inside all weekend at our friend's BF's apartment. But I do wish I had gotten to go to Germany at some point, because I've heard it's a beautiful country. And I have a slight obsession with WWI/WWII history, and where else are you going to see a better example of that history than in Germany.

wikipedia.org

Also, as a beer lover, who wouldn't want to go to Germany and drink actual German beer, instead of just the imports :-) M and I have a slight dream of going to Oktoberfest as part of our honeymoon (yea I know, we are strange). While I don't plan on getting married anytime soon, I do hope it will happen in the next decade. And that it happens in the fall, so I hope to make this dream a reality!

1. Scotland 

I actually almost went to Glasgow for a weekend while abroad, but it was so expensive to fly there, and the bus company wouldn't take an American credit card (why I don't know, I think I was dealing with a crazy), so I ended up not going at all.



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But out of all our trips, this is the one we talk about the most. I want to meet M's family, and see where he grew up, and where he comes from. We actually want to do a Scotland/England/Ireland trip, so I can go back to London and see my family as well as meet his, but from his pictures and memories, I know Glasgow and Edinburgh would be two cities I would absolutely love. And I've heard the highlands are spectacular, so having two cities/the countryside and mountains that I have never been to before, and am absolutely dying to see for myself, that puts Scotland at the top of my list.