Happy Monday, everyone. Welcome to:
QUESTION OF THE MONTH, hosted by Michael G. D’Agostino of A Life Examined, is published on the first Monday. Michael’s directive: “Your readers would like to know a little more about you. Show them who you are by taking part in the Question of the Month bloghop. On the first Monday of each month, we answer the question that gets posted here. Sign up on the list below to join the fun 😉 With every question, remember that the important part is explaining your answer.”
Question for June 2016 is:
“Of all the places in the world that you haven’t yet been to,
where would you like to go next?”
Good question! I’ve been to many places and, while I hope to visit many more, the realities of life may put a crimp in that idea.
Hubby and I are near retirement and have definitely slowed down. Air travel has become more and more uncomfortable as perks are eliminated and smaller seats jammed in.
Then there’s the financial aspect. We prefer upscale accommodations, but flights, hotels and meals cost a lot more than they used to and disposable income will shrink once we stop working. Still, one can dream, yes?
I was fortunate to have crossed #1 off the bucket list in 2013. I’m talking about exploring Greece, which had been a lifelong dream.
Number 2, Egypt and the pyramids have moved up, but it seems like an unrealistic dream for several reasons, including the volatility of the area.
Further down the list are Venice and Malta. We could possibly do both of those on a cruise** and that’s at least a remote possibility. Here’s hoping!
**[Postscript 2021: We did exactly that in 2018. Click HERE► to view details of that trip]
Venice, Italy
Valetta
Where in the world would you like to go next?
Looking forward to your comments!
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
28 thoughts on “QUESTION OF THE MONTH: TRAVEL HOPES AND DREAMS”
Greece and Venice are both on my list, but finances are an issue for me and my traveling companions. I like your pin boards. If I ever get around to actually making boards on Pinterest, traveling boards would be the first I’d put up 🙂
Yes, the financial aspect of travelling is getting more and more prohibitive, unfortunately. 🙁 I hope you do make it to Greece and Venice. Thanks for dropping in!
I’m not a big fan of traveling by air anymore either. It’s just become too stressful. But with family over twelve hours away by car, I will have to deal with it several times a year.
Isn’t it awful that air travel has become more like a “necessary evil”? I used to love it, but not so much, anymore. Our families are in California and Italy. Not exactly within driving distance either. Thanks for dropping in!
Would sure be great places to see. Not sure I’d want to go to Egypt though. I’ll stick to seeing pictures haha
I doubt we’ll ever get to Egypt, now. It’s too dangerous, too expensive, too rugged for us old folks. 😛 Thanks for dropping in!
How wonderful that you’ve scratched off the first on your bucket list! You’re not kidding that the cost of travel is prohibitive – nevermind diminished freedoms, customs scrutiny, or guaranty that you’ll reach your destination safely. We greatly enjoyed ocean cruises (before all the unpleasant things I’ve mentioned) and island hopping – Jamaica was a favorite – the Grand Cayman islands were beautiful, but for forty bucks their hotdogs weren’t worth it – ha! We were caught in a most thrilling squall while on a charter boat on the way to Cozumel and I swear it came out of the water for the skies had been as blue as my daughter’s eyes when we left the ship. As this has been such a tremendously popular topic, have you noticed the surprising amount of people wanting to go to Ireland? If we all were to ever see that come to fruition, the Irish folks would think it was an invasion 🙂 I believe I’d pack along a peace offering.
First time I ever went on a real cruise was in the Greek islands. That is a nice way to travel! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experiences, Diedre. A squall must have been nerve-wracking! Yes, Ireland is a popular destination. A friend of mine went there a few years ago and loved it. It looks beautiful in photos; the real thing must be spectacular! Sorry for the late response; I forgot to come back to this post. 😛
Isn’t it wonderful to say that we have been to places we dreamed about. I would love to see Ankhor Watt and Macchu Picchu but my heart always makes me travel to Europe. A trip down the Rhine, seeing the museums in Florence and visiting my mom’s hometown of Wittenberg…let’s dream:)
Europe is my first choice too, having been born there. 🙂 A cruise down the Rhine would be lovely. I’ve never been to Wittenberg, but it has an interesting history. Florence is another dream destination. Ankhor Wat is in Cambodia? That would make for an exotic trip.
I made a little pact with myself that I wouldn’t explore another country until I first explore my own. My dream is to travel north, south, east and west in the U.S. and visit all major monuments and capital cities. Nothing huge or exotic but I want to start here. My first trip out will be to London. 🙂
Exploring the U.S. would make an interesting road trip. There’s so much diversity. I visited London in 1969, during the height of the “Mod” era. Much to my disappointment, The Beatles were nowhere to be seen. 😉
I would love to go island hopping… Jamaica, Cuba, Philippines, Maldives, all the Greek islands, Hawaii…. Thanks for sending me to dream land. 🙂
Island hopping would be fabulous! We can dream together, Angelika. 🙂 Our Greek islands cruise was memorable.
I’ve been to Venice! It’s a lovely place. San Marco’s Square was awesome but overrun with pigeons for some reason 😛
I’m envious of your trip to Venice, Michael. 🙂 Although I’ve been to Italy three times, it was never on the agenda. Next time, for sure! People must be feeding the pigeons at San Marco. Not nice if you get pooped on!
I’m so jealous of all the places you’ve been!! Egypt would be amazing to go and see. But I think you’re right about it being unrealistic at this point and time.
I had the advantage of being born in Germany and living there and in Switzerland. Makes it easy to travel as all the countries are so close together. My husband is from Italy and still has family there, so that’s another travel plus – free accommodations. Egypt would be amazing, but sadly, it’s looking less and less likely that we’ll get there. Thanks for dropping in. 🙂
There is so much to see in the Middle East and the fear it won’t be there forever with more and more destruction going on. Envy you for that Greece trip. My daughter is going there in the fall on a research trip so I’ll at least get to hear about it.
Yes, it is shocking what’s been happening. Travel to certain regions has become unsafe and that’s a damn shame. I can still hardly believe we pulled off that tour of Greece! It had been a lifelong dream of mine. I hope your daughter takes lots of pictures. So many spectacular sites and the blueness of the sky and water looks like a painting!
It’s sad that there is so much volatility in the world, but I guess there has always been some risk involved in going anywhere. I used to think little about going across to the Mexican border towns and now there are so many warnings about not doing so. Even the news from Europe doesn’t sound good. From the reports I’ve been hearing there will be far fewer travelers going to Europe this year. Could be could news though for U.S. tourist spots.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
It’s alarming what’s going on in the world these days! There have been several stories of tourists getting killed in Mexico in recent years. The terrorist acts in Europe have also been shocking and I can understand how that would put a crimp in tourism for those areas. I agree; domestic travel will likely increase. We’re sticking closer to home as well, for now.
I feel really fortunate that I got to travel to Egypt many, many years ago when things were less volatile. It was a remarkable place. I’d have to agree with you about traveling by plane – so uncomfortable, unless of course you can afford business or first class 🙂
That trip to Egypt must have been amazing; I’m jealous! 🙂 My father was stationed in the area in the 1960s (UN Peacekeeping force) and sent home many photos. Sigh….
Travelling by plane is already expensive enough. It would take some severe budgeting to go business class and I’d rather spent that money on accommodations. Unless of course, we win the lottery. 😉
Thanks for coming by. Cheers!
Debbie,
My biggest desire was to settle in Europe. I believe I had this dream as a small kid. I love the European culture and since 1974, first with the United States Army and after I finished my tour, as a civilian, I have been living in Europe, specifically in Germany where I learned how to speak German fluently and write it, and also had the opportunity to do some continuing education in the German Educational system, as well as finish a management trainee program in the German Banking System.
Now, I am learning Italian and relearning my French, because the two languages have similarities. My next stop is Italy. That is where I want to live out the golden age of my life. I love Italy, the culture, the people and especially, I love Southern Italy. So, that is where I plan on going next. But not as a tourist, even though I have been there many times as a tourist, staying in the Toscana, Lake Garda, Venice, Rome, Vincenza, and on Italy’s Sardinian Island, and I have had the privilege of enjoying an open-air concert in Verona. I want to take it one step farther and live among the Italian people and be a part of the Italian Culture, and I look forward to it.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
I’m so impressed that you are living your dream, Pat. Daß ist großartig! 🙂 I was born in Germany and lived there off and on in the 50s and 60s. We also have a love of Italy in common. My husband is from there (Puglia) and we’ve been back a couple of times. Wonderful place to retire! You’ve seen so much of the country already. Buon viaggio!
I loved vacationing vicariously through your Greece photos and post! What a beautiful country. I’ve never been to Europe and so want to go there. I’d like to visit the Czech Republic and Croatia. But I’d like to see more than just those two countries: I’d like to take a few months and do a European tour.
Egypt and the Pyramids sounds like a fabulous vacation. I don’t know much about Malta but I had a pen pal from there back when I was a kid! 🙂
I hear ya about the cost skyrocketing and the comfort levels are sorely lacking in today’s commercial airplanes. Sad. And yet they still want to make the seats even smaller than they are now! What???? That’s insane. I’m going to be really pissed if Congress allows them to do that…
Of course, Congress pisses me off on a daily basis so there ya go… 🙂
HAPPY MONDAY! Hope you have a spectacular week Debbie.
Michele at Angels Bark
Thanks, Michele. ? There’s more stuff about Greece to come, but it’s so time-consuming to put together. One of these days! It would be easy to spend several months in Europe; there’s so much to see and all the countries are close together. I hope you get the chance to go!
One of my clients took a cruise down the Nile years ago, which included stops to tour the pyramids. That would be an amazing adventure! From 1964-65, my father was part of a UN peacekeeping mission stationed in the Gaza strip. He spent all of his free time exploring Egypt and sent us some amazing photos, whcih were lost during a move, unfortunately. 🙁 Malta is another one of those places steeped in history that I love so much.
Airplane seats are getting ridiculous now! ? The only way to fly comfortably is Business Class but we couldn’t afford that without a lottery win.
Thanks for checking out this blogfest. Anyone can join if you’re interested. Cheers!