Places to go & people to see [& food to eat] {Listography 2011}.

Each Wednesday, Emily, @ Notorious MLE, Danielle, @ Elleinad Spir, and myself are working our way through the lists of Listography 2011.
 

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Let's start out with a little complaining (on my part, anyways... you can feel free to complain in the comment section, if you'd like to join in).

Forming this list was hard.  None of them have been easy.  They've all taken an embarrassingly long time to develop.  The topics in which I think I'll be able to whip up lists in minutes seem to be the most challenging... to make large enough, to narrow down, to decide what to embellish on... what not to embellish on, and to share with the world (referring to my 30 readers, not exactly "the world") that I've never before stopped to think for longer than 5 minutes regarding certain topics, or that I have no clue who my favorite artists are... or sports figures.

Ahhh.  Felt good to get that off my chest.  

On the other hand, like I mentioned here, this little project- and the fact that it is so difficult for me- is proving to be exactly what I need... to slow down, to reflect, to prioritize.  Which brings me to today's list-

List places you’d like to visit.

A couple of reasons why this was especially tough.

1. There are a gazillion places I'd like to visit.  It's served as a reminder that in order to make this hefty list come to fruition (on one income), we need to make it a major priority- to to create a plan, and SAVE.  
2.  Another confession:  I'm extremely geographically challenged (another goal- under the general category of "Learn").  I see and hear about places all of the time that subliminally get added into the 'to-see' list, but when I stopped to form a the list, this ignorance 'learning gap' was brought to the surface, big time.

Some places below are based primarily on visiting family, others are based on what I think we'd really enjoy, and most of them are shamelessly based on what type of food I want to experience, or indulge in (hence- the little addendum to my title).  Okay, without further scrutinizing, here are "a few" places that I'd like to visit... or revisit.

 

(*items in parenthesis are just the top-of-mind parts that I'd like to see... for each place, there's so much more I want to explore!) 

Inside of the US...

• Oregon (lots of family here that we need to visit soon)
• New Mexico (where my grandfather was from)
• South Carolina (Charleston)
• Georgia (Savannah... maybe we'll run into Paula, or Bobby, or the other one)
• New York (we went without the kids- want to go again, with them)
• Hawaii (Ryan & I have both been, but not together- or with the kids... and we have family there!)
• Alaska (Aurora Borealis)
• Chicago (Wrigley Field... and of course, the FOOD!)
• Virginia- in the fall (Williamsburg, wine country, Mount Vernon, Arlington, Monticello, Smithfield)
• Washington, D.C. (the monuments, the museums, the history)
• Massachusetts (Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard)
• Pennsylvania- Fallingwater, Amish Country, Philadelphia, Getttysburg, Pittsburgh, Hershey (went to PA as a child, and utterly fascinated by it... not to mention- the best ice cream)

 Outside of the US...

• Italy  (all of it, inc. Venice, Rome, Florence (Uffizi Gallery), Pompeii... the culture, the food)
• Spain (after watching the show, I want to go everywhere & eat everything!)
• Egypt (Pyramids of Giza)
• Greece (Santorini, Parthenon)
• France (Paris, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Nice)
• African safari (Serengeti)
• Victoria Falls
• The Great Wall of China
• Peru Machu Picchu, Amazon Rainforest
• Japan (Kyoto- the Golden Pavilion, cherry blossoms- in April)
• England (Stonehenge, London, fish & chips)
• Ireland (Dublin, Dingle, Ring of Kerry, pubs)
• India (Taj Mahal)
• Costa Rica (San Jose, coffee plantations, zip line in the rainforest)
• Australia (Sydney, Great Barrier Reef)

This list is definitely not one that I could accomplish in the near future, but it is one in which I didn't want to shorten, or hold back.  Although a bit overwhelming, it feels good to have it in writing.  Because that's where any plan begins... with an imagination... with a dream - right?  

I'm especially excited to hear about the places that you'd like to visit someday.  I'm sure I'll be adding some of them to this list.  So, if you have a list of your own, head over to Emily's and link up (and of course check out the others that have joined us!)... Or, no post?  Not a problem.  Just share with a comment :).

{Wonderin' what's next??  Click this.}