To celebrate retirement–Dr. Feelgood’s–the two of us are on a three week trip through Europe. We are currently in Italy exploring, for two days, Lake Como. After this, we’ll travel to Switzerland, take a boat up the Rhine, check out the Vermeer exhibit in Amsterdam, and then spend a week in England with our eldest son who is meeting us–he lives in India.
Last night, over fish and very good Italian white wine, we were hazarding a guess at what place we’d enjoy the most on this trip. This is our tenth trip to Italy and we remain entranced with the country’s food, charm, aesthetics, and culture. We’re curious about our trip up the Rhine–we’ve both been to Switzerland but only to Zurich and Geneva. We’ve been once before to Amsterdam–always a good time–and are looking forward to exploring Southern England; neither of us have spent much time outside of London before. I am especially excited, after having read about it in countless historical romances, to visit Bath.
I’ve been a traveler my whole life–I come from a family where there is nothing we love more other than, of course, books. If I had to pick my favorite country to visit, I’m sure the answer would change with my mood. Our sojourn to India, five years ago was magical and I long to go back to spend more time there. I love visiting France, Italy, and England–museums are my jam and those nations have them in spades.
So, honestly, I don’t have an answer to this question! There are so many nations I’ve traveled through and found fascinating. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see so much of the world. I do feel like, at this point in my life, I’d like to go to places I haven’t been before. At almost 62, I am aware my time is finite and I don’t want to miss a thing!
What’s your favorite nation/place to visit? Why? And where do you still long to go that you haven’t been yet?
Impenitent social media enthusiast. Relational trend spotter. Enjoys both carpe diem and the fish of the day.
I haven’t traveled enough outside the US to judge, but within the continental US one of my favorite places is Lake Tahoe. It’s truly a special place.
Italy (history everywhere you go, gelato, street pizza) and Scotland (romantic landscapes, moody)! I will be visiting Italy (again) in May and crossing the Greek Isles off my bucket list. Then I’d like to travel to Iceland and Japan.
A family member and I travelled to Europe for a month last year (Paris, Amsterdam, Florence and Rome). The only paperback book I brought with me was The Count of Monte Cristo…a surreal and rewarding experience reading the book for the first time while travelling close to some of the places in the story. Highly recommend. For this upcoming trip, the paperback I was going to bring for the beach is Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell but I’m open to changing. Any suggestions?
The countries I would love to visit are : Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Srilanka and Japan.
In the US, the one state I have visited several times and would love to visit again and again is New Mexico. There is something about it that pulls me in repeatedly and I suspect that in my previous birth I must have been another kind of ‘Indian’.
My children have been to Vietnam and loved it! I have Japan and Sri Lanka on my as well. But, from you list, the place I am determined to make it to is Angkor Wat.
Among other great qualities, the light in New Mexico is quite unique. It just looks different on the clouds and ground. And that is from someone who has lived in both Arizona and Colorado – both with spectacular, but different, light themselves. How can the light be so different just a few miles away?
I’m a total francophile, so it would be France for me. That said, I love travelling – I wasn’t in a position to be able to do much of that when I was younger, so I’m trying to make up for it now! I’m about to leave for a trip through France and Spain – driving down to Andalusia for a couple of weeks. I loved going to the Netherlands last year – Amsterdam is gorgeous – and Mr Caz and I are off to Egypt next January. One of the reasons I’ve not retired yet – I work so I can afford to go on holiday!
I so want to go to Egypt but have had a hard time talking Dr. Feelgood into it. I will persevere!
I can guess from where in Switzerland you’ll take the boat, since I live there :) I hope you enjoy your trip up the Rhine!
As for me, I’ve visited the US before, but haven’t been to the Pacific Northwest yet. I’d love to go there. Also, I always want to go back to Japan, the time I spent there was amazing.
I long to go to Japan. We had a trip planned there that was annihilated by COVID and haven’t managed to reschedule.
And yes, I am excited to see Switzerland from the water. We start in Basel and end up in Amsterdam.
I haven’t been to every country in the world, so I can’t really say I have a favorite (yet). I can say that I’ve enjoyed all the countries I have visited and have gone back to a few multiple times. I will be visiting Italy for the first time this September, and am currently planning my first trip to France next year. I am trying to alternate trips outside the US with trips within the US (I have a goal of visiting all 50 states, with 19 still to go). I do have soft spots in my heart for Germany, Costa Rica, and Great Britain (especially Scotland). Part of the allure of travel is visiting places I have read about in the historical romances I love to read. I’d like to find a tour that takes in some of the battle sites from the Napoleonic wars. I’ve been to Salamanca, but would like to visit Badajoz and Waterloo. Likewise, I’d like to tour Southern England. Watching repeats of Foyle’s War gave me a desire to visit Hastings. I missed a great opportunity years ago when one of my brothers was living in Malaysia and I didn’t make a point of visiting him there. But I was younger then and money was much tighter. Now I have the time and, as long as I budget wisely, the money to travel. Hopefully, I am able to travel for many more years.
It is one of the joys of older age!
I’ve been on many Napoleonic battlefield tours and Badajoz made me well up and weep, standing at the base of the citadel walls. A site of overwhelming sadness and a lingering aura of the awful, terrible death there. But it is a must see though Cuidad Rodrigo is a much more do-able place and you can see the spot where Maj Gen “Black Bob” Craufurd was interred in the citadel walls. You can walk round the walls and the plaza mayor is lovely.
One of the best things about travel is to stand in the places where events took place, and to visualize what happened. It is one thing to read an account or to look at a map. But to stand in situ makes history palpable; human-sized and relatable. It has happened many times to me: Gettysburg here in the US, under the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (not because of the images which are amazing, but trying to imagine producing it), the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Bayeux’s WWII cemetery in France (where white crosses as far as the eye can see are covered with dates that translate to 16, 17, 18, 19 years old – so young!), the Bospherous in Istanbul (ok, gee, that’s why the Black Sea is important), the City of Troy on the Mediterranean . . .
I love Italy and inland and northwest Spain, particularly the food and wine. I also like Croatia, a beautiful country with near perfect sailing. Next year I am doing a cruise to Iceland and Greenland, two places that have always fascinated me. I have been in nearly all European countries, China, Ukraine, Russia and about 4o US states. But my favourite of all? The western Scottish Highlands. So beautiful they can make me cry, sitting in the car looking out at the most incredible scenery in the world. I never tire of it. Favourite city in the world: Bath, without a doubt. Looking down on it from the hills above is such a treat and if the sun shines it glows. Our best city break ever was 3 nights at The Royal Crescent hotel. Dabney, I hope you love it and have lunch or afternoon tea in the Pump Rooms. And do try the water, it’s not quite as bad as expected. I hope the string trio is playing.
I will look up the Pump rooms!
Singapore. The food is amazing. You can get everywhere on public transport. The museums are fantastic. It’s always warm. I have been twice and would go again this minute if you handed me a boarding pass.
I have always wanted to go there.