Traveling is my #2 “thing” in life (behind cooking/eating, natch. ;) ) It’s what keeps me going.
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The thought of my next big adventure – what I want to see, learn and experience next – is sometimes all I can think about!
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No less than five times a week I’ll turn to Ben and say,
“Babe, can we go to ______ someday?”
(The “blank” being the latest locale I’ve got my heart set on seeing.)
“Uh-huh!” he’s learned to reply, less I give him the “Noooo, whyyy????” if he says otherwise. ;)
Well the list is getting long, my friends. So long that I thought I’d better document it before I forget one single place that I’ve thought, at one time or another, was important to see.
Then I thought maybe I’d share it with you. Maybe we have similar travel interests and goals. Maybe you’ve been to some of the places on my list and can fill me in on what to expect. The list is not by any means inclusive or closed, but it’s what I’ve got right now. And so…
My Life’s Wanderlist
(in alphabetical order because I’m crazy like that.)
Bali, Indonesia
I’ve got the eat taken care of – now all I need is the pray and love (in Indonesia!) to experience.
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Bangkok & Phuket Thailand
I can’t imagine a world more vastly different than my own, but I love being challenged and immersed in the unfamiliar.
And my friend went to Phuket for her honeymoon and saw baby elephants on the beach. Ummm, yes please.
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Cannon Beach, Oregon
Once of my Dad’s most favorite places in the US.
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Castle Tour of Europe
I will never forget the castles I toured when I went to Germany in my teens. The sheer size of these hand-made masterpieces is incredible!
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Charleston, South Carolina
My Dad lent me Charles Kuralt’s America book when Ben and I went to New Orleans a few years ago, in which Charles describes some of the most memorable places he’s been to around the country. In addition to NOLA, Charleston and it’s blooming azaleas in the spring was included. Boy I’d sure love to see those someday!
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Zip-lining in Costa Rica
I zip lined once in Puerta Vallarta, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t harnessed or strapped in correctly…eeks. I’d like to do it right in the canopy of Costa Rica.
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Croatia
Less touristy than it’s European coastal-city counterparts. Mmmm. :)
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Dubai, UAE
I just really need to see this for myself. Plus I feel like it might rain gold coins there, or something.
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Egypt
I’ve had a life-long fascination with Egypt and its pyramids, tombs, mummies and ancient structures. I would be crushed if I never got to see it in person.
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Lake Louise, Banff, Canada
I learned of Lake Louise’s existence from one of the first food blogs I ever started reading and have been obsessed with getting there ever since.
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Machu Picchu, Peru
Brilliant, ancient civilizations freak. me. out. but I still want to see this craziness.
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Maldives
‘Nuff said.
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Morocco
The colors! The sights! The sounds!
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New England in the Fall
It has been a dream of mine for the last 5 years to take an autumn foliage tour down the east coast.
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New Zealand
Ok, really lame, but I saw a few episode’s of America’s Next Top Model taped in NZ and it was breathtaking. I really want to sail there!
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Niagara Falls
Every North American needs to see this at some point in their life, no?
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Northern Lights in Alaska
I think a cruise to Alaska would be incredible too.
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Paris, France
I have recently become obsessed with spending inordinate amounts of time sitting at a Parisian cafe sipping cappuccinos. I think I could stay here a month.
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Petra, Jordan
If it came down to seeing either Petra or Egypt, I’d pick Petra – which is really saying something. A city carved out of the rock? It blows my mind!
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Provence, France
I want to spin in fields of lavender then ride a cruiser bike to a crumbling farm house and sip red wine.
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Kiss the Blarney Stone, Cork, Ireland
Just…need to.
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Safari in Kenya, Africa
I think this would be the coolest thing in the entire world. Knowing that I could actually be eaten by a lion is both terrifying and thrilling at the same time. Mostly terrifying though. But I still want to do it.
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Sahara Dessert
I know – crazy. I just feel like I want to go for like 5 minutes.
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Santorini, Greece
I sort of feel like I’m cheating on Praiano by wanting to go to Santorini, but I’ve always wanted to go, and cough I was really jealous that Lena from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants got to spend an entire summer there cough.
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Savannah, Georgia
I want to hunt down Paula Deen and make her feed me macaroni and cheese.
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Seychelles
I blame House Hunters International for my recent obsession with Seychelles. I feel like they’ve taped 10 episodes on this tiny island off the eastern coast of Africa in the last year. Stunning natural beauty!
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Taj Mahal, Agra, India
The sheer size and meaning of this monument is something that has always intrigued me.
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La Tomatina Festival, Bunol, Spain
My inner type A is petrified of the mess, but my inner wild child is winning out. :)
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Tuscany, Italy
I want to explore every inch of Italy – including the picturesque wine country that reminds me of A Walk in the Clouds. I know – wrong country, but same cozy, romantic feeling!
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Venice, Italy
I am literally waiting on pins and needles for the moment I arrive in Venice. I hope to the high Heavens that it hasn’t sunk by the time I get there!
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Vietnam
Just feeling like I really need to see this place.
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Yosemite National Park, California
North America has some of the most breathtaking scenery and landscape in the world. I’d love to check out what Yosemite has to offer!
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Zanzibar
Clear water. Dolphins. Hammocks. Sign me up.
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Zion National Park, Utah
The beauty of this place absolutely blows my mind – and it’s just a few states away!
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Now all I have to do is convince Ben that taking a year off to travel the world is a good idea…
Raise your hand if you’re with me! ;)
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Where do we overlap on My Life’s Wanderlist? What’s on yours?
Niagara Falls is a MUST! The pictures don’t do it justice! We went there for our honeymoon 13 yrs. ago & are looking forward to going back & taking our kids with us. I recommend going on Maid of the Mist. It’s a boat ride that takes you to the falls. They give you ponchos cause you get wet from the mist. Hence Maid of the Mist. Lol Anyway it was an experience & awesome! We stayed on the Canadian side & there was so much to do! -Karri
Hello Kristin,
My friend sent me your Kale chips recipe and I fell in love with your blog. I am at work now and I can’t stop reading it.
I also love traveling and have a list of places I would love to go. I noticed that on your list you have Croatia :), which is where I am from. In the picture is city of Dubrovnik, one of our oldest cities with great history and tons of places to explore.
Croatia has many other cities and islands that will blow your mind. So much history and beauty, so many things to see and learn. Don’t get me started on the food, I am drooling by just thinking about it. Coast has one of the best and most delicious sea food specialties that you have to try. It is a friendly and family place to go and visit.
Oregon is on my list to see also, I have my brother that lives there and he absolutely loves it there.
Good luck with your future travel plans, hope you get to see all of them :)
Wow! Your food recipes all sound amazing and I can’t wait to start cooking them AND your bucket list is basically an exact replica of mine! I’ve spent a couple of summers abroad and been to Paris and Venice, and both were beautiful, definitely worth visiting! Venice is super touristy–so make sure you try to get off the beaten path a bit. Getting lost in the canals is what it’s all about! Paris is just breathtakingly beautiful–no matter what happens you will LOVE it there!
I’d like to make 2 suggestions about adding to your list:
1. Cliffs of Moher, Ireland (since you’ll already be fairly close if you end up at the Blarney Stone), I highly recommend you head over to the cliffs. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so small in my life! Plus, one of my all-time fave movies was filmed there (Princess Bride).
2. Brussels, Belgium
Now I know Brussels doesn’t get a lot of love as a tourist destination, but I like to think it is one of Europe’s best kept secrets (right up there with Edinburgh). Some may think me crazy, but I think the city itself is more beautiful than Paris. Plus it’s a lot less crowded and you can get loaded belgian waffles on the street basically anytime of day! It’s just a great city to explore and everyone there is so friendly!
Cheers to having great adventures!
Hi Kristin! Love your recipes, been making the lettuce wraps and can’t get enough. I’m doing a lot of cooking these days as my husband and I just moved to New Zealand from Atlanta. I see it’s on your travel list and I gotta say it’s as beautiful as the pictures. If you’re curious about life over Here check out my blog- A Different Kind of Southern
http://www.differentkindofsouthern.blogspot.com
Katie
I’m glad I’ve found someone else with a huge yearning to travel the world! These are some great places. I especially loved your blurb about Paris. I visited there while studying abroad last school year and fell in love with it. There are so many cafes and wonderful pastries everywhere. I can’t wait until I can go back. It’s totally worth the trip!
Great list. I’ve been to many of the places but of the ones I haven’t been to on that list I would love to go to as well. As for both Jordon and New Zealand I absolutely loved both of them and Petra is truly breathtaking! This fall my boyfriend and I are planning to leave our jobs in DC and take off on a 2 year backpacking trip through Asia and Europe (while running a travel blog/website) and we hope to stop by all of the places in Europe/Asia you included in your list!
I have been to Croatia and let me tell you, that picture is right on! It is the bluest water I have ever seen. Every little town on the coast of the Adriatic Sea is so cute and different. When you go, I would also take the time to go the capital, Zagreb, go to old town, it overlooks all of new Croatia and it has the oldest buildings in the city. So beautiful, I can’t say anything bad about it! I have also been to Charleston and Niagra Falls, very pretty places. I also want to go to Oregon sooo badly! Twilight got me hooked ;)
Your list is inspiring! I’m an Alaskan girl with a travel bug that I can’t afford :-) lived in Alaska all my life but I must say, it deserves to be on your list!
Hey Kristen, I relly like you list of places that you would like to go to…I love traveling too…but I have kids now and had to stop that. I am a native of Venezuela and reading your list realized that you only want to go to Peru in South America (Nice!). I just wanted to try and motivate you a little more (even more) to venture to even more exhotic places. Check Canaima and/or Los Roquesin Venezuela, or Buenos Aires in Argentina…maybe Rio in Brazil…you’ll love it. Maybe my suggestion will make your to go to list even longer. Love your blog!
I live in Egypt and it is absolutely possible to do Egypt and Petra in the same trip. Come on over!
[…] Fellow wanderers: I forgot to share my favorite travel blog of all time when I posted My Wanderlist the other day: Youngs Around The World. My friend’s sister and brother-in-law took a year and […]
I have been to Banff,Canada, Zion National Park, Yosemite, and Kenya, and I highly recommend them all. I enjoyed the rest of your list as well, I hope you will get to see them all.
You need to add Cayman Islands to your list!! Where else can you swim with stingrays while enjoying ceviche Chef Eric Ripert whips up for you!?
Every January we hold a “culinary month”. Check out the links:
http://www.tasteofcayman.org/
Check out Liz’s blog…she has recently visited so many of the places on your bucket list!
http://one-twenty-five.tumblr.com/
[…] Cross off at least one place from my life’s wanderlist […]
I was at Cannon Beach in Oregon a month ago and it is TRULY breathtaking! A must see!
Beautiful places all…except for Thailand…horror!
hello from an iowa girl living in phuket-COME! COME! COME!
Well first off I live in Charleston, it’s amazing and a definite must visit, and I’ve been zip lining in Costa Rica and it’s well worth the trip. Thanks for giving me some great ideas to add to my list.
Go to Ireland! It was a fabulous vacation. Make sure that you skip the Blarney Stone. There are so many more interesting places to see and enjoy. That place attracts every tourist around. You’ll have a much more enjoyable time finding places off the beaten path. We stayed at B&Bs and just asked the owners what their recos were. You’ll never see another place like it.