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?
Wow! Great list and absolutely love the pictures you chose.
Wow! You’ll need to convince your husband to take more than a year off if you want to get all that done! I’ve been to a fair few on your list, and I’m living in Vietnam now. Still desperately want to go to Egypt, and explore Italy in more depth.
Your entire list is FABULOUS. I have been to many of the places on your list and would HIGHLY recommend everything. Next year I hope to see Dubai and ride a camel in the Sahara. We will also be visiting Petra and I cannot wait to go there. I would recommend at least 2 more places for your list. If you like architecture, Barcelona is a great place. The Gaudi buildings are out-standing. I would also highly recommend St. Petersburg in Russia. You need an expensive visa to travel there (unless you are on a cruise and taking their excursions), but the cost is well worth it! It is yet another beautiful place on a very long list of wonderful and fabulous places I have been and places I still want to see. Best of luck in your travels and I hope you can fulfill your dream of seeing every place on your list…..and more too!! Traveling is a great education and you can meet some wonderful people and learn so much about how other people in this big wonderful world live.
Love your list…you might want to add The Galapagos Islands. Very special and unique place.
It was a surprise for me to see Lake Louise on that list! I live in Canada and the mountains are a mere 45 minute drive from my doorstep – I am so lucky to be surrounded by such beauty! I must admit that Lake Louise and Banff are a little, well, not the best aspect of our mountains. If you ever make it up here, I strongly recommend checking out Jasper! It is a few hours north from the Banff area but gorgeous beyond words. It still has a few streets of shops, and plenty of wonderful places for a tourist-y experience, yet there is no shortage of beautiful hikes and places to stay that are cut off from civilisation in that detoxifying kind of way. I must sound like some sort of mountain-crazed hippie, but it is such an honour to see foreigners take interest in our beloved Rocky Mountains :)
xoxo
Katja
Awesome list! As some have said, Lake Louise and the surrounding area is incredible(that’s where I live). If you get the chance to go, Banff is beautiful and Canmore can be a nice(and cheaper) place to stay. If you get to Santorini then I would recommend staying in Fira – I was there in the summer and it was one of the best places I’ve ever been to. I hope you finish your list someday!
I am so glad I am not the only one with Banff on the list…..
Don’t kiss the Blarney Stone!! It sounds great but the rumor in Ireland is that the locals and/or security guards pee on the stone…
I’ve been to Venice! It was beautiful. But I will just let you know to keep your windows shut at night, I made that mistake. Since there are not any screens bugs flew in the room at night and I had over 70 bug bites all over me. At first they started out as just red dots (which I thought was ok) but as the day progressed… I was wrong. They were HUGE bug bites that were super itchy. I met a guy there, he had been staying in Paris for the past few months working and now he was on to work in Italy and I let him know to shut his windows and he said “ohhhh so that’s what’s wrong with your face…” SO embarrassing. But other than that it was amazing. You should definitely visit there if you ever get the chance.
Paris, is just that- all cappuccinos and amazing architecture!! It has to be done.
Zion is also beautiful and worth attempting the Angel rock climb even though its terrifying!
You have some great places on here and have given me some great ideas!!
Thanks :)
p.s i think you should add Switzerland to your list, its where i currently live and soooo stunning!!!
I love your list and defintiely need to update ours with some of yours! A few thoughts from my own experiences…
When you make it to Italy, the Cinque Terre is a definite must. The food is amazing, the views are stunning and the locals are fabulous.
In Zion National Park, if the timing is right (weather dependent), you should look into the Narrows hike. It’s fantastic!
I like that Canada is on your list. I think people overlook the adventures that can be had in your own backyard, or your neighbour’s backyard!
It is FUN to see Your list of places you want to go someday. :-) I have been to Cannon Beach, OR! BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, WONDERFUL, PEACEFUL, and Breathtaking. I LOVE the OR, and WA area. Victoria Island in Canada is BEAUTIFUL TOO!!!!:-)
I would also LOVE to go to the Safari in AFRICA. That would be AMAZING!!!!!!! :-)
Thank You for Sharing your recipes and giving all the tips you do. I enjoy reading your site. I wish I would have found it a long time ago. I just found it like two weeks ago. :-)
I found your blog via a recipe link on Newly Woodwards (I’m a vegetarian so I had to check out your Chipotle Black Bean burgers – sounds good!) and I love this travel bucket list. I’ve been to Egypt and highly recommend it. Ahh-mazing. Its hard to believe humans constructed the pyramids. You know they’re big, but until you’re standing there, looking up at the thing, its hard to really wrap your head around how BIG it is.
I couldn’t bring myself to kiss the Blarney Stone. My mom did, but I thought it sounded gross to kiss something so many people have. Plus, it was raining really hard the day we were there, and I just wanted to get back to the car. Ireland is gorgeous! I can’t wait to go back.
All these places look amazing, but living in europe i have luckily been able to see 5 of the already <3 hope you get to see them one day, i raise my hand :)
I love your list! My husband and I have our list on our refrigerator, and we cross off a place when we go. We honeymooned in Savannah and Charleston (you could definitely do both of those in one trip, and I totally recommend it!). The history of both places is eccentric — great buildings, great people, beautiful houses and landscaping. I’m partial to Savannah because I’m a native Georgian (and we’re moving there permanently in August, yay!), but I must admit the food in Charleston is the best food I’ve ever had in the South, including several trips to New Orleans. Love reading about your trips and recipes! Thanks for sharing.
wow….i feel like this could be my blog too! haha. every single place you named is where i would love to go. I also have a huge passion to travel more and experience all the wonderful cultures out there by just leaving and not looking back, but being in college still..i just need to wait a little longer. 1 more year! btw, I also live in Iowa :)
p.s. I studied abroad in Costa Rica for 4 months and went Ziplining! it was the most fun i’ve ever had. there is even a part where you jump of a ‘bridge’…adrenaline rush for sure! hope you get a chance to go :)
A suggestion for your list… An often-overlooked wonder out West is Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. I’ve been there several times and never get tired of it! I try to imagine what the Oregon Trail pioneers thought when they first came across the lava fields (one referred to it as “Satan’s vomit”). If you’re at all a closet geologist, it’s a fascinating place.
The Blue Grotto on the Island of Capri Italy