Yeah, that’s me. I’m a list maker. I haven’t gone so far as to buy one of those ‘list journals,’ but as you can probably tell by now, I’m a big fan of putting my thoughts in numerical order. Today is no exception.
I was asked by a reader this week to give a summary of my travels thus far. And everyone knows, of all the lists there are, summaries are the best. So here are my travel summary lists, just for you Jenni!
Top Adventures (Things That Require Tickets):
- Stargazing in Chile, complete with tour guide and telescope views.
- Zip lining in Switzerland.
- Touring the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Hagia Sophia - Touring a tuna port in The Philippines.
- Cooking class in Thailand.
Cooking class in Chaing Mai, Thailand. - Free walking tours. You just pay a tip at the end. I’ve done them in Chile, Quebec, and several countries in Europe and have enjoyed them every time.
Top Foods:
- Every meal in Quebec, including the pastries, eggs, poutine, chocolate dipped ice cream, and french onion soup. Literally every meal was a win!
Maison Christian Faure in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. - New York City. The variety is overwhelmingly delicious. I wrote about it here.
- Vietnamese egg sandwiches. I don’t have a picture, but imagine soy sauce and carrots and something green with eggs on a french baguette. Such an interesting mix!
- Fresh shrimp tapas in Spain. Delicious, but also the first time I’ve met shrimp with so many eyes. It was a food adventure!
Tapas in Seville, Spain.
Favorite Memories
- Drinking tea in the Patagonias.
Tea as the sun sets in Coyhaique, Chile. - Running to a sunset in Italy.
- Waking up to a full window sunrise in Santiago, Chile.
Santiago, Chile sunrise. - Funny conversations with our waiter in Istanbul.
- Left side driving in Ireland.
- Hanging out in the park on Sunday afternoons in Guatemala and making friends with the little vendor girls. They entertained us and we entertained them. Plus, we all got to practice our Spanish!
Mayan girls selling scarves and hair ties in Antigua, Guatemala. - Hiking. I’m not a very outdoorsy person (aka, I have minimal survival skills and tolerance of bugs) and yet somehow I find myself hiking when I travel and loving it. The Alps in Europe, the Patagonias in Chile, a volcano in Guatemala, the Sierra Nevadas in California, and paths between coastal villages in Italy each added variety to my travels, a sense of accomplishment for the day, and unanticipated beauty.
Hiking views in Yosemite, California.
Biggest Regrets
- Traveling Europe during peak tourist season. Tourists are my least favorite kind of crowd.
Crowded Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. - Not zip-lining in Thailand.
- Not snorkeling in Honduras.
- Booking tickets too late in Europe and missing out on a few places.
- Wearing flip flops while hiking in Italy.
Dirty feet on steep steps in Cinque Terre, Italy.
Countries I’ve Visited:
- Honduras
- Guatemala
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- The Philippines
- Cambodia
- Turkey
- Ireland
- Northern Ireland
- Canada
- Chile
- Czech Republic
- Austria
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Spain
US Cities I’ve Visited:
- Chicago
- San Diego
- Phoenix
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Boston
- Pittsburg
- Washington D.C.
- Miami
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Portland
- Cincinnati
Next Countries on My Wish List:
- Morocco- to experience the beauty and culture.
- Cuba- to experience the preserved culture while it lasts.
- Norway- because those fjords look beautiful!
- Singapore/Hong Kong or any ginormous city in Asia- just because I wonder if I’d ever feel like there is such a thing as a city that is too big.
- Namibia or somewhere in southern Africa- I had a classmate once from Namibia and it always sounded interesting to me.
- Peru- for Machu Picchu views and the potato variety, and because traveling in Spanish-speaking countries is extra fun for me because I speak Spanish.
Now it’s your turn! Leave a comment and let me know:
- Your favorite adventure.
- Favorite food you can’t get at home.
- Favorite travel memory.
- A travel regret.
- How many countries and/or states you’ve visited. You can list them if you want.
- Next place on your list.
1. Bourne Identity train/bus ride through Croatia.
2. Costa Rican Chalupas
Coffee at the Lava Kava in Kona Hawaii
3. Turkish Bath in Budapest
Dancing with the Redwoods
4. Haven’t been out of the country in over 10 years.
5. Countries:
1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. Costa Rica
4. England
5. Hungary
6. Croatia
7. Bosnia
States: Been to all except:
Arizona
Utah
Idaho
Alaska
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
U.S. Cities:
Atlanta
Chicago
Indianapolis
Seattle
Astoria
Portland
Eugene
San Diego
San Francisco
Denver
Colorado Springs
Des Moines
Fargo
Max
Cheyenne
Kansas City, KS & MO
Boston
D.C.
Pittsburgh
Buffalo
New Haven
Austin
New Orleans
Houston
Dallas
Wichita
Oklahoma City
Greensboro
Charleston
Daytona Beach
Orlando
Sarasota
Nashville
And prbly others I am forgetting right now.
6. Cuba, Jamaica, Ireland, Scotland, Chili, Alaska, Azerbaijan, Europe, Fiji, Turkey, Greece, Italy, most anyplace
LikeLike
1 – 3. Those highlights sound golden! I can only imagine!
4. But you have been busy doing other exciting things, I know.
5. Wow! I didn’t realize you’ve been to so many states! But I’m not surprised you’ve traveled as much as you have!
6. Most anyplace 🙂 yeah, I’m with you there!
p.s. thanks for responding! Loved your answers AND I learned something new about you! 🙂
LikeLike
#1. How can I pick one favorite adventure? One that springs to mind though is ziplining over the Copper Canyon in Mexico. There’s nothing like hanging by a thread over hundreds of feet of air.
#2. If I could eat Parisian duck confit every week, that would be great.
#3. One time Rosie, Micah and I decided to chicken bus from Costa Rica to Honduras and see if we could do it cheaper than taking the direct/luxury line. We managed, just so, but it involved a couple entertaining days of buying water in gallon jugs, eating the cheapest food, and staying in the most dinky hotel imaginable. But oh we had fun.
LikeLike
Oye! You have such good answers! But I think #3 is my favorite. I can only imagine the fun had on that adventure! 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person