Travel Thoughts

Someone on the Well-Trained mind board yesterday asked people to answer 3 travel questions. I know I haven't blogged much lately, but this is an easy one, so I thought I'd answer it here.

1. What is one place you are dying to visit? Why? I would love to visit Ireland, England, and Scotland. Studying the Middle Ages in history this year has made me want to even more. The one place I really wouldn't want to miss though, has nothing to do with the Middle Ages! I really want to go to Yorkshire and see the country talked about in all of James Herriot's books. I love those books, but I never know if the picture in my mind is quite accurate of the countryside. I'm sure it's not! I did this with another book. While we were in Colorado, I read a book called Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps in the West. It was such an interesting book, but I could never imagine life in particular at the Tomboy mine, which is above Telluride. So a few months before we PCSed, we made a trip to Telluride so I could see. Let me tell you, my imagination could have never made up the real-life experience of being up where that mining camp was! The ride up was quite hair-raising (Bob pretty much literally had to pry his fingers away from the steering wheel when we stopped!), and the view at almost 13,000 feet was incredible. But I love that now I could really see in my mind everything she talked about!

2. What is one place you have no intention of visiting? Why? One place you will never see me is climbing the slopes of Mt. Everest. I am sure that is quite an accomplishment, but I have no desire to risk life and limb to be as high as I can be comfortably in an airplane. Mountain climbing just doesn't inspire me.

3. What is one place you have visited, but was completely different from what you expected? I would say Paris. I expected a city of beauty and romance, but I guess I found it pretty dismal, and crowded with tourists (such as myself!). I was especially surprised at the number of incredibly rude oriental tour groups. We would be stopped, looking at a painting or something, and they would literally just shove us aside with their elbows. Very rude. But I really have no desire to go back to Paris now, and I guess as an American, I probably wouldn't be that welcome anyway!

Anyone else care to answer?