Speaking of travelling the globe… Not to toot my own horn, but I might be considered a world traveler? Or at least I was one in my previous, pre-kids life.
With Christmas money from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Larry (thank you both!) I bought the National Geographic “1,000 Perfect Weekends” book to both day dream about the days when we can travel abroad again and to brainstorm about potential weekends in California and nearby that we can do in the near future.
I am super excited about a few places for me and the family to check out (which are included below), but more than anything I was surprised by how many places I have already been to. So far I have visited more than a few locations from their various Top Ten Lists:
- Top Ten Spas: Rancho La Puerta
- Top Ten Beaches: Noordwijk
- Top Ten Golf Courses: Pebble Beach although to be fair I didn’t actually golf this course or even see anything other than the clubhouse bar
- Top Ten Ski Resorts: Park City, Zermatt, Interlaken, and Whistler, which is especially entertaining since I don’t consider myself a skier or lover of mountains at that
- Top Ten Birdwatching: Kruger National Park
- Top Ten Winter Wonderlands: Vienna, Prague and NYC, while Vienna was the middle of summer I say it still counts
- Top Ten Antique Shopping: Grand Bazaar Turkey
- Top Ten Small Towns: Colmar, Essaoira, Positano, Franschhoek, Carmel by the Sea
- Top Ten Hikes: Lauterbrunnen
- Top Ten Urban Oasis: Table Mountain Cape Town
- Top Ten Music, Movie and Art Festivals: Sundance Film Festival
- Top Ten Flea Markets: Chatuchak Weekend Market, Banghok Thailand
- Top Ten Skylines: Chicago, Manhattan, Edinburgh, Seattle, Cape Town, Singapore and Budapest
- Top Ten Urban Tours: Edinburgh, Istanbul, Washington DC, Krakow, Dublin, San Francisco, Marrakech, and St Petersburg
- Top Ten Historical Locations: Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Istanbul
- Top Ten Architectural Feats: La Sagrada Familia, Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Top Ten Food and Wine Destinations: San Sebastián, Naples, Stellenbosch, Paso Robles, and Capri. I can’t say much about the food in Naples but will say their pickpocket game is probably the best in the world.
- Top Ten Sunrises and Sunsets: Santorini and the Zambezi River
And then there were those locations that warranted a little more than a top ten mention in the book for which I am lucky enough to have visited, including: Valparaiso (although why everyone seems to love this city is lost on me), Bend Oregon (clearly should also be mentioned in top ten Food Destinations, but I suppose Cody hasn’t opened his restaurant yet), South Tyrol (having visited too many times to count), the Torres Del Paine W Trail in Patagonia, the Dordogne region in France (thanks to Martin for planning an amazing trip for my 30th), the Napali Coast State Park in Kauai, Balboa Park in San Diego, the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, two of the stops on my African Adventure with my mom including Durban and the Zulu kingdom and Kruger National Park, hiking in Truckee and last, but definitely not least, the weekend getaway of a Bridges, Bay and Bluffs road trip on Hwy 1 (for which we did every weekend during the first year of COVID).
While I would clearly love to tackle all of the remaining spots in the book such as those in New Zealand, Asia or even the East Coast or South, I have become somewhat of a realistic (also known as a really tired mom). So I have set my sights on the following few for the upcoming year or two: Sedona (for both the red rocks and the spas), Jacksonville OR (known for its laidback and ecofriendly wine region) and possibly taking a ride on the Cascades Amtrak (which is one of the Top Ten Train Rides). And when we finally make it over to Europe for an extended vacation I would love to go camping with the kids at D’Olde Kano Andean in the Netherlands and then sneak away with Martin to either Tivoli Rome, Schloss Elmau in Germany or Terme di Saturnia in Italy.
I guess what I am trying to say is I have been pretty lucky so
far and yet there is still plenty to see and dream about.
And if you want to save yourself the money of buying the book feel free take my travel advice instead by reading the blog.
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