If You Could Travel To…

So here’s a game I want to play: If you could travel to a beach, a city, a mountain destination — that you’ve never been to — where would you go?

This post is all about dreaming, imagining, and putting some ideas out there about places you’d like to travel to.

About a month ago I shared my travel wishlist for 2019.

But this list is definitely different — maybe more daydreaming and future focused.

I have to thank Jason Moore at Zero to Travel (really good podcast, by the way), as he and his wife had this great dream list episode that inspired this article.

So here’s how this post is going to break down.

I’m going to choose the one place I’d love to travel to — that I’ve never been — in these 9 categories:

• beach
• city
• ancient/BC historical site
• religious/spiritual site
• mountains
• town/village
• AD historical site
• art
• natural phenomenon/wonder

However, since Europe is my niche, I’m going to focus only on places in Europe.

You’re free to make this your own and use the whole world if you want.

Play along with me and think about an answer for each of these categories.

Ready?

 

If you could travel to a beach…

In my opinion, the best beaches in the world are NOT in Europe.

The US and the Caribbean have some incredible beaches as does a lot of Southeast Asia.

But Europe does have some great beaches and sometimes these beaches are in places that you don’t think of as having gorgeous stretches of sand.

Case in point is my pick.

If I could travel to a beach in Europe I’d go to Luskentyre on the Isle of Harris in Scotland.

Yes.

I said Scotland.

This beach is on the western side of Harris — which is the southern part of Lewis and Harris.

It’s down a minor road so accessible for anyone.

And Luskentyre has been voted Britain’s best beach.

For me, I love the beaches of the British Isles as often you can visit these beaches and not have a lot of people around — unless it’s a holiday and the weather is good.

So if you could travel to a beach, which beach would you travel to?

 

The city I most want to visit…

Admittedly, I’m not much of a city person.

That being said, I do love Paris, Florence and Verona — all of which I would return to.

I decided that the city has to have over 200,000 people.

And this was a difficult decision because there are a few cities that I’d love to spend time in.

So it ended up as a tie as I just couldn’t decide.

If I could travel to a city I would choose Copenhagen, Denmark and Strasbourg, France.

Copenhagen is actually Lonely Planet’s top city to visit in 2019.

And this city has intrigued me ever since I read my first Cotton Malone book written by Steve Berry as this was where Cotton had “retired” to.

Steve Berry painted a lovely picture of this city so I found myself daydreaming of it.

Colorful buildings along a waterfront and the idea of hygge draw me in.

It’s an eco conscious city as well and has a lively food and cafe scene.

 

Strasbourg calls to me because of its mix of German and French.

There are canals all around with half-timbered buildings and a Gothic cathedral dominating the skyline.

It’s a university city as well as one of the homes of the European Union.

So Strasbourg seems very European.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend time here?

I find both of these cities fascinating in different ways which is why I couldn’t choose.

So if you could travel to a city, what city would you travel to?

 

If you could travel to an ancient site…

So I broke the historical site category that Jason Moore used on his podcast into 2 categories as I wanted to distinguish between an ancient site, something from BC times, and a site from AD times.

So think about something like Stonehenge as a BC or ancient site and the Alhambra in Granada, Spain as an AD site.

As a lover of stone circles and places like Ephesus (which I would go back to in a heartbeat) I do love ancient sites.

My initial answer is “as much of Greece and Turkey as possible.”

Ha!

But if I could travel to an ancient site it would be Olympia, Greece.

Yes, this is the site of the very first Olympic games — way back in 776BC.

I love the Olympics so this site would be a kick for me to wander around and maybe even run around.

Did you know that the Olympic flame is lit here?

Yup they light the torch by reflecting the sunlight into a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera.

That flaming torch is then transported to the destination where the games are held.

Cool, huh?!

There’s a lot to see here as quite a bit has been excavated.

And the bonus for me is that this site is located on the Peloponnese Peninsula which is high on my “must travel to” list.

So if you could travel to any ancient site, which one would you choose?

 

The religious/spiritual site that calls to you…

If you could travel to a religious or spiritual site which one would it be?

The world is loaded with these and Europe has its fair share, for sure.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is one of my favorites as are the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya in Istanbul.

But if I could travel to one spiritual site it would be the monastic settlement on Skellig Michael in Ireland.

A destination that has become more famous due to the latest Star Wars franchise, they are, thankfully, keeping visitor numbers down.

One of the main reasons is that it’s very difficult to get to due to the rough seas that surround it and they can only land on the island between mid-May and early October.

Skellig Michael was a monastic site from the 6th to 8th centuries although the exact date of its origin is unknown.

There probably were never more than 12 monks living here at one time.

I think for me, having been to this part of Ireland, it rose to the top of this category because it’s that mix of religious, spiritual and mystical.

What I mean is that Ireland tends to meld its Christianity with pagan beliefs but also seems to bring nature into the mix.

I see Skellig Michael as this type of site so for me it’s number one.

So if you could travel to a religious/spiritual site, which one would you choose?

 

If you could travel to the mountains…

Yes.

Oh, I’m supposed to choose.

And so are you.

I say YES to all mountains.

But this one is a clear number one for me: the French Alps around Mont Blanc.

The French Alps in this area are actually some of the taller mountains of this iconic mountain chain.

Mont Blanc comes in at 4810m. That’s about 15,780ft.

It’s the highest peak in Western Europe.

There are loads of trails, cute mountain villages and some mountain villages that are the place “to be seen.”

Throw in some pristine lakes and wonderful mountain flora and fauna and this is paradise for a mountain gal like me.

While I put this area on my 2019 list, if I don’t get there in in 2019, I WILL GET THERE IN 2020.

There.

I put it in print.

So if you could travel to a mountain destination, where would you go?

 

The town or village that intrigues you most…

I tend toward small towns or tiny villages rather than big cities.

There are so many to choose from that this category is exceptionally difficult.

But I chose just one.

If I could travel to a town I’d choose Eguisheim, France.

This town is located in the Alsace region which is also where Strasbourg is.

I mean, how charming is this?

 

Eguisheim is just the kind of village that you could wander around and never get tired of the quaintness and cuteness of it.

Now, it’s not undiscovered, so I think I’d choose to visit in shoulder season or even in the off-season.

The bonus?

It’s also along the Alsace wine route so you’ll get some amazing wine here.

So if you could travel to a town or village, which one would you choose?

 

What historical site is at the top of your list?

For this category, let’s focus on historical sites from AD times.

So forget about places like the Pyramids of Egypt or the Parthenon in Greece.

This is a tough one for me because I do love historical sites from any era.

I’d go back to the Alhambra in a heartbeat. It’s gorgeous!

But because I basically binge-watched the first 2 seasons of Versailles on Netflix recently, I’m now obsessed with seeing this French chateau.

Versailles was the main royal residence from 1682 under Louis XIV until the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789 under Louis XVI.

It’s known for its Hall of Mirrors and its gorgeous and enormous gardens.

Yes, it’s a tourist magnet but it’s one that I have to see.

All that royal opulence…no wonder the French folks revolted!

So if you could travel to a historical site from AD times, what would it be?

 

If I could travel to see any work of art…

This was a last minute addition because as I thought about some of the places on my list in general, I realized that there are some incredible works of art in the world that we travel to in order to appreciate talent and beauty.

One of my favorite pieces of art I have seen is the sculpture of David by Michelangelo.

It’s impressive as hell.

And because I love me some Michelangelo, I would travel to the Vatican so I could see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo painted this between 1508 and 1512 and it’s definitely a highlight of a visit to the Vatican.

So, if you could travel to see a work of art, what work of art would that be?

 

What natural wonder interests you most?

So when I think of natural phenomena or natural wonders I think of things like the northern lights or the Grand Canyon.

Yes.

You could put a lot of nature on here like the Sahara Desert or Iguazu Falls.

If I could travel to experience a natural phenomenon or natural wonder I would travel to Norway to see the fjords AND the northern lights.

I cheated a bit on this but I figure if I plan out the timing of a trip to see the stunning fjords of western Norway, I could also see (maybe) the northern lights.

It might be a stretch but I have to admit that these are 2 places/things I want to experience before I leave this planet.

Fjords like Geirangerfjord, Sognefjord and Lysefjord call to the nature gal in me.

And for someone who was so fortunate to experience the Hale Bopp comet back in late 1996/early 1997 and has seen my share of star-filled skies (you really need to get out to the mountains of Colorado and the parks in southern Utah), I would love to see the northern lights.

So if you could travel to experience a natural phenomenon or natural wonder, what would you choose?

 

Have you had fun playing “If I could travel to…”?

I have.

But you know what?

I’d love to hear some of your answers.

So think about it and drop your answers (some or all) in the comments below.

Happy Travel Dreaming!