On a recent post I noted my disinclination to travel despite my interest in seeing new places and meeting new people. As much as I'd like to do these things, the desire to do so doesn't outweigh my dread of the process of traveling. (I was once a girl who spent weeks at a go living out of a backpack but I haven't seen her in a while.) And so, since one never does anything for which one's interest doesn't make the hassle worthwhile, I rarely go anywhere.
Still, there are places I'd like to go and may well do so if I can get beyond the shudder-inducing thoughts of baggage claim, carbon footprints, finding a pet-sitter, an ever-increasing fear of airplanes, keeping track of the kids in a jungle or bog or whatever, getting lost in a new language (I cannot adequately press upon you how likely I am to become lost in any given place), convincing Brainiac that the cost is worth expanding our collective horizons, and so many other anxieties and neuroses that seem to plague me. If I'm able to overcome this not inconsiderable list of obstacles, I think I'd like to visit:
1) Scotland. Duh, where else am I going to find an immortal Highland warrior of my very own? Of course, not being unavailable for the intimate company of immortal Highland warriors, what with being married and all, I'd introduce him to a single pal right away, making a mental note to press shamelessly for all the details after they do...whatever it is that one does with immortal Highland warriors. And then I'd buy Brainiac a kilt.
All joking (mostly) aside, I think that Scotland must be a beautiful place and I have tremendous respect for its history and what has been endured there through the centuries. And? Scotch, golf, castles and salmon. Score.
2) Thailand. My dad lived in Thailand (in that in-the-Air-Force-during-a-war kind of way) before I was born and his stories of his life there captivated my sisters and me as children. Although I understand that he has held much of the truth of that time to himself, the portrait he created for us was of a wondrous and beautiful country with riches counted in ways beyond those I've come to understand. I'd like to see for myself if reality matches what I see in my head.
3) The "Fairy Tail Road" through Germany. I once spoke German more-or-less well (depending upon my mood at the moment) but now remember virtually nothing save a conviction that it might be about to rain. This would be woefully insufficient for spending some time exploring the towns and villages where the Grimm Bros. collected the stories and legends that have become so well-loved (if in slightly less macabre forms than the originals). I'd like to know if I have the mental grit to dig deep and remember enough to enrich a visit and not annoy anyone. Not too badly, anyway.
4) Vienna and Budapest. I bet they're fabulous and wear the weight of history exceedingly well. And? Pastries.
5) Marrakesh. I just...the past...so much...swoon. Yes. Marrakesh.
6) Canadian Rockies. On a train. Wonderfully huge and iconic and magnificent, an excellent place to feel small.
There are other places - Hadrian's Wall, Pyramids, the Acropolis, among others - I might like to see in a perfect world of safe and affordable on-time travel with no environmental repercussions or lost luggage. The above contenders, though, are those that might just provoke me to get outside of my head and on the road.