My Top 10 Places I Want to Go……Really Soon

Very rarely do I put together a top 10 list of places that I want to go.  I want to go everywhere, so I’m just taking the places as they come.  I figured it would be good for me to put together a list of places that I really want to visit.  This way I can start looking for opportunities to hit up these places.

These locations aren’t listed in order, but they definitely all are in the top 10 places that I want to go soon.

Sheldon’s Top 10 Places I want to Go

Tyler’s Shot of Machu Picchu

1. Cuzco- My younger brother Tyler spent a couple of days in the Cuzco area last year. He fell in love with the feel of the city.  Tucked away in the Andes highlands, this city is definitely among my top 10.  Any time spent with spitting llamas and checking out ancient Incan civilizations is exciting to me. Gazing over Machu Picchu is something I will definitely do in my life.  I’m just not sure when I’ll make it happen.
2. New England- OK.  I understand.  I’ve got to have one place within the US, right?  I’ve always wanted to spend a fall driving from Maine down to New York. This place doesn’t have a Machu Picchu or anything groundbreaking, but it does seem like I’ve always wanted to visit a Maple Syrup farm early in the morning.  Watching all of the fall foliage come in and fish in the lakes sounds really relaxing to me.  Heck, anything sounds relaxing to me besides Obamacare.  It feels like it’s running my life right now.  I haven’t taken a trip since September, and it is beginning to wear on me.
3. Mt Kilimanjaro-  Brad’s story about his fight with Kilimanjaro has definitely intrigued me.  Spending time doing a safari after climbing 19,000 feet sounds like a once in a lifetime experience.  The only difference is that I think the once in a lifetime events should be happening at least every year.  That way you don’t turn around at the end of your life and ask yourself “Was the journey really that fun?”  Put it on my list of places to go.  I probably need to get in better shape first.
   

   Kilimanjaro

4. Ireland-  Something about Cliffs of Mohr, pubs, leprechauns, pots of gold, and bangers and mash all excite me.  Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure anyone wants to meet a leprechaun.  Plus, he might even hook you up with a chance to find a few gold coins at the end of the rainbow.  Really, I don’t even drink, but I want to visit a pub and listen to the locals about their lives.   They might kick me out when I tell them that I’ve never tried Guiness and I really don’t have any desire to give it a shot.  Maybe I’ll even get in a bar fight.
5. Hungary/Czech Republic- Eastern Europe is definitely underexploited.  The exchange rate isn’t a slaughterhouse like the Euro, yet the food, culture and architecture are just as rich as Paris, Rome, and London.  These rank really high on my priority list right now, so hopefully I can cross them off the list within the next couple of years.
6. Rome-  Too much history here to summarize.  From the beginnings with Romulus and Remus being raised by a she-wolf to today this place is packed with history.  It is arguably one of the most history-rich cities in the world.  Sure you can find older cities in Iraq, Israel, and such, but Rome’s empire still lives strong in the western world.  Seeing Russell Crowe stab the DB emperor in the Coloseum would be awesome.   Although I’m not Catholic, I would love to spent time in the Vatican City.  I don’t think you could allot yourself too much time exploring the art, sculptures, and architecture of this tiny country.
7. New Zealand- I’ve yet to meet a Kiwi (What they call themselves) that wasn’t as friendly as Casper.  They travel tons and love their own country, which means that they are right up my alley.  I envision lush green lands with mountains covered with sheep everywhere you look.  In fact, there are 7 sheep per person in New Zealand. They speak the same language, which can reduce barriers for the most part, and make it easier to get around.
8. See a FAT glacier- El Calafate is a bit out of the reason, but here again my little brother has been showing me up when it comes to visiting some of these places.  If this photo below doesn’t give you wanderlust, then you need to visit a therapist.  Seeing one of these monsters and watching a huge chunk crack off like the sound of thunder and crash into the cool blue water definitely hits high on my list.
   

   My Brother Tyler, at El Calafate in Argentina

9. 

   Blue Lagoon/Bláa Lónið, Iceland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   Iceland- I realize that I’m just a couple of hours from Yellowstone, and more than likely Iceland isn’t that much cooler than Yellowstone, but something about it attracts me.  Maybe it’s because I’ll meet someone named Leif, or because I’d love to visit the northernmost capital of the world.  I’ll be honest, taking a dip in the Blue Lagoon sounds pretty sweet too, but I’m sure it’ll look a lot like Craters of the Moon.  Of all the places on my top 10, I for some reason feel like this one would be one of the biggest letdowns, but I still want to go there.

10. Israel- Wow.  What do I even say about this country?  A few things here really fascinate me about Israel.  It is consider a Holy Land for Jews, Muslims, and Christians.  Housing all of these religions at once results in some complexities, yet the all seem to coexist for the most part.  Jerusalem feels like a religious pilgrimage for me, and it is something that will definitely calendar for later in life.

Look,  these are just the top 10 places that I’d like to go next, but there are many places that I want to go.  Where do you want to go?  When will be your next opportunity to cross something off the list of your to 10 places you’d like to go?