I have had such a strong feeling of wanderlust recently, I feel as if I've been bitten by the travel bug. I just want to get out and see the world. Maybe it's because I'm used to travelling all over the state, and this past year or so I've been forced (financially, that is) to stay put. My dream would be to win the lottery and spend all of that money (after paying off student loans and college debt) on travelling the world. I want to go everywhere and see everything. Road tripping across the U.S., backpacking across Europe, hiking through a rain forest, climbing the Great Wall, etc. etc. etc.
A couple friends and I have made a bargain: in two to five years, once we are done with school and have a stable income, we are going on a backpacking trip across Europe. I'm so keen on the idea that I've already started mapping out itineraries (which city/country when and in which order) and looking at which hostels or hotels would suit us best. This is going to happen, I can't be tied down.
When I really think about it, though, this desire to travel is kind of strange. I've always been a homebody, and even though I've taken many many short trips to places across the state and throughout the country, I'm always happy to sleep in my own bed when the excitement of travelling is over. In fact, my longest period of travelling was when I studied abroad in France for two months in the summer of 2009. It was a great experience, but after about 4 to 5 weeks, I started getting very homesick. My reflections on this experience have brought me to conclude that if I were to travel for long periods of time, I would need to do it with someone I was close to: someone I consider family. And even though there are several people I know who also love travelling, it all comes down to money. Which always brings my thoughts back to the lottery. If I won the lottery, I would spend it all on travelling around the world...
I Want to...
- Sip some tea in London
- Leave flowers at J.R.R. Tolkien's tombstone in Oxford
- Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
- Picnic in Paris in the spring
- Celebrate New Year's Eve in NYC
- Ride a gondola in Venice
- Make a wish at the Trevi fountain in Rome
- Bike along the Loire River in France
- Mourn the Holocaust at Auschwitz in Poland
- Hear my voice echo in the Grand Canyon
- Walk along the Great Wall of China
- See where they filmed the Lord of the Rings in New Zealand
- Go on a cruise in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean
- Climb to the top of the Acropolis in Athens
- See what steak really tastes like Down Under
- Learn how to surf in Hawaii
- Road trip out west and see the United States' greatest national parks
