On Our Travel Bucket List

Where will your desires lead you next?

This weekend we visited with friends, traveling back to the town where we lived for the first 23 years in Wisconsin. We still live in Wisconsin but now are in the Northwoods, three hours away from the hometown we ventured back to.

The conversation eventually turned to where we’d like to travel next, as both our friends and we have started (or continued) to travel as retired or nearly retired persons.

Additionally, we all had recently taken major trips — although not all together.

Our friends — two couples who travel together — recently came back from a week in Italy. They flew into Rome, visited the Sistine Chapel, stayed near the Square, and then continued to the Amalfi Coast visiting Positano and eventually Pompeii.

A cooking class was thrown in there and good food and drink was had by all as well as some visiting some exquisite venues on what would be considered a trip of a lifetime for some.

Likewise, my husband and I took a Viking Longship through Europe on the Rhine, Danube, and Main Rivers for two weeks this fall from Budapest to Amsterdam.

We visited four countries and saw many iconic buildings within the ancient cities that line those rivers. In short, it was fabulous!

Where Have We Traveled to Already?

Before I go into what was on our bucket lists, let me explain where we’ve traveled to as couples.

My husband and I have been to Bermuda — Toronto, Canada — Playa del Carmen, Mexico — Banff, Canada — Maui and Kauai — Santa Fe, New Mexico, New York City — Niagara Falls Canada and New York — Maine — The Grand Canyon — Williamsburg, Virginia — Washington, D.C. — Orlando, Florida — San Diego, California — La Jolla, California — Germany, The Netherlands (Den Haag, Delft, and Kinderdijk), Austria including Melk and Vienna — Budapest, Hungary, and St. Thomas, USVI. We’ve also seen many of our U.S. National Parks in locations not mentioned here.

Additionally, we’ve visited the following places without each other but with other family members: Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, Redwood National & State Parks, Munich, Germany, and San Francisco, California.

I went to Japan in 1982 and would not mind going back. It seems like a lifetime ago.

The places visited by our friends are probably too many to list. One of the gentlemen is a pilot and while he doesn’t pilot for the trips he’s made with family, he has been all over the world for work.

As far as family or couple trips, I know they’ve been to Italy, Prague, Ireland, Budapest, Germany, Amsterdam, Bali Indonesia, Singapore, Paris, Big Sky Montana, Florida, Alaska, Poland, Peru, and probably many more places I’m not even aware of.

The point is that we are all fairly well-traveled.

Bucket Lists?

So what places were mentioned last night? Where did we mention that we want to travel to next?

The one place that was mentioned by all was New Zealand. Why would we want to go there?

I can think of many reasons to venture to the other side of the world and visit the Southern Hemisphere. The politeness of the people, a different culture, the absence of death-causing creatures, an ocean we’ve never been in, and a new experience were all things mentioned as reasons to visit New Zealand.

My husband and I want to visit Italy. He has Italian roots and two of our three sons have been there with their Aunt. We’d like to visit some of the less popular tourist places, eat some delicious and learn to cook authentic Italian food.

We’d also like to see where my husband’s ancestors came from as well as a few touristy spots like Pompeii, Burano, Murano, Modena, Parma, Cinque Terre, and Positano.

We’d like to visit Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Prague. The reasons we want to go to those places are again varied. The history of Scotland fascinated me and after seeing castles along the Rhine, I’d like to see some in the UK.

Prague looks very picturesque and as a photographer, I am attracted to things I can photograph such as the Charles Bridge.

Recently, we became interested in Croatia. Our son visited there for work and thought it was very beautiful. The water is so clear and blue.

Slovenia, which could be combined with a trip to Croatia due to geographic proximity, now holds interest for my husband and me since watching the most recent season of The Amazing Race.

In short, Slovenia looked amazing! So did Slovakia as we sailed past this fall.

Our friends want to visit Greece. We, on the other hand, do not have a desire to go there.

Ask Yourself What You Enjoy About Where You Travel?

We have both similarities and differences about where we would travel and why versus where our friends would go.

My husband and I like to spend a lot of time outside hiking. I take many photos. My husband knows that and is patient with my need to photograph the places we travel.

We like food but do not feel the need to spent a lot of money on extravagant meals. Likewise, we are not huge drinkers. A glass of wine and a beer make us happy. Maybe two drinks a piece make us happier but that’s about it. We don’t tavern or bar hop. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not us.

Since we’ve never traveled with our friends, of course we’re not sure about what they do on trips, other than what they’ve told us. It involves a lot of eating, drinking, card playing, and socializing with new people.

I would say they are all extroverts. My husband and I are a mix, I’m an introvert and he is an extrovert. That complicates things a little bit.

But I have to say that on our river cruise, once we found people we “clicked” with I was free to be myself and came out of the protective shell I keep around myself.

We elected to go to the zoo in Vienna rather than the Hapsburg Place, where everyone goes. Our friends went to the palace when they took their river cruise.

We elected to not attend a concert or a play on our cruise — our friends did.

My husband walked seven miles in Passau by himself. I don’t know anyone else who did that.

In Europe, we ate on the boat; they ate in restaurants. It’s all good.

The point?

Different strokes for different folks. There are different places to visit for different reasons, and different food for different tastes, but one thing is a constant — we all love to travel, and we will all continue to travel.

Bucket lists might differ but places will get crossed off, and new places will be added.

I told our friends last night that I think that travel makes the world a smaller place. The person that heard me, agreed. Despite our cultural differences, ethnic backgrounds, and varying beliefs, we are all humans.

We all share this big blue and green sphere that floats in space as our home. Seeing as much of it as we can is on all of our bucket lists.