Escapism

For my next list, I will share the one thing that I will one day spend good money on: Travel.

There is nothing better than a well planned trip to another country/state/city that you have never seen. I plan on continuing my world travels throughout my life. So far, I have accomplished two of my top places to see and recently saw the need to rehab my "Must See" list of places. I have already been to Italy, Greece, Austria and Switzerland with the first two being major must sees that are now complete. Needless to say, I plan on re-visiting all of these places with Italy being a return trip in June of 2007. Can't wait. Now on to the ones I need to see.

10. Glacier National Park- Montana isn't exactly a state I would want to live in, but Glacier National Park looks so amazingly gorgeous that I have to see it for myself. I haven't been many places in the states and the latter half of this list will probably consist mostly of those places (because I like foreign countries more), but something about Glacier really intrigues me. It's beautiful and when I was a youngster, I used to want to do environmental studies and geological stuff so I definitely have a weird obsession with that kind of stuff. The USA has some amazing places to see and I think this is one of the ones you never hear about.

9. Arches National Park- I guess I'm a big fan of this park due to good ol' John Ford westerns, but the monuments and arches of Utah boggle my mind. They seem almost not of this planet yet they are right here in the USA. The arches are so memorable from film that westerns became cliched because of the unique structures and backdrops that the arches became due to those movies. Being a film lover, it's almost like visiting the set of a film, yet it's nature too. Double edged sword of yes.

8. Paris, France- Kind of a new one to the list (as is number 5) but something about the city of light wants me to visit it. Maybe I'm a moth and I don't know it. But Paris is a gorgeous city from what I've heard and being a fan of anything European, I definitely want to see it sometime. And maybe sometime soon. I wish I could just travel all the time. Maybe I need a job that allows me to do that. From the Eifell Tower to the Boulevard St. Germaine... I want to see it. Also, the Louvre, which I believe is in Paris, if not I will still go to it, is one of my must sees and actually high up there with the next few monuments and other such places. Art has been a big changing factor in my interests as of late and what better place to see art then The Louvre. Anyone want to come with me? I don't know... the French are assholes.

7. Giza, Egypt- This one may never be accomplished thanks to US/Middle East tensions, but the Pyramids in Giza are something I need to see in person. Pictures of things like this and my #5 are awesome, but garunteed to be totally breathtaking when you actually see it. Just like the David statue or the Sistine Chapel's frescos, you have to witness it first hand. Any man made structure from days of yore is something to see. The Acropolis was sweet ass and I'm sure Giza will trump that. Plus I want to see if it will be some weird other wordly experience since Aliens created them years ago and such. Maybe I'll find the Stargate... It may just be a pile of sand and rocks, but it's still something that I bet is much more awesome in person than in pictures.

6. Tokyo, Japan- For a while, I didn't really want to go to Japan because, well, it's a whole different world and culture unlike anyhtring European and so I wasn't interested. But now, after movies and such about that very topic, I feel as if maybe I need a strange place to visit to see just how complex the human species really is. As a whole, Europe and the USA are the same thing (except that Europe has a much more interesting history and is cleaner.) I've never been anywhere that wasn't Western. So maybe an Eastern country will give me a better world view. Japan from what I hear is awesome. A ton of things to do, very nice people and safe and clean. The major thing that makes me not want to go their sooner is the language barrier. With European counries, I feel more people peak english and I can understand some Italian/Spanish if I try or can leanr common phrases in German or other Euro languages much easier than, say, Mandarin or Japanese. That is pretty tough to learn for travelling, but it won't stop me for wanting to go.

5. Machu Picchu, Peru- In the vein of the Pyramids except much more green. Machu Pichu supposedly takes a few hours to drive to, but the payoff would be breathtaking. Here is the way I would do it:
"Another option is to hike the Inca Trail, on either a four-day or two-day version, both of which are controlled by the government. They require travelers to be reasonably fit. The trip takes a few days, and involves sleeping in tents."
This would probably be the best way to experience the trip. Get a group of likely candidates to trek it up to the ruins. I love hiking and the four day journey would be something of a sweet retreat. Any takers?

4. London, England- I was originally going to lump the British Isles together, but I want to give these two proper justice. Lowest on the list, yet still top five material is London. I hear nothing but great things about London. I really want to visit all the British Rock and Roll history, like famous clubs where The Who and The Stones have played and whatnot. Also, London is high up because BAM! no language barrier. I have traveled to countries where lanquage got in the way of a 100% awesome time. People in other European countries do speak English, but I feel very narrow minded not knowing their language. So London would probably be a lot more comfortable even though they have different words for things. But that would easy be able to get over. Muller was there last year and my parents went and said nothing but good stuff so it gets its own seperate trip.

3. Prague, Czech Republic- I love medieval cities. Medieval architecture is probably my favorite this side of the classic Greek white washed villages. The cities of Europe that date back to the middle ages are gorgeous. Prague is probably the most beautiful one I've seen pictures of. The city is showcased in tons of movies for its windy streets and gorgeous bridges and buildings. It's something of a site to see. Also, they had recent crazy flooding that threatened some of the structures just a few years ago so I believe it is a big priority I see Prague before it can get destroyed. Hopefully it won't, but to be safe, I'm going to check it out sooner than later. Also, any city that is famous for having hundreds of Gargoyles is a place I want to czech out.

2. Ireland- So no set exact city in Ireland. I want to see all of it. Maybe even Belfast, but before you judge me for wanting to see those traitors from the north...

Ireland is the other half of my heritage. Don't let the Greek name confuse you. I'm 50% McIrish. I can hold my whiskey as well as my ouzo. I love my potatoe's just as much as my spanikopita. So SHUT IT! Anyway, the Emerald Isle is the other half of the kind of Europe I love. Sweeping green grass. Greece is pretty dry and not too many plants and trees. Ireland is gorgeous from what all my buddies who have been to have said. Lou posted amazing pictures from his trip on his blog earlier this year and it made me want to go even more. It seems most of the people I am really close with have been there and thats the one thing they have one-up on me in travels around the world. I'd like to boast my several times in Europe, but I haven't even been to an English speaking country yet! What's my problem? I'm thinking 2010 will be when I can feesibly go. I'm going back to Italy with the family in 2007 and 2009 is my possible year abroad in Greece staying mostly in my dad's home town. So I need to get the ball rolling on Ireland. Maybe when I purchase my ticket back home I will plan some time in Ireland in 2009. Maybe I'll split my adventure year between these two places. Who knows. Regardless, I need to see the motherland as I have seen the fatherland.

1. Australian Outback- I don't even care about the cities of Australia as much as I want to see the Outback. I know its pretty much like a desert, but ya know what, I have a reason to want to see Australia. It's called nostalgia. I have never been there but ever since I was five years old, I have been obsessed with Australia, namely Uluru. What is Uluru you might ask? It's more popularly known as Aeyers Rock, but it is a rock formation that is sacred to some of the aboriginal tribes that live in the Outback. In a relatively flat area of land, there is a giant rock stucture. For some reason, this seems amazing and is something I have always wanted to see in the flesh. Not to mention just to travel in a totally different area of the world and still be able to speak English again makes it more desirable to see. And although I stress the outback, I heard amazing stories of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef from Jack when he went there a few years ago. It's a rugged culture that I relate to for some reason. There is a side of me that just loves nature and the natural world beyond my love of music and film that seems to over power that. But as you can see in this list, both culture and nature are two things that drive the passion in my life.