I'm always thinking about the places I want to go and the sites I want to see. But also travel plans are among some of my past regrets.
You see, I once had an opportunity to go to China and study for 6 weeks in the summer. I applied for it and got it. But I chickened out. To be fair, it was both bad timing and good timing. It was not too long after I had lost my granddad (who I was really close to), and basically my family circumstances weren't the greatest. I both wanted to escape and stay because I couldn't handle something so big at a time that my anxieties were really beginning to take a grip on my life. Also, I couldn't bloody well leave my Nan. She was practically having a meltdown about me going to China. And so was I. So I didn't go.
I also planned for years to go on a gap year either before or after uni. Life happened. I had family stuff going on. My best friend got in a serious relationship and is still happily so, and I didn't want to go off on my own.
My Master's was also meant to be a double degree in which I would spend one year in the UK studying international development and the next year flying off to Australia to study journalism. Money happened. But most importantly, so did Daryl. To spend a year apart is frankly unthinkable. We couldn't even go a week apart with me being at Warwick and him in Suffolk.
So yeah, I had plans but life had other plans. And you know what, that's okay. Because now I have this amazing, gorgeous, kind and love-able boyfriend who has only holidayed in the UK and Gran Canaria, and when I have a job, we will be able to afford holidays to all the places we want to go to, and I'll be able to share it all with him, which frankly is so much better!!
Here's a list of the places I've been:
1) England - does that count? I mean I do live here!
2) Cyprus - the sunny island my family comes from!
3) Greece - mainland
4) Spain - Salou, Barcelona (for a few hours)
5) Tenerife
6) France - Paris, Disneyland Paris, and somewhere in the North (I'm quite done with France to be honest, but wouldn't mind going to Cannes!)
7) Germany
8) Poland
9) Czech Republic
10) America - Michigan, and Chicago (for a day). There's a hell of a lot more I want to see!
11) Italy - Rome, Verona, Venice and Lake Garda
12) UAE - Dubai!! I flew off with my uni housemate and stayed with her and her family, and coming back was the first time I had flown on my own!
So here's a list of the places I most want to go to and this time, I'm going to do it. It might not be immediately, but hey that might be better for us as we can spread the wanderlust and make it last for the rest of our lives!
Europe:
1) Scotland
2) Ireland - seriously, I live in the UK but have never been to these two!
3) Italy (again) - Next time I want to go to Sorrento and Florence!
4) Croatia
5) Malta
6) Iceland (hello Blue Lagoon and the Northern Lights!)
7) Greece - Santorini and Mykonos please.
8) Turkey - Istanbul
Africa:
9) Kenya (I kind of have to to be honest since one of my best friends and uni housemates lives there when she's not here in the UK, I mean if she gets married, I'll totes be a bridesmaid and have to go.)
10) South Africa (I could have gone here had my mum decided she wanted people other than her and her fiance at their wedding, but no... bitter me, nah.)
11) Morocco
12) Rwanda (I'm writing up my dissertation on the place, so....)
13) Madagscar
Asia:
14) China
15) India
16) Maldives (future honeymoon dreams...)
17) Indonesia - Bali basically.
18) Hong Kong
19) Japan
20) UAE - Abu Dhabi
21) Thailand
22) Cambodia
23) Vietnam
24) Philippines
25) Malaysia
26) Sri Lanka
Australasia:
27) Australia
28) New Zealand
South America:
29) Ecuador - Galapagos Islands
Caribbean:
30) Cuba
31) St Lucia
32) The Bahamas (ever since I watched Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's Holiday in the Sun).
North America and Canada:
33) Canada
34) USA - EVERYWHERE!!
Wow, I didn't realise there was that many places on my list...
