Where In The World

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

This is exactly how I feel right now; the need to explore, dream and discover. Like everyone else my life goals and dreams change almost daily, but these past weeks I have most certainly been bit by the travel bug.

My plan at the moment is to save as much money as I can and go to as many places as possible. I am not sure if I will live in another country besides Ireland and German in my life but there are certainly many places I would like to see. Some of these places are those I have longed to visit since I was a child, while others have become more curious to me due to the many wonderful people I have met in my life. I thought I would share by dream destinations with you and I would love you to share any stories you may have concerning your own travels there.

Istanbul, Turkey – I never thought I would ever want to go to Turkey. All I ever read about the country was newspaper and magazine articles warning European women about the Turkish men who prey on you for a visa. This I can tell you is utter bullshit. The Turkish people are some of the nicest I have met and I have made some good friends from here. They are kind and friendly and probably the nearest nationality to the Irish in terms of ‘having the craic’. All my misconceptions of Turkey have vanished and I looked forward to a wonderful trip there.

Tokyo, Japan – For some reason I have never wanted to travel to Asia. Well maybe North Korea but just out of sheer nosiness. Anyway we know that is never going to happen. Like the case of Turkey, my main reason for wanting to travel to Tokyo is because of a friendship with a Japanese girl here in Berlin. The more I listen to her speak of the place, and listen to others who have travelled here, I realise more and more how cool this city and I hope to make a visit there in the next years.

New York, USA – ‘I wanna wake up in a city that never sleeps, and find I’m king of the hill, top of the heap….’. When I was growing I was determined I would be a high-flying journalist/writer and live in a penthouse in the heart of New York City. This vision forgot to include how afraid of heights I am. I still want to be a journalist or a writer of sorts but sadly I think I will never live in New York. I still want to visit it though. Over and over and over again.

Warsaw, Poland – The reason is quite simple here, Ireland over the years experienced a massive influx of Polish people and I am curious to see how their home country is. I always found Polish people to be very nice and full of fun and I think this would be a great place to visit for a long weekend, especially considering how close I am to the Polish border at the moment.

Madrid, Spain – One of my closest and best friends live there and I am ashamed to say that in the 6 years I know her I have not been to visit yet. This is due to change this summer though and if God is good I will be attending the christening of her first child!

Santiago, Chile – South America is a place I have always wanted to visit but I never knew enough about the different countries which comprise the continent to decide exactly where. My current employer has an office in Santiago and it is often that employees spend some weeks working there. I am enthralled after hearing their stories about how great the city is and vowed that this should be my first visit to South America. Who knows, I might get to work there myself.

Rome, Italy – Ok so this is somewhere I have been before but I just could never get enough of Rome. I think it is the most beautiful place I have ever been. Wishful thinking would have me believe that when I am retired I will spend my time hanging around restaurants and cafes in Rome trying to look Italian and fabulous.