"Ten on Tuesday": Places to Travel

Each week, my friend Florinda publishes a kind of top 10 list. This week, her theme is "10 Places You'd Love to Travel To (That You Haven't Gone to Yet)." And I thought it would be fun to participate, as I spent much of yesterday's post lamenting the fact that I haven't done any travel blogging recently (and am not likely to, given the current economic climate).

So here are my Top 10 (in no particular order):

1. Havana, Cuba. I actually HAVE been here, but as I was an infant at the time, I don't think it counts. It is the city where my mother was born and lived until she was 17. My grandfather is buried there. I still have relatives living there, although I do not know them (and am not likely to have a lot in common with them, as the only ones who stayed were true believers in the revolution). But I have heard so much about the city and the country since I was very young, and should travel restrictions be lifted, I would very much like to go there.

2. Istanbul, Turkey. Another genealogical destination. The grandparents who settled in Havana were born in Constantinople. They were Sephardic Jews, descended from those who were forced to leave Spain during the Inquisition. They lived peacefully there for four centuries, until the end of the Ottoman Empire.

3. Edinburgh, Scotland. In all my many visits to the United Kingdom since I met my British husband, I've seen remarkably little outside his home town of Cardiff, Wales. I have a long, long, list of towns and regions I would like to visit, but based upon the hub's description, I think Edinburgh belongs at the top of that list. Besides, if we go to Scotland, we might be able to indulge in the Scottish version of one of our favorite past times and do a little whiskey tasting.

4. Bordeaux, France. Yes, that favorite past time is wine tasting. This is something we've been able to indulge quite a bit here in California, but I would love to take that show on the road somewhere else. I keep reading about all these cool bicycle tours of the wine regions in France, and the romantic in me thinks that might be fun. (The lazy ass in me would probably die if I tried it, but this whole exercise is a fantasy anyway, so I can imagine having the stamina to do this!) Another benefit of going wine tasting in France would be that I would get to visit a city I HAVE been to and am dying to see again: Paris.

5. Yosemite. I should be ashamed of myself for being a California native who has never been to one of our state's most wondrous spots. The problem is, I am NOT the outdoorsy, camping type. I want to go, but only if I get to stay at the Ahwahnee Lodge.

6. Rome, Italy. Do I have to explain this choice? The history. The architecture. And yes, the food and the wine.

7. New Zealand's Marlborough region. One of my friends is married to an assistant director who worked on both Narnia movies, and the family spent an entire summer here while the first one was being shot. Their photos are spectacular, and yes, this is another wine making region.

8. Santiago, Chile. Oh hell. I may as well turn this into a top ten list of vineyards! Chile is also known for terrific wine. Also, my husband used to work with a woman who was from Santiago, and the photos of the countryside nestled below the Andes were gorgeous.

9. Washington, D.C. I've been to London. I've been to Paris. I've never been to the capital of my own nation. 'Nuff said.

10. Tokyo, Japan. I'm one of those people who loved "Lost in Translation." I want to experience the otherness of Japan, too.

Actually, I can think of lots more places I want to visit! I shall just have to redouble my efforts to win the lottery so I can take that 12-month, round-the-world cruise I dream of.