Around the World in 80 years

[Lil_Red_Devil]

My 30th birthday was marked by a lot of interesting things, none of which probably count as what happens to normal people but I have long given up any hope or desire to fit into THAT catagory.  Anywho, in the months of reflection leading up to and surrounding this momentous occasion, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish with my life in general, and not just in the next 5-10 years but overall.  I began thinking about what sort of regrets I didn't want to have when the end came, and one of them was to have settled into a life and never gone anywhere after.  The thought that my life will end if I get married again and have children terrifies me, that I will suddenly be bound to this one place for 20+ years and no longer be able to go anywhere or do anything.  I know that people with children will likely say I'm exaggerating, and perhaps I am, but how many women with children do you know who travel regularly to foreign countries?  Yeah, not many.  And so, I have set this challenge as a life-long goal to remind myself in all the years to come that I am more than just a potential wife and mother, that I have places I want to see and things I want to do in this life that I am not willing to give up.  Therefore, the goal I have set for myself is this: To visit every country in the world (that will let me in) by my 80th birthday.  Thankfully my partner is very supportive of my travel bug so hopefully there won't be too much resistance if children come into the picture, and I'm working my way towards a career that would facilitate a fair amount of international travel.  For the moment, here are the countries I've already visited:

 

USA (born here)

UK (all 4 nations)

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

France

New Zealand

India

 

I realize there is still a lot of world to see out there, which is precisely the point, and that's why I've given myself 50 years to accomplish this task.  I have also decided to try and keep a journal of my various adventures, though I am having to write from memory at the moment to play catch-up.  Anywho, if you have any thoughts on where to visit and where to avoid, I would love to hear them, though be aware that I HATE cities and prefer to see a country outside of the urban environment.  Cheers!!

[CarolineJ]

Mauritius.  It's an amazing country, the people are so friendly and it's stunning.  Tricky to get to from America though, there are no direct flights, but if you're heading in the direction of the Indian Ocean, don't miss it.  We're seriously considering attempting to move there one day.

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Cheers Caroline!  I actually live in the UK so hopefully that will make travel a bit easier to most places

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Long over-due update:  The other half and I went on a driving trip through part of Europe in Sept/Oct 2014 which included staying in a spa hotel in a national park in Belgium, a stop at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, trying horse steak in Luxembourgh, doing an escape room challenge in Stuttgart, Oktoberfest in Munich, the best dinner for 20 bucks ever in the Czech Republic, watching a WW2 film in the world's oldest cinema in Poland, celebrating our first anniversary in Hamburg, and eating chips (fries) with obscene amounts of mayonnaise in Amsterdam.  It was awesome!!

[Craynon]

Spain! Specifically Mallorca: not Magaluf, but the north of the island. Some lovely outdoor trails (very hilly/mountainous in parts!) and some beautiful quiet beaches.

 

EDIT: Whoops, didn't realise this was such an old thread! Sounds like you had a great trip around Europe though

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Spain! Specifically Mallorca: not Magaluf, but the north of the island. Some lovely outdoor trails (very hilly/mountainous in parts!) and some beautiful quiet beaches.

 

EDIT: Whoops, didn't realise this was such an old thread! Sounds like you had a great trip around Europe though

 

Hey, I'm happy to have tips and suggestions any time!  I didn't think Magaluf would be to my taste, but good to know there are other outdoorsy options

[Craynon]

Yeah, Magaluf earns it's reputation for being awful!

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[rin]

Visit Brazil!  I did an internship in Rio over the summer and it was amazing.  Since I was there to work, I didn't get as much time to explore during the days, but walking around the Jardim Botânico, for example, made me feel connected to nature.  As an American, since the currency in Brazil has depreciated so much, it's pretty cheap right now (~4 reais per dollar) even though Rio (and other major cities) are VERY expensive for Brazilians :/

 

Also, I had a really great time finding fun workouts like hiking or running/walking along the beach.

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Visit Brazil!  I did an internship in Rio over the summer and it was amazing.  Since I was there to work, I didn't get as much time to explore during the days, but walking around the Jardim Botânico, for example, made me feel connected to nature.  As an American, since the currency in Brazil has depreciated so much, it's pretty cheap right now (~4 reais per dollar) even though Rio (and other major cities) are VERY expensive for Brazilians :/

 

Also, I had a really great time finding fun workouts like hiking or running/walking along the beach.

Sounds amazing! I'm all for working holidays and hopefully as a vet there will be loads of work/volunteer opportunities

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Another overdue update:

 

I recently worked for 3 months with the FAO branch of the UN, which took me to their headquarters in Rome for 7 weeks and the Nairobi for 7 weeks.  This was my first trip to Italy and Kenya, as well as my first visit to Africa!!

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Also adding as a back-dated trip - Attended a conference in Denmark in March 2016 and the SO came over to spend a long weekend with me in Copenhagen.  Surprisingly is was quite sunny and very beautiful!

[Lil_Red_Devil]

Visited a friend from FAO in Paris in October and, although I'd been to the city once before, it was nice to spend a few more days there and to spend time with locals