Thoughts on Travel....

I found a copy of the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die in my Pensione. I looked through the book to see all the places I’ve been so far:

Before this trip:

1. Grand Canyon, Arizona
2. Red Rocks, Sedona, Arizona
3. Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
4. Pacific Coast Highway, California
5. Cable Cars, San Francisco, California
6. South Beach, Florida
7. Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
8. Maui, Hawaii
9. Oahi, Hawaii
10. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
11. Las Vegas, Nevada
12. Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico
13. New York City
14. Oregon Coast
15. Lewis and Clark Trail (Columbia River Gorge), Oregon
16. Crater Lake, Oregon
17. Willamette Valley, Oregon
18. Nashville, Tennessee
19. Park City, Utah
20. Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington
21. Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois (I think I was like 6 or something and we were only in Chicago for like a few hours, but I remember we went up in the tall building and went to see the painting with the pitchforks.
    

During this trip:

22. La Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium
23. Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany
24. Capri, Italy
25. Pompeii, Italy
26. Amalfi Coast, Italy
27. Quadrilatero, Bologna, Italy
28. Ravenna, Italy
29. Rome, Italy
30. Sistene Chapel, Vatican City
31. Cinque Terre, Italy
32. Florence, Italy
33. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
34. Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, Netherlands
35. Red Light District, Amsterdam, Netherlands
36. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
37. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
38. La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
39. Picasso Museum, Barcelona, Spain
40. Castle District, Prague, Czech Republic
41. Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic
42. Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic
43. Rynek Glowny, Krakow, Poland
44. Wavel Hill, Krakow, Poland
45. Beijing Restaurants (Peking Duck), Beijing, China
46. Forbidden City, Beijing, China
47. Great Wall of China
48. Victoria Harbor and Peak, Hong Kong, China
    
    

But a good lesson I have learned this year is to never let a book or magazine tell you what you want to see in the world. Yes, Rick Steves has some good suggestions, but have to take charge of your own travels and see the world on your terms. But many of the places I have been are not on this list of the 1000 Places. For example, the Isle of Elba is still one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been and hiking up Monte Capanne was one of my favorite experiences of this whole year. But I have never seen Elba in a single travel guide. Also, the visit to Auschwitz during Opening Tour chilled me to the core, I would think a place that has such an effect on a person should be included on the list of 1000 Places. And also, Bosnia is such a beautiful country and Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast is breathtaking. There is no replacement for talking to people in person about the places they have been, that is the best travel advice you can get, and it’s free too.

I am happy that Oregon had several spots on the top 1000 Places, but having lived there for basically my whole life, I know there is so much more to Oregon and it shouldn’t matter that only 4 of Oregon’s treasures on the list. I would still take Mt. Hood over pretty much anything. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t care that I probably will never see most of those places the guide books tell you to go. That’s someone else’s list. I have my own.