next ten years of travel

it seemed fitting the day that adventurings finally got it’s real home on the web (adventurings.com!) that i get an email alerting me of this blog’s second “birthday”. it’s pretty neat knowing my big adventure is over two years old. not only that, but this week i’m celebrating my big TEN YEARS of europe travel-versary: a decade from the time i took my first europe trip (celebrating my high school graduation) to five cities in five countries with two of my buddies. so in honor of this, i’ve got a couple of travel-y posts prepared. ‘cause man, ten years of traveling europe seems like kind of a big deal to me!

today i’m sharing three places i long to visit sometime in the next ten years. it was not easy narrowing these down, but this is what is topping the list at the moment.

EUROPE: PORTUGAL & THE AZORES

i’ve been wanting to visit portugal ever since i heard a wonderful trip account from my dear friend megan. however, it’s one of those places i can’t just pass through, call it good and feel okay about myself. within the next few years, i’m hoping to extensively spend time in this country through work-staying– my favorite way to really get to know a culture and its people. portugal is also the last yet-to-be-visted country of alex and i’s heritage: his great-grandmother was actually born in the azores islands! i think they would make a great stop on the way to or from the european continent as they are about a third of the way across the atlantic ocean and actually not such a long plane ride from boston, i’ve been told. azores! (photo via)

NORTH AMERICA: NEWFOUNDLAND

i have kind of a thing for misty northern places. for most of the last ten years, i’ve been dying to visit iceland. now that i have (2011), my sights are set on the east coast of the united states and canada… which still remain something of a mystery to me. but the place that draws my interest most are those large north-atlantic canadian islands like nova scotia and newfoundland. it doesn’t hurt that one of my favorite metal bands has a killer song about this place which may have pumped up my enthusiasm even more. (photo via)

this song is the sickest– best ode to newfoundland that ever existed, i’m sure of it. and the last of my three picks….

ASIA: BALI, INDONESIA

and now for something completely different! any gal who’s read “eat pray love” is probably down to visit bali. but after gawking at sarah’s account of visiting this beautiful island with her family last spring, say no more– i’m sold. it was hard to choose between this destination and seeing more of japan, which is also extremely high on my list, but ain’t nobody got time to read about a hundred other places. the exoticism of bali’s beautiful tropical beaches and temples would be so refreshing to all senses. the tropical fruit! the swimming! the friendly people! sounds like my kind of place. (photo via)

have you visited any of these places before? happy travel tuesday, y’all!