Whenever I chat to people about their travels, I am inspired of new places to go to. “Yes, I’ve just gotten back from Croatia”, they say. ‘Oooh, Croatia is on “my list”‘, I think. “Mmm, I just spent last month in Canada”, they say. ‘Yep, Canada is definitely on “the list”‘, I think.

My mental list is getting too long. In my desire to finish uni, I’m filling it up with useless rubbish (who really needs to know about partial differential equations?!) and forgetting important things – and so I have created this page, my wish list of places to go. I’ll be adding to it as I think of new places/am inspired by others’ travels. And I’ll be updating it after I’ve been to some of these places, with my thoughts and opinions. This list is mainly for me – so I can keep tabs on where I want to go, but it’s also for others, looking for some travel inspiration. Enjoy!

France

• Eat snails in Paris – DONE
  Actually quite tasty, garlic-y – yum!
• Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower – DONE
  Grab a bottle of wine, some yummy cheeses, a baguette, a tomato or two, and sit in front of the Eiffel tower as it lights up of a night – unforgettable
• Climb the Eiffel Tower – DONE
  Yes, you could just catch the lift, but where’s the fun in that?!
• Catacombs of Paris – DONE
  A couple of hundred years ago, it was decided that the cemeteries were too full, so the French decided to dig up all the bodies and dump them in an abandoned mine. At some stage, the person in charge decided to do it decoratively, and so all the bones are lined up, using a combination of skulls and femurs to create patterns in the walls.

Germany

• Visit the Black Forrest – DONE
  Eat black forrest cake in Freiburg, gorgeous little town on the outskirts of the black forrest
• Chocolate Museum in Cologne – DONE
  Fantastic little museum on the river Rhine, features a chocolate fountain, the history of chocolate and even taste-testing
• The German Fairy Tale Road
  600km journey from Hanau to Bremen, traces the line of the Grimm’s fairy tales

Ireland

• Eat Haggis – DONE
  Ugh. Not one of the better culinary experiences, but something that has to be done when you’re in Scotland!
• Greyfriars Kirk – DONE
  My favourite cemetery – has a real feel to the air, not a creepy feeling, just an ‘old’ feeling.
• The London Dungeon – DONE
  A bit different, bit like a horrorhouse, we got to see the more spooky history of London, from the black plague to Jack the Ripper
• Giant’s Causeway – DONE
  A section of naturally formed 4- and 6-sided rocks that look just like a pathway leading out to the sea. Legend has it that the giant, Finn MacCool, built it to visit his lady love in Scotland
• Guinness Storehouse – DONE
  The storehouse itself was a little disappointing – very manufactured, plastic-y, but the reward was the free pint of Guinness sitting waiting for you at the Gravity bar – right on the very top of the building
• Dublina Museum – DONE
  Cute little museum all about the history of Ireland. Aimed at kids, so very easy to follow 🙂
• Stay in an Irish Castle – DONE
  Foulksrath Castle is just outside of Kilkenny, it was built in 1320 and modified in 1525. Since then its basically remained the same with very few modifications (although I’m happy to note that bathrooms and heating were two modifications I appreciated!). The caretaker Jack was happy to tell us stories of the secret passageways and resident ghosts
• Kiss the Blarney Stone – DONE
  People have been kissing the Blarney Stone for over 500 years, in the belief it will bestow the gift of eloquence on all those who kiss it. The grounds of Blarney castle are fantastic, boasting caves, fairy glades and even witches kitchens. It’d be awesome to be an 8 year old girl playing in these gardens, I know a certain 20 year old who had a blast
• Platform 9 and 3/4 – DONE
  At King’s Cross Station, we all got our pics taken standing in front of ‘Platform 9 and 3/4’, pushing a trolly through to the platform where Harry Potter caught his train to Hogwarts (there’s a sign, and half a trolly pushed through the wall)

Italy

• Cinque Terre
  The rugged coast of Italy, often seen in postcards of italy, looks amazing, and is apparently very laid back and relaxing.
• Sardinia
  An area of Italy that isn’t so well trodden, Sardinia is said to have amazing kayaking and snorkeling, all photos that I’ve seen look breathtaking, although by the sounds of things, this may be one place I’ll need to wait until I speak a little of the lingo
• Leaning Tower of Pisa – DONE
  Even better than seeing the statue was watching all the tourists standing on the lawn (right next to the sign saying ‘keep off the lawn’), with their hands in the air, trying to get the perfect photo of themselves ‘holding up the tower’. Of course I had to get out there and do it myself!
• Eat Gelati in Rome – DONE
  In a word: YUM! The amazing flavours that await you when you step into a gelati shop in Italy cannot be expressed in words…
• The Colosseum – DONE
  Another of those ‘must-see’ sights, the colosseum is massive, its so amazing to think that the structure has survived so much and is still surviving the latest test – tourists

The Nederlands

• Visit a ‘Coffee Shop’ – DONE
  They are all over the place in Amsterdam, most are tiny little cafe style shops, proudly displaying their green and white sticker that claim they are a registered, government endorsed coffee shop, legally allowed to sell marijuana and other cannabis related items. Each has their own menu of what they sell – almost none of the shops sell alcohol as well.

Spain

• Eat churro’s in Madrid – DONE
  Yum – you’re served a big plate of churros (long, Spanish donutty things) and a mug of thick hot chocolate, used to dip your churros in. Mmm.
• Smoke Hookah in Madrid – DONE
  Used a giant pipe to smoke flavoured (in our case, apple) tobacco. Very laid back, cool atmosphere.

Sweden

• Stay at the Ice Hotel
  Ever since hearing about this at an exchange meeting, it’s been on “the list”. Apparently it’s incredibly expensive, but also a winter-only wonderland.
• Go shopping for Pippi Longstocking souvenirs – DONE
  Did you know Pippi Longstockings (in Swedish: Pippi Langstrump) is Swedish? That’s why she has long stockings – to keep warm! Plenty of tacky souvenirs to keep all amused

The United Kingdom

• See Loch Ness – DONE
  The ‘Loch Ness Discovery Centre’ was a bit dissapointing, they spent most of their time convincing us that the Loch Ness Monster didn’t exist. The loch itself was magical, easy to understand why the legend is still believed
• Stonehenge & Avebury – DONE
  Another of the ‘must see’ sights, Stonehenge was amazing, as was Avebury
• Beatles ‘Magical Mystery’ Tour of Liverpool – DONE
  Stops at all the houses where each of the Beatles were born, everyone troops out of the bus and takes photos of the houses and then troops back onto the bus…