2020, you harsh mistress. Have not written anything new in over a year because we have not been traveling. We did meet our friends at Jekyll Island in South Georgia in July. It was nice and we were able to see comet NEOWISE on consecutive nights. The four of us spent too much time reminiscing about our real vacation in Munich in 2019. I am only posting one photo from this short trip:
We also flew to Philadelphia for a week in August, but we hunkered down in our daughter's new place in Bryn Mawr and did not go to any place that was not walking distance. And that's it. COVID-19 has taken over most of the planet and has destroyed many lives. And many industries. Particularly tourism.
So we spend our time wondering when we will be able to travel again and where we would want to go while we can still do 25K steps a day. Here is a couple of wish lists, beginning with places we want to visit again.
Where would we like to go back (hopefully with friends and/or family) for a second go-around? In order of most-desired return trip first:
- Munich. The main reason to return to Bavaria is to then head south. We want to see Innsbruck and the Dolomites. We loved Munich so much that we would want to start such a trip through the Alps in that wonderful city.
- Iceland. We did not get a chance to see the NW fjords. We did not see any of the black sand beaches. We did not have a car that could have driven to Dettifoss safely. We did not go in an ice cave or a volcano. All of those and more would be great to enjoy with other people.
- Chicago. We only spent a long weekend in Chicago and we did not have enough time to see all of the museums. Or everything in the museums we did enjoy. We didn't take a cruise on Lake Michigan. Or go up to an observation deck. Or attend a sporting event. We will return to the Windy City.
Where would we like to go for the first time?
- Madrid. Technically it would be my second time since I lived in Spain's capital in 1969. But Mary has never been there. Madrid is a perfect Nexus for enjoying all of Spain, from the Moor architecture in the South to the Basque region in the North, close to France.
- Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. The inspiration for Tolkien's Rivendell.
- Canary Islands. This is more like 1a, since we would probably fly into Madrid. Best part of the islands is they are considered part of the African tectonic plate. Since Mary is not excited about Morocco or Johannesburg or any other city in the second largest continent, the Canary Islands will have to do. We would certainly avoid the large resorts on Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
- Copenhagen. A vacation in Denmark with maybe a day trip into Sweden is on the list. Preferably in winter around the holidays.
- Nova Scotia. Totally doable. It's lovely. It's driving distance. Just need Canada to allow us back into their country.
- Tokyo. This is 100% my wish. Mary would like to do nothing but Western Europe and has no real desire to travel the Orient. I want to find a young guide on the Internet and then let this lad/lass show us around the current capital of Japan for a week.
- New Zealand. Who are we kidding? They don't want us there. And I can't get Mary to do this longest of plane flights.
- Alaska. Need to research how to enjoy our biggest province without getting on a cruise ship.
- The Picos de Europa. Again, more like 1b, since we would probably fly into Madrid. Check it out.
