Five Countries I Want to Visit Before I Retire

I often ask myself what is with traveling that attracts most people? Is it because of the fad or the adventure that comes with it? Have people become so stressed with their lives that their souls are dying to get some fresh air, a change of scenery even if it will cost them a hefty amount? Whatever the reasons behind why people travel, be it a personal or a fancy one, there really must be something unique that makes the experience worth remembering and sharing it with the ones you love.

I have travelled many times with the stories I have read, heard and watched on the screen since I was a kid. And with these stories, some places did struck my interest not just because of the rich history and culture but the people who lived in it. They maybe fictional, historical or real, still it will not do any harm to visit and get a glimpse of how it felt to walk, dine and breath the same air these colorful characters had given life while I was growing up.

Below are the five countries I want to visit before I retire.

(The Buckingham Palace)

1. England. London, The Buckingham Palace, The Westminster Abbey,Wales and if possible get to visit the places where CS Lewis, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and JK Rowling grew up and studied. It would also be a plus to visit some of the historical places while they were in the process of writing the drafts of their stories like that cafe where JK Rowling visited as she wrote the lines that will ultimately become the best loved story of all time - Harry Potter.

(The Palace of Versailles)

2. France. Known for its art, music and rich history, it is a country that I will want to visit simply because someone close to my heart who had very humble beginnings was able to get a financially secured life in France, proof that nothing is impossible as long as you put your heart into it.

3. Egypt. Blame it on my undying love for the "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" movies. But I guess even during the time of Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra," I have gotten bewitched with Egyptians, pyramids, pharoahs, mummies plus the woven tales and legends that go with it. 

(Old Montreal At Sunrise)

4. Canada. From what I have heard and read, a lot of Filipinos tried their luck in this country and became successful. Though I believe that life is what we make it, still my curiosity was triggered on why this country had become so popular that it deserves to be visited. Perhaps I just need to find out, if I am lucky to set foot on it in the future. 

5. USA. I already have my map marked on this one. The trip will start in NY where I get to visit my only sister and her family. Since NJ is just a 30 minute walk from her place, I will take advantage of that. We will walk the streets, take the subway, perhaps visit even the NY Public Library, Ground Zero and other places where I only had read or seen at the movies.

(My sister Xenia and her daughter Ingrid)

Then after two weeks, I will visit the rest of my relatives in CA. Most of them are already there, in Los Angeles, Glendale, Los Alamitos, Long Beach, Lakewood. These places I knew by heart because of the endless stories my dad told me, about his only brother who I've only met once, his wife who is my godmother, and their kids whose names had become all too familiar, but never got the chance to meet even until now. Now when all of us have families of our own. Now where we get to keep in touch through Facebook.com, whose pictures had been sent via snail mail since I was a kid which my family had kept all these years, proof that we are related and whose ties can never be broken despite the many decades that had passed.

(My cousins from CA - Paul, Kuya Percy, Ate Marilyn, Kuya Val and Ate Olivia)

One avid traveller once shared that life does not only consist of how many breaths you have taken but how many times it took your breath away. At the back of my mind I know it will be ages to set foot in any of these countries but then again everything is possible if one believes that one day, this will all come true. And I have a strong feeling that it might just happen very soon. 

                                                


Many thanks to Jimmy who is the host of this week's BC Bloggers Meme. You can drop him a visit at
jimmylifeadventure.blogspot.com








(image credit to google and facebook.com)