Seems old man winter is hitting a lot of us with a wallop this past week. It's not nearly as bad here as in the Maritimes and New England, but it's cold and white and the perfect time to think about getting away. Must be why A.S. Fenichel asked us to write about our favourite vacation spot, whether it's somewhere we've been, or somewhere we long to be.
Well, that's a hard one for me, because I suffer from a serious case of wanderlust. My two stand out vacations have been to China and Ireland.
Ireland is a place I've longed to see since the womb, I think. And this past summer we went. It was great, but I have to confess to feeling that part of my adult fear of visiting Ireland did come true. It was a lot like home. In fact, I found myself taking pictures of landscapes that were downright Newfoundland in their appeal. Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't love my trip there. I'd move to Ireland in a heart beat, truth be told, just because of the million tiny things that tugged at my heart strings. Or maybe I'd buy a small cottage there and use it as a retreat. It's just a small four hour hop across the ocean. I'd get to Ireland by plane faster than I'd get to Vancouver or San Francisco.
This does not look like Newfoundland
But we have coastlines like this.
And we have lots of ground like this!
China, on the other hand, was a complete out-of-the-blue vacation decision. The stars aligned to give us cheap airfare, and a very generous cousin who happened to be living in Beijing at the time. That trip blew my mind. It knocked down so many preconceived notions of whatIi thought China would be. And let me tell you, hiking up to the Great Wall was no small task. Perhaps the most amazing thing for me was seeing the juxtaposition of luxury and poverty. It was hard to reconcile the two. I wish we'd seen more of China than Beijing, but that city was so large that it took up the entirely of our two weeks.
So what's next for us in terms of travel? That's hard to say. We kind of let time and circumstance dictate where we go next. Although, I do love cruises. Mainly because I love boats, and food. One thing thats certain is that we want to take our wee one with us. I think it's important that he sees the world, and so far he's proven to be a champion traveller!
Well, that's it for me today. I'm face and eyes into writing, and promoting my new box set that released today! And there's a novel in there about a cruise, so how awesome is that? Click on the cover and you'll go right to Amazon. :)
Now enough of me. How about taking a quick trip over to Fiona Riplee's blog to see where she's going, or where she's been!
Hopefully in these posts you'll think of some new places to escape to! Bon Voyage!