Kelsey's dream travel destinations.

Who knows when, how, or with who, but 'where' is what I do know! Here's the places I'm really hoping to make it to one day or even later this year? And in no particular order, but these are the destinations I'm most currently interested in and I decided to add my reasons why. 

India- Everywhere and almost anywhere. There is so much to this country that I want to see! After reading Shantaram (years ago), I began to look more into the country and I can't imagine trying to go and see everything in just one trip! A game driver to see the tigers would be a highlight of the trip!

Morocco- I'd love to someday specialize in travel to Morocco- even without ever having stepped foot there, it's been a long time dream destination for me.

Russia- The Hermitage Museum is reason enough to go, but I'd really really love to see some of the palaces!

Myanmar- Repeat after me: "River Cruise!" All it took was one webinar on the itinerary to Myanmar and it was added to my bucket list immediately.

Chile & Argentina- I'd love to see the region of Patagonia. I better start training now though, some of the hikes look a bit more intense than what I'm used to. Then an absolute must for me, would be to visit the Cuyo region of Argentina. Winecation, please. 

Philippines- I want to enjoy white sand beaches and to island hop for weeks on end!

Bali- I'm surrounded by green living in Oregon, but I want to see the rice fields of Bali, the rugged coastlines, the mountains and hillsides. The landscapes look out of this world.

Vietnam- Another food driven trip and to see Ha Long Bay- touristic, but I'm sure it's a stunner. Temple hopping would most likely be my thing as well. 

Peru- There's this famous hike that you can do.... come on, you know what I’m referring to!

Portugal- No set plans, but I'd love to get a group together to explore the Duoro Valley. Any takers? You know how to find me and discuss this!

Romania- There are some awesome caves and great hiking to be had in this country. I'd also love to see some of the castles!

Greece- I've made plan after plan, to get to Greece, but it either falls through, or I think that I'm rushing it too much and I cancel. Aside from the obvious places, I want to see some of the smaller islands, get to know the locals a bit and what Greek life is like! A Santorini wine tour however, is on my bucket list.... 

Seychelles- beach hop and nothing else, just take in all the beautiful sand and water.

Laos- I've heard some rave reviews of this area. So small, but so much character.

Norway- The ideal place for a bit of road tripping, traveling at my own pace. Stopping when and where I want. 

Sri Lanka- An island that seems to have it all. There would be so much to see and do, my list goes on here.

The Netherlands- Seeing the tulip fields would be incredible, but I really love the architecture on the buildings in this area.  

Egypt- When I was younger, I wanted to be an Egyptologist. 

Kenya & Tanzania- Game drives, all day long!

Mauritius- Not an island very easy to get to, at least not as an American. But I read about it when I was younger and it's just something that stays with you and you dream of. 

Cambodia- Temples, palaces, monkeys, oh my!

Have you been to any of these? Let us know in the comments, which ones you have been to or if you're dreaming of some of the same places!

Places Kelsey has visited.

AUSTRIA

Klagenfurt, Krems, Salzburg, Vienna

BELGIUM

Brussels, Bruges, Ghent

CHINA

Chongqing, Fengdu, Fengjie, Kunming, Sandouping, Shanghai

COLOMBIA

Bogota, Guaviare, Yopal

COSTA RICA

Arenal, Bajos del Toro, Las Catalinas, Monteverde, Papagayo Peninsula, San Jose

CROATIA

Dubrovnik, Hvar, Korcula, Plitvice Lakes, Rovinj, Split, Ston, Zadar, Zagreb

CZECH REPUBLIC

Kutna Hora, Prague

DENMARK

Copenhagen

FRANCE

Colmar, Epernay, Monte Carlo, Paris, Reims, Strasbourg

ENGLAND

London, Reading

GERMANY

Berlin, Dachau, Eberswalde, Melk, Munich, Potsdam, Rostock, Warnemunde

HUNGARY

Budapest

ICELAND

Akureyri, Hella, Golden Circle, Reykjavik, Stokkseyri

IRELAND

Bray, Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Killarney, Ring of Kerry

ITALY

Alberobello, Ana Capri, Anfo, Asti, Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Capri, Castellammare del Golfo, Chianti, Chioggia, Cremona, Cinque Terre, Desenzano, Fasano, Fiesole, Florence, Franciacorta, Genoa, Greve in Chianti, Il Borro, Iseo, Lazise, Lucca, Manerba, Mantova, Martina Franca, Matera, Milan, Modena, Monte Isola, Monopoli, Ortisei, Ostuni, Padova, Palermo, Parma, Polignano a Mare, Pompeii, Ponte di Legno, Positano, Riccione, Rieti, Rimini, Riva del Garda, Salo, San Gimignano, San Vito Lo Capo, Sarnico, Siena, Sirmione, Sorrento, Toscolano, Trieste, Turin, Rome, Vello, Venice, Verona

MEXICO

Cancun, Coba, Guanajuato, Ixtapa, Mayakoba, Puerto Vallerta, San Miguel de Allende, Sayulita, Tulum, Zihuatanejo

MALTA & GOZO

Azure Window, Rabat, Sliema, St. Julians, Tarxien (Hypogeum), Wied iz-Zurrieq, Valletta

MONTENEGRO

Kotor, Perast, Sveti Stefan

POLAND

Krakow

SCOTLAND

Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness

SLOVAKIA

Bratislava

SLOVENIA

Lake Bled, Ljubljana, Postojna, Skofja Loka

SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Town, Durban, Franschoek, Johannesburg, Sabi Sabi- Kruger National Park

SPAIN

Barcelona, Cuenca, Granada, Formentera, Ibiza, Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Valencia

SWITZERLAND

Lucerne, Lugano, Zurich

THAILAND

Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Koh Kood, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Ma, Koh Panyi, Khao, Phing Kan, Krabi, Pattaya, Phuket

Paris: Pere Lachaise, A Sunset Stroll

I had read about the many famous grave sites that you could visit, but I opted to wander and see what I found on my own. The wine that I had previously drank before this adventure, had me feeling a bit more spontaneous, because typically I'd grab map at the front gate and plan things out. I decided it would be more fun to see what I ran into. I was almost immediately distracted and pulled in one direction when I saw particular statues, that I wanted to get a closer look at.

As you walk passed the graves, your eyes will search over the names carved into the stone, then whatever other details are and when my eyes passed by 'Chopin' it didn't quite register in my brain, it took me about two steps toward the next headstone and then a..."whoa, wait a second"...and I stepped back like someone had pressed the rewind button and there I was staring at the name again. 

Cemeteries are a place that I try to make time for, whenever visiting a new city. It's always an interesting perspective on history. I want to say it's like step back in time, when I'm within the walls, but really it's just a place that lets my consciousness run wild with possible stories of what was before me.

Mother nature was really showing off the evening that I was there. I was lucky for the clear and dry skies that I was beneath. As the blood orange light hastily doused the tops of the trees, the statues, the tombs and was slowly soaking whatever was in it's path, making it's way to the ground. I barely saw anyone there and when I did, it almost startled me. Once you get far enough in, you can hardly hear the city that surrounds you. It's quiet, dead quiet.

I'm not an art aficionado, not the painting kind at least, not just yet. The art my eyes love to see: architecture and statues, oh my goodness, do I love a good statue! With that being said, some of the most memorable statues for me that I've seen, have been in cemeteries. There in Pere Lachaise and in another incredible cemetery in Vienna (that'll be in a separate blog, don't you worry). The statues of men fighting, grasping their knives in one hand, muscles flexed, veins popping out and a look of fury frozen upon their faces. Artists that are able to carve into stone and marble, a true emotion a moment in time, not just a scene. In the cemeteries, you see the faces on the statues and you see sorrow, you see heartbreak, but grieving isn't an emotion, it's a state that you can completely lose yourself in. When I look at these statues, I see them mourning and it really makes me wonder, who these artists were, that were able to form something so hard, into something so human. Does that make sense?

The main entrance is on the Boulevard de Menilmontant. If you were to walk just up that walkway, the ground gradually going up hill, you'll come to a look out point, which gives you a little something you didn't realize you'd be able to see from there- okay well now you do, but I didn't when I was there!

The cemetery is opened everyday until 6pm, depending on the time that you think you'll spend there, just like any sights, I'd personally suggest an early morning stroll or just before closing. When you start to wonder how long you've been walking for, know that this cemetery takes up 110 acres and that's not even the biggest cemetery in Paris! Because a lot of central Paris had been destroyed or as some will say "renovated", most of the buildings you see in the center were built in the 1850's. Which, then makes beautiful Pere Lachaise, just a tad bit older- the cemetery was established in 1804. A 5 year old girl, was the very first person to be buried within it's walls.

Despite the fact that this cemetery is well recognized around the world now, it may surprise you to know, that the cemetery was not a huge hit with the city until years later. It was too far from the center of the city and most of the citizens in the area being Roman Catholics, were put off by the idea of putting their dead in a place that had not been blessed by the Church! Knowing they must do something one way or another to promote this cemetery, they decided to have the remains of several famous individuals moved and re-buried in Pere Lachaise. This really set the stage for the cemetery, the people of Paris, could be buried among the famous!

Still to this day, it is a working cemetery, but you can't just die to get in. Very few plots are available and a waitlist is just the beginning of what you must do, to qualify for your resting place. You'll see while you are there, space is limited. There's just enough room to walk along the edge of a burial, to drop your fresh flowers and to stand before the grave.