Everyday Canvas

Travel and Shopping List

Prompt: 10 countries you would love to visit and why?

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1. Ireland—My first reason is Mrs. Crowley, (RIP) who used to babysit for my kids and she was their Grandma. That I always loved the photos of sheep on green pastures is second. Shannon airport and the environs I’ve been to, but that wasn’t the true Ireland. I would also love to stay in Dublin for a long while, to visit a down-to-earth Irish Pub, and talk to a few Irish seafarers by the ocean towns.

2. Scotland-Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series is responsible for this curiosity. Before that, I was afraid of the Clans and doing something off to rub them the wrong way due to my ignorance of the culture.

3. New Zealand-I read a bit about this Island nation, and it arose my curiosity.

4. Australia-Is Ayers Rock really a sacred, weird, spiritual place? But I’d really like to see Sydney.

5. Chile-Some of my favorite writers are from here. Maybe I can get by with my half-cooked Spanish.

6. Argentina-Some friends of mine have been to Argentina and have lived there. They loved everything about it. Also because of Isabel Allende. I don’t think there’s any book of hers that I didn’t read.

7. Tibet –I think I am curious about the Sherpas, but not the monks so much.

8. Peru—Once upon a time, I wanted to go to Macchu Picchu but I have asthma. I think I’ll be happy to just look at Lake Titicaca from a distance and somehow manage to go to Aguas Calientes without having to hike.

9. Cuba- Blame Hemingway for this. It is said that Cubans have kept his house and his effects with utmost care. I’ve been to the Hemingway House in Key West, but I’d love to see the one over there. Then, more than ten years ago, there was a writer who wrote his Cuban experiences with gusto in the Miami Herald’s Spanish version. His name passes me by, but I learned a lot from reading his articles. Plus, part of my daughter-in-law’s family is from Cuba, although many of them are not willing to go back, even for a visit.

10. Egypt-Although not at the moment because I am not too keen on their present government. Everyone I know wants to see the pyramids or the Great Sphinx, but I’d love to loiter around the Nile.

As to why I don’t have any ambitions to see Europe…been there, done that! The same for some parts of the Middle East. Asia is too far off for me, although I had some very good friends and neighbors from India and Japan, and I used to play tennis a long time ago with a South Korean friend.

Truth is, travel isn’t what it used to be anymore. I used to love the air travel. I made many long trips alone and with hubby and it was wonderful. Not anymore. I hate the checkpoints, the carry-on restrictions, and being pushed around in the airports. For that reason, I am boycotting travel, especially if it is out of the country. I got too old for all that, now.

Prompt: Do you wander when you go shopping or you focused on a prepared list?

Both. I always make a list. Some of the time, I forget to take the list with me. Then in those times when I do, I usually buy more than what’s on the list. Still, making a list before I go shopping organizes my thought processes, whether I take the list with me or not.