Oh, the places you want to see but probably won't.

The New York Times has a list of the places we should all consider visiting in 2015.  52 places. Here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html?ref=travel

Fifty two places to go.  Fifty two. I looked at the list long and hard and immediately dismissed about 15 of them.  I do not want to go to Korea or to a lovely town in Syria.  Some just seemed silly, like Baku in Azerbaijin, which is probably very cool but it takes three days and a bucket of money to get there and lots of unusual visas and checkpoints and then after two days you are done seeing everything and you must reverse yourself through those checkpoints and the guards look at your visa and probably say something like "So, what, you didn't like our country?  You are leaving so soon?" and they keep you there for a little while until the American Embassy rescues you. No thanks.

But there are lots of places that I want to visit.  Cuba, yes!  Burgundy in France, well, duh.  Mais oui!  New Orleans, oh please, yes, yes, yes! 

I will go anywhere, anytime, if I can afford it.  That's the kicker, of course, the $$$.  The do-re-mi.  The greenbacks.  It's why I buy a lottery ticket every Saturday.  I don't think I will win the big score, as much as I want to. But maybe $10,000.  Or $5,000.  Enough to get me two weeks off, a plane ticket, a nice hotel room and destination: Wherever.

The NYT article is inspiring in many ways.  Lots of places in the US.  Check it out.  Plan a trip.  Take me along.  I am a very good traveler. I don't whine, I don't complain, I don't have time for jet lag, I never miss a flight, a train, a bus.

Deep sigh.  I think every day of living in Paris for 6 months, something I have thought about almost every day for 30 years, which is how long it's been since I first stepped out of a taxi onto the Rue Cambon in the 1st arrondisment in Paris.  I don't even mind airplane travel because it's the only way to get places far away.  I love hotel rooms. I never mind living out of a small suitcase.  I like washing my socks and shirts and underwear out in a small sink and hanging them over the radiator to dry. I don't mind strange food and if it's too strange, I can always find bread and cheese or some cultural equivalent.

I am ready to go.  My bag can be packed in 15 minutes, my passport is up to date.  52 places to see this year.   Bring it on!



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