Places I'm Dying to See

10. Easter Island. I know no one lives there and there aren't any towns or other things to see but something about those statues is enough to make me travel all that distance just to see them.

9. Victoria Falls. This is at the top of Andrew's "Places to Visit" list, he's always talked about going there. I would like to take a helicopter along the Nile and over the falls. That's got to be one of the most amazing views in the world.

8. Fingal's Cave. In the Inner Hebrides Islands of Scotland there is Staffa, an uninhabited island formed of hexagonal basalt columns. The sea has carved a 220-foot cavern that's the only formation of its kind. I don't know if it is from listening to Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture but the cave is fascinating and mysterious.

7. The Azores. David brought home a documentary on sperm whales as my first introduction to the islands--the Azores are the breeding grounds for sperm whales--and since then I've been ready to go. There must be something to see, all those whales can't be wrong. European culture, tropical climate, volcanic activity, what more could you want? Andrew even speaks Spanish, it's perfect!

6. Giza. What kid hasn't been fascinated with the pyramids and anything Egyptian? To see the pyramids and the Sphinx was my number one vacation dream when I was a kid until Mom said I'd have to get special vaccinations to go there. That dampened my enthusiasm but as an adult I think I could brave a few injections for a glimpse of the pyramids on the back of a camel. Scratch that, seeing the pyramids from the back of a camel.

5. Jerusalem. There's not that much to say in Jerusalem's favor that isn't obvious but I'd like to see the city that's causing so much noise.

4. Italy. I should be more specific but I want to see Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Venice--who could pick just one part? But if you like Roman Holiday as much as I did you'll probably agree that Roma nudges the others out by a nose.

3. Machu Picchu. In my sophomore world history class there was a photo of this lost city of the Incas above Mrs. Brown's desk. I don't know how many hours I spent staring at it and planning to see it someday.

2. Petra. I know it's so Indiana Jones-ish but nonetheless I'd fly forever to see it--I've heard it's every bit as impressive as the photos. Three to four hours north of Amman, Jordan it's worth risking terrorists and commercial airlines to see it.

1. The Greek Isles. My parents took a trip to Turkey and Greece a year ago and the photos they brought back were amazing. I'd book a sailing ship--a small schooner perhaps--and spend weeks exploring the towns and coast line, dining every evening on fried feta. Delphi, Mykonos, Patmos, Athens, Ephesus but especially Meteora where six Greek Orthodox monasteries are built on rock pillars near the Pindar Mountains. Someday I'm there.

Some honorable mentions: Charleston, South Carolina, the Louvre, the Serengeti and New Zealand's north island.

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