Wanderlust

[iBender]

Where have you been?
Where do you want to go?

I've seen Big Ben

The London Eye

Walked Tower Bridge

Seen the Tower of London

Seen Buckingham Palace

Used that roundabout outside Buckingham Palace

Cycled down the Mall

Been to bars in Soho

Shopped on Oxford Street

Shopped/hung out in a British Shopping Centre

Seen shows in the West End

Bought guitars and stuff on Denmark Street

Cycled around town and in Hyde Park

Used an old Route Master Bus

Used the Underground

Seen the London 02 Arena (When they was building it once too.)

Played in the Arcades in the Trocadero

Played Pinball in Brighton

Rented a boat in Oxford (... Done this/that all over the country)

Touched the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

Had a Big Pretzel/Philadelphia Cheese Steak/Water Ice in Philadelphia

Taken the tour at Philadelphia's Inderpendence National Historical Park

Ran the steps like Rocky at the Philadelphia Art Museum

Seen South Street

Shopped/hung out in an American Mall

Seen Hershey, PA

Been on the Chocolate Factory tour/ride at Hershey, PA

Had a Hershey's Kiss, Bar and Stuff in Hershey, PA

Seen the Poconos

Been to Scranton, PA

Saw a Steam Train/Mountains in Scranton, PA

Played/Shopped/Hung out on the Boardwalk at Seaside Heights, NJ

Been to the Jersey Shore, MTV.

Seen the Atlantic Ocean

Saw Fort Dix

Saw Ocean Spray Cranberry Fields

Saw where the Hindenburg came down

Celebrated Thanksgiving

Seen Jersey City

Been to New York City

Been to Battery Park

Saw Ground Zero

Been to Central Park

Seen a Yellow Cab

Used the Subway

Been to the NBC Building

Seen the Empire State Building

Saw the Statue of Liberty

Been to Time Square

Been to the United Nations (Car Park)

Seen the United Nations (and My Flag too neyahahah )

Played Count the US Flags

Played the License Plate game

Called Tripple A

Saw where Lennon was Shot

Saw the Love Sign in NYC

Been to Delaware

I've done other stuff too but that's it in a Nutshell. There's a lot I still want to see and do in the world.

 

[Lindley]

I've.....

Traveled through a dozen European countries with a 1st class Eurail pass.
Seen the musical fountains on Sentosa Island, Singapore.
Canoed for a week through Canadian rivers.
Played the penny slots in Las Vegas.
Driven the Road to Hana on Maui.
Eaten a genuine Hawaiian Shave-Ice on Oa'hu.
Partied in the Emirates Towers hotel in Dubai.
Got sunburned on the beaches of Bermuda.
Seen the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, twice.
Searched Venice in vain for a church turned library.
Flown a $100 hamburger trip to West Virginia.
Kayaked in the shadow of a glacier near Juneau.
Been pulled behind a boat on an inner tube in Kentucky.
Played along with a mock train hijacking at Knotts Berry Farm, California.
Journeyed from one side of the United States to the other in an Amtrak sleeper car.

...and more to come.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I've always had wanderlust yet I've never actually been anywhere or done much of anything. Still, I'm only 21, so there's (hopefully, Gods willing) plenty of time.

 

[TerokNor]

I have seen Big Ben too, though the first time a friend and I trid to find it, we lost our way and it was just not BIG enough for us to find it. Though eventually we did...
Seen many other things in London,
walked were Darwin walked,
stared down many white cliffs at the english coastline,
walked through the colleges in Oxford
and in Cambridge,
was at court in..uhm..forgot the town, somewhere in England (though just as audience to learn something for the english course),
was in a theatre in England where also P.Steward sometimes acts..also forgot the town name.. but he wasn´t there anyway to that time,
walked through the New Forest and observed the ponies,
looked at the Roman bath in Bath,
walked my feet of on the Isle of Wight..Weight... damn..well you know...,
been in that littel Titanic Museum in Southampton,
was for a few days on some US military outpost near Cambridge, was certainly interessting, though too many restrictments!,
dined in an old scottish castle (with ghosts it is said) and danced half the night in an historic ball room to scottish folk music with fiddle and such, was fun,
travelled through the Highlands,
been to Edinburgh,
seen of course many places in Germany from North to South and West to East,
was on a big and merry wedding in some village in Poland,
seen Danzig,
seen St. Louis, not so beautiful,
seen Chicago, certainly some high buildings, got on one of them,
rode around in Missouri with a horse
and the same in Kansas, Yay Cowboy romantic!
listend to a comedy show in Kansas City,
had a good meal in one of the many Springfields in the USA,
was in some amusement park in America and on that one ride I though mylast hour has come,
was in that medival age show in America,
bathed in some lake in Italy,
walked through Venice took in the sights and ate a really tasty Pizza,
burned my feet in the sand of Ibiza,
stared at big silver fish in the clear water of Menorka,
stared at the stars while lieing by the wild see on Bornholm/ Denmark
AND next trip will hopefully lead me to New Zealand for some months!!!

TerokNor

 

[sojourner]

I've...

Seen the Grand Canyon at midnight.
Eaten seafood at the pier in San Fran.
Walked to the Griffith Observatory at night.
Seen a movie at the Chinese Mann theatre.
Had tequila at a cheap bar in Tijuana.
Been offered weed in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Searched for drugs by masked and armed ATF agents in Miami.
Enjoyed the view from the Space Needle in Seattle.
Touched a glacier in Alaska.
Walked up a mountain in Montana.
Run down the stone mountain in Atlanta.
Sang with the gang in a pub in Cork, Ireland.
Seen both the Atlantic and Pacific in the same week, several times.
Eaten at a smorgasbord in Turku, Finland.
Visited the Twin Towers in New York, before and after.
Bumped into Geoffery Rush at a toy store in London.
Eaten at a Diner in New Jersey after midnight.
Purchased textiles in Cairo, Egypt.
Ignored the monkeys at Gibraltar.
Missed the Cannes film festival by 2 days.
Gotten lost in the streets of Napoli.
Stood in the rain on the Acropolis.
Toured a castle in Dubrovnik on halloween.
Been stuck in a hospital in Sicily for 3 weeks.
Noticed a lack of birds in the Canary Islands.
Enjoyed the Lasagna in Nice, France.
Never thought to look for a library while I was in Venice.
Caught a plane while in a snow storm in Sweden.
Rode in a taxi for 2 hours to catch a ship in Costa Rica.
Remembered to visit the Alamo in San Antonio.
River rafted in Whistler, BC.
Had excellent steak in Chicago.
Watched shuttle launches from my back yard.
Bought a genuine Hawaiian shirt in Lahaina, HI.
Crawled over red rocks all over the national parks of Utah.
Spent St. Patrick's day (and night) in Washington DC.
Not gotten mugged while walking through Central Park, NY.
Played the floor piano in FAO Schwartz in NY.
Battled Klingons in Las Vegas.
Pee'd behind trees while being afraid of Grizzlies on hikes in Yellowstone.
Gotten in a bar fight in Cody, Wyoming.
Driven across the U.S. in third gear.


And many more I can't think of.

 

[iBender]

I just remembered, I've been to Wembley Stadium, the old one, I've seen the old towers, back when they were still standing. Toured the Locker/Changeing rooms, walked through that tunnel (but not on to the pitch.) Held a mock trophy where the winners stand/stood, saw the Royal Box, saw the BBC box, saw their security control centre, saw bars and everything, that was cool, that was with school. (Also, I once spent a Weekend on the I.O.W Isle of Whight with the same school.)

Great stuff everyone, looks like everyone's an Explorer at heart.
Those universities in Oxford, made out of Clay and Marble and what not, provided excellent shade on that hot Summer's day.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I love the Ocean. I've seen the Atlantic in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, and also the Gulf in Florida. I've seen the Mediterranean in Italy, and the Pacific where I'm living now in Oregon.

Overall I prefer the flat sandy beaches and warm climate of the Atlantic. The ocean on the Pacific coast is neat, but a dangerous thing. You have to worry about sneaker waves and the rocky shoreline is an easy way to break an ankle if you aren't careful. It's pretty photogenic though.

I've also been to Montreal as a child and to Toronto recently on business. I've been to Bologna, Italy four times also for business, then as far north as Genova and far south as Rimini. Never did make it to Rome or Venice but I do know Bologna pretty well at this point.

Of places I have never been I would like to visit New York and England the most. I think big cities are really interesting. If money were no object I'd also like to visit some really touristy south Atlantic spot like the Bahamas.

 

[lurok]

Where have you been?

The only wanderlust apotheosis I felt any small pride in achieving was circumnavigating this small world of ours, even once.

Where do you want to go?

Arctic/Antarctic
Orbit/space
The undiscovered country

 

[thestrangequark]

I've had the Wanderlust since I was a toddler. I've not traveled nearly as much as I would like, but I've been to some fabulous places.

The Pacific Northwest: I was born and raised in Seattle, I've traveled all around Washington State. Hiked the trails in the Hoh Rainforest, the Olympic Mountains and the Cascades, Mt Rainier. Kayaked the San Juan Islands, and Explored Eastern Washington to a lesser extent. I've been to Portland, Oregon several times, and to BC -- Vancouver and Victoria via the Victoria Clipper.

As for the rest of the US, I've been to Yellowstone, to New Orleans, and Hawaii. I've lived in NYC for the past 10 years and have been all around the area.

I studied in Mexico briefly, visiting Mexico City but spending most of my time in Puebla City. I studied in Egypt as well, primarily in Cairo, and spent a few days in Aswan. Last summer I visited Mumbai for about a month, and mostly roved around the city on foot.

I'd like to go pretty much anywhere and everywhere. All I've seen of Europe were brief glimpses of Paris and Amsterdam during layovers, so I think I'd like to go there next. I'd love to visit the UK. I'd also like to see more of Africa, particularly South Africa, Ethiopia, and the whole region of West Africa.

 

[Lookingglassman]

Memorable wanderlust moments for me:

Standing on a corner near the White House in 1984 as President Reagan and Nancy were driving to The Capital to deliver the state of the Union speech. There were only five of us there and we were waving like crazy and Reagan and Nancy leaned forward and gave us big smiles and waved back!

Got into Canada with no ID, but was almost denied entry into the US because of no ID (but they let me back in)

When stationed in El Paso I ran across the border into Mexico illegally, waited for the border patrol to pass then re-entered the US running with a group of Mexicans.

Patrolling the border of Macedonia and Serbia was nice. Even though they are crapholes for a country, they do have some pretty scenery along the border.

 

[Scout101]

Wow, some of those lists are way more detailed than I could think of off the cuff!

Let's see if I can come up with a shorter list. Been to:

-Hawaii. Done all the good stuff there, surfed the north shore of Oahu, scuba dived Maui, seen the volcanoes and lava flow into the ocean on the big island. Skydiving above Oahu as well.

-Spent a few weeks living in Valencia, Spain in an exchange program. No bull fights, unfortunately, but did see a soccer match.

-Done Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

-Done Las Vegas several times, mostly with college buddies. Won't say much more about that one, but had fun Also went skydiving there.

-Lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a winter (technically there for a college project, but hey, found plenty of time on the side). First scuba diving trip (not so legal, wasn't licensed), Arecibo observatory, beaches, more rum than should be survivable, took a puddle-jumper to Culebra, saw the inter-island college olympics (Bacardi-sponsored shit show afterwards).

-Bike Week in Daytona, Florida. Didn't have my motorcycle license at the time, but had a fairly hilarious time renting mopeds that week with my brother

-Honeymoon involved a cruise of Rome, Naples, Athens, Rhodes, Kusadasi Turkey, Egypt, and Sicily. Too many unique things to mention there, but will give you one that I bet you can't top: LICKED the Great Pyramid (it was a twisted discussion with a buddy beforehand that turned into a dare)! Yep, only one I know that's licked one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. Google doesn't even pop up much for results on that one

Grew up in a lobster-fishing village in Maine, add in all the outdoorsy type things you can think of, pretty much done it.

Still young, plenty more stuff on tap. Thinking a trip to Ireland might be high on the list for future trips...

 

[JiNX-01]

I've been to the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater and the Painted Desert.
I've been to Monterey and Santa Cruz, Calif.
I've been to the Capital of NYS.
I've been to New York City.
I've been to Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown in San Francisco.
I've been to Old Quebec in Canada.
I've been to Las Vegas.
I've been to Hearst Castle.
I've been to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.
I've been to Los Angeles to see Connor Trinneer in the play "Equivocation."
I've been to Washington, D.C. where I attended a play featuring Scott Bakula in a performance of "Shenandoah" at Ford's Theater.
I've been to the Air and Space Museum in D.C.
I've been to Kennedy Space Center.
I've been to Seaworld in Kissimmee, Fla.
I've been to Tampa and St. Petersburg.
I've been to LL Bean in Freeport, Maine.
I've been to Salem, Mass.
I've been to Boston where I visited the Science Museum and went on a whale watch.
I've been to the Space Needle and the SciFi museum in Seattle.
I've been to Myrtle Beach.
I've been to Flaming Gorge in Utah.
I've seen the Mormon Tabernacle church in Salt Lake City (at night).
I've been to Lake Tahoe.

ETA:
Gettysburg.
Pennsylvania Dutch County.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Well, given that I've been to over 40 countries and nearly all of the US states, if I tried to list everything cool from my travels, I'd be here all night and no one would read it anyway. So I'll just list some of the more unique and/or most meaningful (to me) experiences.


-Stood on the beach of the Arctic Ocean in the biting cold wind for an entire night and watched as the Native community of Barrow, Alaska brought in and butchered a 42 foot whale in the traditional manner. I still remember Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" on the truck radio where I went to warm up for a spell. (October 1991)

-Partied with the crew of Airforce One in a high upstairs lobby of a Moscow hotel on the night of the 50th Anniversary of VE Day - May 8, 1995...while fireworks were going off all around Moscow in a breathtaking display outside the windows.

-Had a Sunday-afternoon-at-home casual chat with the British Ambassador to Russia while we played with his dog at the British Embassy, 1995.

-After wandering into a police station in Castellaneta, Italy (think 'heel of the boot') for directions, had one of the police officers blow off the rest of his day in order to serve as my personal tour guide of the region. Got driven around in a police car all day and got to see some of the 'hidden treasures' of this town, including some caves in a cliffside that are unknown to tourists, but which were used by local Catholics as hiding places during invasions centuries ago. In these caves, there are cool things like Catholic altars carved out of the stone walls, etc. Ate lunch with a bunch of monks in a nearby Franciscan monastery and helped them in their garden for a while. Oh...and did I mention that none of these guys spoke much English? But regardless, I had one of the best days I've ever had on any vacation. I mean, how often does one go caving with a cop and a priest - both 'in uniform'? (December 2006)

-My favorite run of my entire running career: a beautiful run along the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France. The weather was perfect, the Mediterranean was the most beautiful blue, and the promenade not crowded....it was like taking a run in heaven. (May 1994)

-My favorite sunset ever - The Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic. October afternoon. Soooo romantic! (October 2000)

-Once while in London, I started out in the morning to visit Westminster Abbey. But coming up out of the Tube, saw this enormous queue and just got on it, figuring whatever it was had to be good. Ended up attending the Opening of Parliament. (Who knew??? ) Complete with a Northern Ireland Walkout. It was most entertaining. (est. October 1996)

-Halloween Night in Inverness, Scotland...doing what else? Drinking Scotch! (October 1996)

-Have driven a motorbike through the rice paddies of Vietnam in the torrential rain. What a blast! (Fall 2002)

-Swimming/snorkeling off the boat in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. (Fall 2002)

-Climbed around in and explored several of the many temples at Angkor, Cambodia (including experiencing sunrise at Angkor Wat). (Fall 2002)

-Hiked a few mile stretch along the top of the Great Wall of China. Had lunch while sitting, dangling my feet off the Wall.
(October 2001)

-Spent 2 nights in a Buddhist Monastery in rural China....where going to the bathroom in the middle of the night meant wandering through a darkened and deserted Buddhist Temple...with giant Buddhas staring down at you in the darkness. It was eerily spiritual. (October 2001)

-Climbed all the ladders to get to the very top of Himeji-jo (the breathtaking castle in Himeji, Japan) (May 2007)

-Visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan (May 2007). Toss up between this place, The Anne Frank Museum (Amsterdam - 2000), The Killing Fields (Cambodia - 2002), and Auschwitz (Poland - 1995) for 'most sobering day of my life'. Although the Hanoi Hilton didn't look like any picnic either (Vietnam - 2002)

-Wandered through the ancient mosques and madrassas of Bukhara and Samarkand (both cities of the Silk Road), Uzbekistan. (Fall 1995)

-Visited Victoria Peak (Hong Kong) in the late afternoon and stayed up there well into the evening to watch how the view changes with nightfall. Breathtaking. (Fall 2001)

-Took a 2 day cruise down the Yangtze River, prior to the completion of the Three Gorges Dam...so got to visit several Chinese towns that are now...well...underwater. Also saw the dam under construction. (Fall 2001)

-Drove down the Alcan Highway from Anchorage, Alaska to Vancouver, BC in a car all by myself (ex-husband was hauling a trailer separately), listening to Bruce Springsteen nearly the entire trip. I still associate the song "Jungleland" with a remote but beautiful stretch of road in the Northern Yukon....the ending to that song echoing thru the mountains as I drove, windows down, tape deck at top volume. (c. 1990)

-While driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks one time, when I was in Denali Park late at night, the Northern Lights were so strong that myself and my roommate stopped the car in the middle of the road and just stood out on the road in the middle of nowhere for over an hour, watching the show. It was like the lights were going to swoop down and snatch us up, they were so vivid and strong. They filled the entire sky in a way I'd never seen before. Never before nor since have I felt that overwhelmed by Mother Nature. (c. 1985)

Attended Mardi Gras in New Orleans once. Won't ever do that again! (mid 1980's). Ditto Vegas (2004). Once is enough for each.

Also attended the 1996 Summer Olympics here in Atlanta (I'd just moved here). Was in the stadium when Michael Johnson set a World Record with those gold shoes. Very cool.

That ought to do it. But I've got a million of them.

EDIT TO ADD: Should have put this in last night, but I feel the need to edit this post, just to include it since I was so proud of my nephew...

In June of 2009, I took my nephew to Italy for 3 weeks as a gift for his high school graduation. This kid is such a nerd he makes me look 'normal' by comparison, and one of the things he has always been obsessed with is the history of the Roman Empire (thus, his selection of Italy as his destination of choice). When we visited Pompeii, we met a group of 4 Michigan high school teachers on the train from Naples to Pompeii. One of them was even a history teacher. Once we got into Pompeii, my nephew was giving me the tour (he knew WAY more about the site than any guide ever could - the kid has a photographic memory) and we noticed that this group of school teachers were sort of hanging around us...just within hearing distance. Finally, they just came over and asked if they could join us so that they could get the benefit of my 17-year old nephew's exhaustive knowledge of Pompeii! I was the proudest aunt EVER. And my sister was so pleased when I called her that evening to tell her the story. Added bonus: the teachers bought us lunch (although I didn't do a damn thing - it was ALL Greg!)

 

[Finn]

I've visited 40 states.

I've walked on the rocky shores of Maine and the sandy beaches of San Diego within two weeks.

I've made a snowball in July at sea level, in Alaska

I watched Tequila being made in Mexico.

I've walked in dark alleys of Paris

I walked though NYC's Central Park at night

I've visited a desert and a tropical rain forest within a week.

Ive climbed an Atzec pyramid

I've visited a concentration camp in Munich.

Ive gone skiing in Austria and Germany

I've camped under the midnight sun

I've been to Seattle one week it was sunny daily.

 

[RandyS]

I've been all over California and into Nevada. I've traveled as far east as Las Vegas, and as far west as the Pacific Ocean (cruise ship).

I don't like to wander much. But I've had ALOT of lust......

I enjoy that.......

(Clears head) Was that out loud?

Anyway, where I want to go next is into the Final Frontier.

 

[iBender]

I've donned a Kimono and took part in a Tea Ceremony at the Japanese Embassy in London.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

that must have been interesting! But isn't such a formal ceremony very exhausting?


I've been to London and Los Angeles a few times, to Prague and Budapest, several places in Italy, Yugoslavia (before the civil war), Holland and Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. And in 3 weeks I'll be back to London to meet with a few old pals and then continue to Wales (Southern Brecon Beacons, to be precise) for a hiking vacation to satisfy my Wanderlust quite literally. I might perhaps stop in Bath on the way, to have a look at the Roman baths.

If someone here is from the greater London or Cardiff area we could meet for a cuppa or a pint And any sightseeing tips for Cardiff and surroundings would be very welcome!

 

[iBender]

My Japanese class in college were invited and it was done for us, way cool.

 

[TerokNor]

might perhaps stop in Bath on the way, to have a look at the Roman baths.

If you do, don´t try out the water. A friends of mine wanted to try and drink it and got himself some and than made the rest of us try it as well (guess that was only because he could not stomage to drink it all). Its disgusting!

Oh but whats nice, there are these people who show tourists around for no money. They just do it, because they like it and know a lot about Bath´s history. We had a very funny guy and it was a very interessting walk around Bath, about an hour long.
The tours start in front of the Roman Bath, but I am not quit sure what time it was and if its each day, but the shops opposite the Roman baths know it.

TerokNor

 

[Schmorpheus]

Unfortunately for me, i wasnt born with said "wanderlust". I don't like traveling.
And i rarely drive more than 2 hours away from home.
Never went on a plane, train or cruise ship.