Future Travel

It's a day late but let's talk future travel! I could go on and on with this subject. There are SO many places I want to visit someday! There is so much to see! So many adventurest to be had! I get a little old fasion about the whole idea of travel, I tend to believe I have a lot of money and free time and can fly off wherever I want with a moments notice. That's what I want to do with my life. Travel. And future travel is a good place to start.

So today's future travel idea: Three weeks off work. Three cities. Two I've never been, one that feels like home. Itinerary: SEA-NYC. Four days in the big apple. Then from NYC to Amsterdam. A week in Amsterdam. Then ten days in London. Before flying back home to Seattle.

I would be tired from the trip. Jet lagged, exhausted, and would have had the time of my life. I want to go to New York City. I want to see a Broadway show, see the Statue of Liberty, walk around Times Square, go to the Met. To sit in Central Park for hours. Basically cram as many touristy things into a few days as possible. I know I could go back at some point for a really deep tour of New York but I want to be a tourist in the one of the easiest places to be a tourist. To get caught up in the lights, crowds, beauty of the city. The reason people travel from far away places for a few hours in a big city.

Then I want to visit Amsterdam next. My usual reason for visiting a new place and the activities I spend doing while I'm there revolve around history. I'm a huge history nerd. I have loved every history class I ever took, read historical non fiction and fiction for fun, and plan trips around museum opening/closing times. Amsterdam has the charm of Europe. And I've missed that continent. I want to walk along canals and admire old buildings. I want to go to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. I want to wander through old churches. Ride a bike like a local (and fall a lot I'm sure.) It seems like a lovely small romantic European city and I can't wait to someday be immersed into the magic.

Finally, London. I dream of London. I dream I'm there, walking down familiar streets, stopping at my favorite stores, walking through the best museums in the world. London has a certain feel, it's comfortable for me, like an old sweater I left in the back of my closet and I want to find it again. I still have moments where I curse myself for ever leaving. I also tend to idealize. It wasn't a perfect year there but it held so much possibility and I learned so much about myself. I met amazing people, fell in love with an ancient city, and dream of a chance to visit again. Ten days would be perfect for a quick visit. It would fly by. And then I could plot my next trip there, and the next, and then the possibility that I could live there again one day. I would give anything to live there again someday. I could stay with my friends and relive the adventures by walking around my university, pubs, parks, and museums. When I first landed and dropped my stuff off where I'm staying, I would head to central London, walk through the London School of Economics, where I graduated. It's been three years and I can still see each corner in my mind. The students walking by, reading, hurrying. I would take in the library, go into the Garrick cafe, have a pint (cider and black for me) at the graduate pub (there were 2 on campus, one for undergrads and one for grad students). I would walk to the British Museum, then down Oxford Street, end up in Covent Garden with unique coffee shops and book stores. I would buy tickets for Les Miserables that night and grab a bite to eat at a pub. I'd spend the evenings catching up with old friends and taking in new sites, from the view of a pub haha. While my friends worked I'd head to Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Hyde Park, and do a few touristy things I missed. And not forget to visit my old apartment building, the small Ethiopian restaurant I ate at way too often, the elephants on South Bank, and my favorite chai from cafe nerro. It would be PERFECT. completely blissful. London is my happy place.

And then of course I'd have to leave eventually. Back to Seattle. Back to the real world. But that's ok because I had this amazing adventure and I know I will have another one too. And maybe someday I will actually get to live in London again.

If you've been anywhere I've talked about in future travel then I would love to hear your tips on where to stay, what to do, and anything else you got!