Where Would I Travel ... If I Could?

I used to hate the idea of travel.  The whole "pack your bags, deal with the airport, deal with bad hotels, etc." routine never appealed to me.  Of course, that's before I actually tried it.  There is still an extensive list of things that stink about it (airplane seats designed for people under 5 1/2 feet, baggage claims, hotels that clearly lied in their ads), but once I allowed myself to enjoy another culture, I found that things weren't as horrible as expected.

On a side note, Americans who live up to the "ugly American" idea of tourism should, in my opinion, never venture outside of their house or KOA campground ever again.  They mess things up for others wherever they go.

Now that I have visited France several times, I want to venture out elsewhere.  But where?

Asia holds little interest for me.  Although my wife visited the countries that were part of the Soviet Union in the past and still raves about her trips, I don't find myself putting those countries on the top of my list.  Nor do I want to go to Japan, China, Vietnam, etc.  Nor do I want to go to India or any of the countries of the African continent.  Australia scares me a bit, not due to the long flight but rather the fact that every single animal, reptile or insect that can cause instant death seem to call that land home.

Am I limiting myself?  A bit.  Ok, quite a bit.  But there are a few places that have made it to my list of "places I want to visit" in the near future.

Scotland, Ireland, England:  These are the lands I now consider the lands of my ancestors.  I have always had a desire to visit these countries, but as I get older, the interest level grows stronger.  I especially want to see Scotland, as that seems to be where most of my ancestry comes from.  The rocky hillsides, the independent spirit of the people, the history ... it all catches my imagination and in my mind I can see myself there.

Canada:  Specifically, Quebec.  Since my wife is of French origin, I want to see how the new "keepers of the language" live.  I wouldn't mind taking the Trans-Canada Railroad either.  (Why do people sneer at me when I mention that?)

Sicily:  Not for me, but for my wife.  She loves Sicily and would really like to return.  Who am I to argue?

Where would you want to go?  What would you want to see?  The people who think that DisneyWorld is the do-all end-all of vacations annoy me, so don't suggest that.  But if you could go, where would you go and what would you see?  Frankly, the investment is worth it.  A famous writer once said that you cannot visit another country and remain closed-minded.  (Or something to that effect.)  I agree with the sentiment, and feel that everyone should take money they put aside for a new big screen television and use it to see another country, experience another culture, and learn things you never knew.  The experience will stay with you longer than last week's episode of Idol.