Getting on a plane and going… where, exactly?

I was recently asked the following question: If someone gave you a free plane ticket, where would you go? Folks, if someone ever asks you that question, do the following: Confirm whether or not you get a roundtrip, because there’s no use getting a free plane ticket if you have to pay for the trip home!

For now, let’s assume that the trip is covered. I can just get on a plane, go anywhere in the world that I want, and come home on the next flight. Hmmmm… I’m stumped.

I have always been a person who loves to travel. As a child, I was brought to three amazing places by my amazing mother and had a delightful set of adventurous experiences. The three times I have traveled out of the country are as follows: Once in grade school to Cancun, Mexico; once in high school to Amsterdam, Holland; and my personal favorite, once in grade school with my mother and my brother to Rome, Italy! Needless to say, these three trips were amazing. I met a wide variety of people, saw incredible sights and monuments, and came home with many stories to tell. But that wasn't the question. The question was if I could go on a trip today, where would I go?

This kind of question always makes me want to boomerang it around at the person who asked. “Well, where would you go?” Normally they’ll give me an answer. Maybe their dream is to visit The Great Wall of China. Then I can come up with a related answer on the spot, such as “Yeah! Me, too! Anywhere in Asia or Europe, really!” And I would probably say this because the truth is, there isn’t a place in the entire world I would not love to visit. Foreign cultures fascinate me greatly. Seeing monuments and learning their meanings, watching performances or shows that hint at cultural customs, trying delicious and exotic foreign foods; there simply is not, in my mind, a reason not to love traveling. 

Best of all, I have always been a person who loves many forms of nature and geography. So if you show me a place with high mountain peaks or cliffs overlooking waterfalls and the horizon, I’ll probably tell you that I just had one of the best days of my life. I even love discovering forest trails and secret ponds in the woods of Southern New Jersey. Anything new and scenic, for me, is an adventure. So going to an entirely different part of the world? What could I possibly have to lose? Cover my eyes and take me pretty much anywhere (Though if I feel you strapping a parachute to me, I will probably go ballistic because I will absolutely never, never, jump out of a plane. Sorry.)

So now…I think I’ll finally answer the question.

Where would I go if I could hop on a plane for free? If I could repeat a scenario, I would stand once more in the center of the Vatican, or on the second level of the Roman Coliseum. But if I were to go somewhere new, I would pick Ireland. These two countries make up the majority of my heritage, and while I loved the hustle and bustle and monument covered city of Rome, there is nothing I would love more than to sit on a green cliff on one of the most well known island countries on the map, looking out at a blue horizon, wondering, “How can you ever replace these moments?”