Travels with Bob

Everyone needs a travel ‘Bucket List’ – places you hope to visit while you are still able. I have such a list of aspirational travel destinations, with several located in faraway exotic locales. I doubt, however, that I will ever fulfill those dreams despite trying to visit at least one new country every year.

The Thinker, Rodin Museum, Paris

My problem is really quite simple. In my travels to nearly 70 countries on six continents, I have fallen in love with distinct regions, cities and towns – magnets beckoning me back again and again. For example, I have visited Rome at least 10 times (half were strictly business so they don’t count) and, on each return visit, I experience many new aspects of the city previously overlooked by me.

I feel the same about Paris, where I try to stay in the same Latin Quarter hotel (if not the same room) time and again. And just like Rome, I have only scratched the surface of the rich culture, cuisine, distinctive neighborhoods and fascinating people who call Paris home. I still get excited when visiting the third level of the Eiffel Tower and enjoy wandering around some of the city’s lesser known museums (Paris has about 130).

Provence, Tuscany, London, Vienna, Barcelona, Florence, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro are also among my favorite destinations, virtually guaranteeing I will never fulfill my Bucket List. Yet, I am Ok with that problem. In short, I have learned that leisure travel encompasses much more than simply checking-off another destination on my wish list.