Over the last few years, I amassed a lot of travel miles on Northwest.  My
business activities vary, but I do seem to travel quite a fair amount --
mostly day trips to such wonderful destinations as Cleveland, Chicago, or
Cincinatti.  Even so, I managed to amass a fair number of miles.

I've cashed in lots of those miles.  I gave some as a gift to my brother (so
he could visit), I took my wife Luann to Kauai and to Cozumel, and next week
I'm taking my wife and son Aaron to Miami to visit Aaron's great grandmother.

After this, I'll have about 40,000 miles left to "spend" until I build it
back up.  So far, I've "spent" quite a bit.  The trip to the Pacific and to
the Carribbean cost me (together) 160,000 miles because they were 1st class,
and we're spending 60,000 miles next week for the three of us to travel
domestically in coach.

60,000 miles would send one person as far as Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, or
Sydney.  I'm finally getting around to my question, as we may "save" the
accumulated miles remaining and take yet another trip: to Grand Cayman, or
perhaps wait another year or two and go to Australia, assuming, of course,
that our finances would permit it, even with free travel.

My question:

"Assuming you could go anywhere you wanted, where would *you* go?"

28 responses total.

london.

If you've never been to Europe, you should try to go there.  London
certainly has a lot to recommend it.  I enjoyed Paris even more.  I'd
like to go to Italy and Spain someday, too.

i've been to other parts of europe, though a notable exception and one 
i'd really like to try is naples (obvious reasons). i like paris better
than i used to, but it's still not as good as london to me. for the 
english speaker, there's much, much more to do in london, and a lot of
the time, more cheaply, than just about anyplace else in the world--especially
new york.

Scotland to trace my family roots.  Australia to dive on the Great Barrier
Reef.  Grand Trunk Islands for the diving.  Paris to spend a day or two looking
at the fashion houses.  The Alps.  Anywhere off this mud ball.

Anywhere. Eastern Europe and Russia is planned for my next excursion.

re #3:  I found Paris to be cheaper than London, and although I'm no
Frankophone, I'd prefer to go back to Paris than London.  In a way I
find this funny because before I went a couple of years ago, I had no
desire to go to France, as I had heard that the French hated Americans.
I had a great time there, and, of course, the food was great.

paris _is_ cheaper than london, livingwise, but london's still plenty 
cheap if you know how to negotiate it. the french only hate americans
who think the dollar is only to be received while genuflecting. if you
speak french to them, they're darned nice (even, if like me, your french
isn't all that terrific...). london is better for: books, theatre, music,
possibly even museums. sure, the louvre is a far cry better than the 
national gallery (which is still excellent), but the range of london 
museums is surprisingly strong. the courthald and watson come to mind
chiefly as outstanding small collections, genuinely world-class. i can't
think of a french applied art collection that matches the v&a, and the
tate (and chlore especially) dwarfs any comparable effort in paris. 

now, as to food, i can't kid you. paris wins, period. but no surprises there.

The belief that the French will be warmer if you speak their language is
a falicy. This is not(I guess I should put in "In my experiance") true. I
found the Parisians and most people from the NE to be extremly rude no
matter what language you speak. The middle to southern parts of the country
were better. But, by far, the most hospitible French were from the 
Caen/Bayeux/Cherbourg area.

I want to go cycling through the south of France.

re 8: i'm hardly a scientific survey, but they were plenty nice to me when
i spoke french. maybe there's just no easy rule of thumb.

I'd love to go to Ireland and to Germany to meet more of my relatives.  Also,
of course, Europe would be nice, too.  However, I'd love to see more of the
states, too.  Being able to be in an area, wherever that may be, for an 
extended time, you learn more of the people/culture than just a short visit
as a tourist, that's for sure.

Gee, aren't Ireland and Germany *in* Europe?  :-)

Nope, Ireland is in the Western Hemisphere.

Actually, the past couple of days, it seems that Ireland may instead
be in the dark ages.

Because of the continuous fighting and such?

No, the issue of not allowing a rape victim to leave the country to obtain
an abortion.

Also, lets not confuse the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland.

        If I could travel anywhere in the world, I think I'd like to go 
backpacking across Western Europe--from Scandinavia (with which I feel quite
familiar) to the British Isles (where I have kin). Of course, if the travel
were unlimited, I'd want to spend time in every part of the world, with the
possible exception of Japan.  Dunno why, but Japanese culture has always
given me the willies.

I'l go with ya. Pack your sack...We're outa here!

re 18:  Moto ichido kudasai (just a moment, please).  There is a lot of
Japanese culture, art, asthetic, and food to be enjoyed.  Its not *all*
bad.

I never claimed it was all bad, only that it gives *me* the willies.
My former father in-law and my brother are both enchanted by the place
and the people and I once dated someone who was (is?) a veritable "Nippon
fanatic".

May hap I should go and see for myself what their excitement is all about.

I'm not all that interested in Japan, either.  No doubt there are some
interesting things to see and do, but Japan has never really excited me.

I'll be spending two months in Belfast this summer.

Definitely tell us about it--expectations, what you're doing to preparer,
and of course, impressions after the fact!!

I have been wanting to see the Queen Charlotte Islands on the Northwest Coast
of Canada for a long time now.  There are all sorts of ways of seeing them, 
(ecotourism-style sailing and kayaking trips with guides that are familiar with
 all the local wildlife and native-American lore, etc.  It's supposed to be
quite  amazing.

Hmmm...looks like noone wanted to go anywhere for *over two years*! Glad
to see that the travel bug has reappeared. I lived in Europe for almost
3 years and hence became a "resident", so it stopped being "travel",
but the time is coming when we would like to take our daughter there,
as she gets more interested in her "roots".

I believe it is amazing, Debra, and quite off the beaten path.
I've never explored much of the Pacific Northwest, but I'd like to.

the other eco-tour I've seen advertised is these cruises to antarctica .
Apparently the wildlife and scenery are spectacular.  If I really had a lot of
money, that's what I'd do, but I've heard that all this "eco"tourism is
actually really bad for the environments of all the wildlife people go there to
see.  Any thoughts?

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