The World at my disposal - May 14, 2007  | | Derbyshire - Chatsworth House & Park |
There is a television program called "1000 Places to See Before You Die", inspired by the best seller by Patricia Schultz. It would take 250 years to see them all: what a wonderful reason to live a long time and to be very very rich! Another way to think about it, would be to assume that one could live 85 years, and take 15 trips per year starting at age 18, an average of 24 days at each destination! Hmmm... that is tantalizing!
Having set foot on every continent, I can think of many places that I would like to know better, or where I would like to live for awhile. If I wrote a book entitled "Ten Places to See (or see again) Before I Die", China, South Africa, and Japan would be on top of my list of places never seen; Turkey, Cuba, Australia, Morocco, and Thailand, on top of my list of places to see again; not counting France, the United States and Great Britain, because I know and love them so well, I would add Italy, and Spain to the list of places where I would happily live for at least six months. Oops, there are more than ten on my list already!
I love cities, especially large cities. My short list includes Bangkok, Barcelona, Havana, London, Milan, New York, Paris, Prague, San Francisco, St Petersburg -- listed alphabetically, because I don't know how to establish preferences, that way, the criteria are neutral... Visits there always enrich and refresh me mentally, physically, intellectually. I enjoy the intensity of large cities, cultural opportunities, anonimity...
Books and movies often trigger my longing for a particular trip. I just watched, for the nth time, after reading the novel just as many times, the 2005 film version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It was filmed entirely in Derbyshire, in the north of England. I fell in love all over again, not just with Mr. Darcy, but with the English countryside: I know it well as I had spent many a summer in Northamptonshire over the years! What a feast for the eyes! So much for my avowed love of cities! I absolutely need to live an additional 50 years, or earn the right to be resuscitated: two unlikely possibilities, but THAT is my fantasy.
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