Wanderlust Wednesday: Bucket List Edition

I love traveling. Growing up we moved all over North America and my dad traveled all the time for work. A 3 year old me once infamously asked how many suitcases I could bring on the plane for vacation and to my horror I was told we were driving. I couldn't comprehend we would actually be going someplace in driving distance. That is likely when the monster love of travel was born.

[a dreary day in Stockholm (My favorite city!)]

In college I was fortunate enough to spend a summer studying in Luxembourg. I was even more fortunate that my best friend and I lived with the same host family. This is before the days of anyone saying YOLO but that was in fact our unofficial mindset. We purchased some Eurail passes and made the most of that summer, hopping on a train after class on Thursday and not returning until Sunday evening. We once paid 17 cents for a flight to Venice for the weekend! (thanks to the fabulous tip from our host brother and Ryanair) with taxes that 17 cents turned into a whopping $34 dollars. Perhaps my only regret is not spending more time in Luxembourg or maybe that I could not convince 19 year old me that spending an entire year or semester abroad was a good idea.

[The key to European budget travel: Ryanair]

In law school I focused on getting in all the required classes and much to my surprise when my third year rolled around I was largely done. A few requirements remained but nothing I needed to fit in while in Florida. With that realization, I quickly applied to spend the Autumn in London and off I went. This time I was much more torn as I was in the midst of falling in love and had to adamantly insist I was leaving for 5 months. Thank goodness for Skype and AT&T having an international texting plan! All that aside, I once again made the most of this experience. I traveled as much as possible, even though being in the UK and not mainland Europe certainly presented less opportunity to jet set than during my days in Lux.  I really immersed myself in London, took every local day trip, wandered around the city, interned for a local non-profit, learned the bus system like the back of my hand, and it really felt like home. I often crave being in that city to the point where I remember exactly how it feels.

[London-isn't she beautiful?!]

And this is where the Wanderlust comes from. I love to travel, see new places, meet new people, do things that I would not ordinarily do, gain a new perspective, and really take it all in. Studying abroad has given me the urge to travel to more exotic destinations and a never ending bucket list. Here are my top 10 travel-inspired bucket list items:

1. Ride an elephant in Thailand
2. See the Northern and Southern Lights
3. Stay in an ice hotel 
4. Drive across the Bosphorus Bridge (from Europe to Asia)
5. Cruise Alaska
6. Sail the Greek Islands
7. Set foot on every continent
8. Go on Safari in Africa
9. Cruise the Mediterranean
10. Climb the Great Wall

Do you love to travel? What is on your bucket list?

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