Baadunk, baadunk, baadunk…’. Monday morning; prep day. I was idly watching copies of my worksheet fly out of the photocopier when I looked up. On the wall of the photocopying room is the most beautiful image. An image of a map.
I quickly surveyed the countries I’ve travelled to, the countries I know and love. My eyes then wandered and I looked at countries I want to go to, trying to work out routes from city to city, country to country.
My eyes then wandered to the right of Japan to see the U.S.A. A country I’ve never really given much thought, until now. My colleague is American and one of my favourite ways to spend our breaks is asking him about America whist holding a cup of exceptionally strong coffee. The country is so big yet has such a small population compared to its size. It’s so big that different states have different laws and rules. The North is different to the South, The East is different to the West, and the centre is different to everywhere.
It sounds like a mystery and it got me thinking about where I would like to explore in this vast country.
New York
Sex and the city, cosmopolitans, fashion, upper East side and Central park. New York is the eponymous metropolis of America. The pace of life is fast and the buildings tower in the sky. I would love to visit New York with my Mum, treat her to a shopping spree in Macy’s and ride through Central park in a horse-drawn carriage. After we could watch sunset from the towering Empire state building then go for cocktails in a swanky bar, patronised by groomed goddesses and Don Draper like men in suits. One things guaranteed, New York is a city that could never be described as boring!
San Diego
Miles of beautiful beaches, year-long mild weather and a laid back Californian lifestyle, San Diego sounds like my type of place! I love Mexican food and I hear San Diego is home to the worlds best burritos. San Diego zoo is one of the largest in the world and home to more than 4000 animals. It even has a pair of pandas like Ueno zoo in Tokyo. San Diego is a place I could relax, eat sunbathe and maybe even try my hand at surfing.
Yosemite National Park
Also in California is Yosemite National park. A place I first heard about thanks to Yogi bear. Nestled within the Sierra Nevada mountains Yosemite is a hikers dream. It has such varied landscapes, from imposing cliffs, ponds like glass, beautiful greenery and waterfalls. It’s a photographers dream. I would love to go on a multi day hike and camp wherever I like. Yosemite is so vast and varied that I would have a new landscape to wake up to each morning. One thing I would love to see is a black bear (from a safe distance…).
So there’s my ultimate U.S.A bucket list. It’s still rather small so let me know your suggestions, what’s on your U.S.A bucket list?
It’s a huge and diverse country, I’ve only scratched the surface on our visits but I’d like to explore more of the National Parks and natural areas like around Washington State. Hawaii of course is beautiful especially if you can get out to some of the other islands.
Toni | 2 Aussie Travellers recently posted…A review of Madame Wu in Brisbane
Yes it looks like such a beautiful country. I actually planned to visit New York, LA and Hawaii when I was planning my first RTW trip, I changed my mind at the last minute to visit more of Asia instead. I kind of regret that now.