I Want to Go to There

Yesterday a site called Twisted Sifter posted their top 100 photos of 2012. There are some really creative photos in the mix, but the ones that truly moved me were of locations I had never heard of or seen before. They struck me as a few of the places I’d love to visit in my lifetime. For the cities, I’d like to settle down and live among the locals for the week. For the vistas, I’d like to sit and write and soak in the beauty as long as possible. And for the restaurant…well, I want to eat there.

I have many other places I’d like to visit and experience, but here are five that I’d like to share with you today. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve been to any of these places or if you have any bucket list destinations you’d like to share.

1. Gásadalur Village: This little gem in the Faroe Islands (I had to look it up too–they’re between Scotland and Iceland, and you have to take a specific route to get there like in Lost or you’ll end up in Greenland with Walt) would be beautiful enough as it is. But then you add in that waterfall…amazing! I want to write there and eat whatever weird food they serve (I’m guessing it involves fish buried underground for 12 days and then served over cow tonsils. And I want it in my belly).

Photograph by GARETH CODD PHOTOGRAPHY on Flickr
Photograph by GARETH CODD PHOTOGRAPHY on Flickr

2. Bern: When I think of Switzerland, I think of the rolling hills of the Sound of Music, not “place that looks like Euro-style board games.” But if this city were a board game, I’d play it all day. Also, I’d love to write here.

Photograph via loki010 on Reddit
Photograph via loki010 on Reddit

3. The Redwoods Treehouse: When I was little, I was fascinated by redwood trees. So tall, so old, and so majestic. I’ve never seen them in person, and what better way to do so than this incredible restaurant in the canopy. They no longer serve food to individuals, but book a party of 30 and you’re in. Destination wedding in New Zealand, anyone?

Yellow-Treehouse-Restaurant-4

4. Cinque Terre: This tiny town is either located in Italy or a fantasy novel where the color of your house indicates the type of magic you’re capable of. Either way, I want to live here for a week among the spiraling buildings, the warm Mediterranean Sea, and amazing seafood.

Cinque Terre

5. Beachy Head Chalk Cliff: This place sounds like a type of viral dandruff, but it’s so much more than that. I’ve honestly never seen anything like this. Apparently–and unfortunately–a lot of people commit suicide off of this thing. I wonder if people seek it out as a place to commit suicide, or if the human instinct when you get to the edge is to give in to that fear of jumping you get when you’re on top of something really tall.

edge-of-the-world-beach-head-chalk-cliff-southern-england
Photograph by RHYS DAVIES

Where do you want to go to there?*

*“I want to go to there” is a joke from 30 Rock, perhaps even the most repeated line from that show. Someday it will become grammatically correct.

21 thoughts on “I Want to Go to There”

  1. “(Note to readers: That does not count as a marriage proposal. But the first lady to say yes in the comments wins a lifetime of this (*gestures to pale, skinny, hairy-in-the-wrong places, hairless-in-the-other-wrong places body*).”

    Yes, please. I want to go to there.

    Reply
  2. I say yes as well. You have until May 11 to accept.

    Cinque Terra is on my bucket list, mainly bc it is my best friend’s favorite place in the world, and he’s been EVERYWHERE. I want to go there, be topless and drink limoncello until even the skinniest, hairless/hairiest, nipple pierced, limping man looks good enough to eat pasta off of 🙂

    Reply
  3. We’re going to Italy next week, but I don’t think we’re going to be quite close enough to visit the Cinque Terra 🙁
    That photograph of Beachy Head is fantastic. Unfortunately, the reality isn’t quite like that. The Seven Sisters to the West of Beachy Head are much more impressive in real life. The urge to jump is extremely strong though – there’s no barriers most of the way along and you feel like you’re on the edge of the world.

    Reply
  4. This was hysterical! Great photo choices – and if you are amazed by Cinque Terra, you should also check out pics of Fira, the capital of Santorini, Greece. The views of Fira from Imerovigli (the city we stayed in when we were there) were just out of this world amazing.

    Great post!

    Reply
    • Sean–I’ve always wanted to go to Greece, and Fira looks amazing! Also, thanks for linking to this article on Facebook.

      Reply
  5. Wait a second, wait a second. I was told that I only had to be first, and now you’re changing the rules? I’m out.

    Ansley, you can have him in all of his pale, hairless, flip-flopping glory.

    Reply
  6. Yeah, but taking a second look at what’s on the auction block, I think I’ve changed my mind. 🙂

    P.S.–The rolling hills in the Sound of Music are in Austria. They flee to Switzerland at the very end of the movie, and you really just see them crossing over some fake-looking mountains.

    I’ve been close to Bern before, and it was gorgeous. I was there in the middle of winter and everything was snow-capped and absolutely breathtaking.

    Reply
    • I was about to protest that you had dibs on one spindly-legged blogger, but it appears that you’ve slapped the proverbial horse’s haunches, and realized that they quiver with weakness, not pent up power. A wise investigation, if you ask me.

      Jaam, I think you should take Ansley up on her offer and wed for the next 2 months.

      Reply
      • Trev–You always have to give a horse a good, hardy slap before mounting it. That’s been my motto since the Great Pony Incident of ’92.

        Ansley, what do you say? Will your fiance mind if you’re married for a few months before the big day?

        Reply
  7. Gásadalur Village and Beachy Head Chalk Cliff both really caught my eye! When I googled Beachy Head, the Wikipedia article stated: “In the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Beachy Head was used as hosting grounds for the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.” I have to go back and rewatch the movie now!

    I would love to go to Ireland someday, as well as Banff National Park (Canadian Rockies) in western Canada.

    When my husband and I were on the island of Kauai (Hawaii), we stayed on Shipwreck Beach. This place had a little bit of everything … white sand beaches, huge black lava rocks that washed ashore, and the most amazing cliffs called Makawehi Lithified Cliffs. We hiked to the top of one cliff, and on the way up, it was like being in a forest … trees, rocks, dirt, pine needles … but once we arrived at the top, it was like another world. I would compare it to a moon-like landscape (I guess that’s where the “lithified” comes in) with clusters of bright green waxy plants scattered about. On one side of the cliff, we could look at the beach and our resort … on another side we could look down at the ocean and the crashing waves … and on another side we could look out across the forest and see mountains in the distance. It felt so remote and uninhabited and natural. It was amazing!

    Here’s a great picture I found of Shipwreck Beach and the cliffs, to go along with your grouping of pictures, Jamey.

    https://files.myopera.com/cofoppyplop/albums/371184/Sunset%20at%20Shipwrecks%20Beach,%20Poipu,%20Kauai,%20Hawaii.jpg

    Reply
      • Hawaii is the only island paradise I’ve ever been to, so I would say that each of the four islands we visited was stunning in its own way! A few things that stood out to me … Kauai had those cliffs on Shipwreck Beach (as I mentioned previously), as well as the NaPali Coast, which is an area of coastline made of tall, rugged green and red sea cliffs. The Big Island was breathtaking as seen from the air – there are so many types of geography on that one island! Volcanoes, black lava fields, green pastures, waterfalls, valleys, sea cliffs … that was pretty amazing to see. I could go on and on, but basically everything about Hawaii was pretty much perfect. 🙂

        Reply

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