wanderlust

exactly one year ago today,

i was on a plane,

headed toward the most amazing week of my life.

for our ten year anniversary, 

we traveled to the riviera maya in mexico and stayed at the secrets maroma resort.

heaven i say.  heaven.

all inclusive perfection.

today i just cleaned charlotte's vomit off my kitchen floor.

if i'm lucky, i'll make a trip to target.

i admit it.  i am sad today.

i want to go somewhere.

i've had a major travel bug for awhile now.

i have this incredible desire to see the world,

but life (and silly little things like finances) just keeps it from happening.

my sweet grandad always called it wanderlust.

yep. i've got a bad case of it.

and today it's especially itchy.

a few weeks ago, i was with some girlfriends having the conversation

'what is your favorite country you've been to'?  

i had very little input,

other than what i've seen on the amazing race.

so i thought,

on the anniversary of my best trip ever,

i'd make my top-six-places-i-want-to-travel list.

(i could have done ten, but that seemed boring for you. so.... i narrowed it to six.  but i do have ten places :)

in order:

the mediterranean.

i am super fascinated by the italy/greece region.

i want to see all the ancient ruins,

ride on a real gondola (not one of those around balboa harbor)

and stay in one of those cities on the hillside,

like in sisterhood of the traveling pants 2.

(yes.  i saw it.  what?)

it looks like the perfect combination of beautiful & historical.

not to mention... i like me some italian food.

paris.

this one seems like kind of a 'duh'.

i mean, who doesn't want to go to the most romantic city on earth?

the closest i've gotten to paris is walking through the paris hotel in las vegas.

i'm guessing the real thing is a little better, eh?

i want to sit on a sidewalk eating cheese & bread.

marvel at the eiffel tower.

walk along the seine at sunset.

pretend i'm cultured and discuss paintings at the louvre.

fiji {somewhere tropical}

my trip to the riviera maya gave me a taste for the tropical.

laying on a beach sipping a delicious drink?

yes please!

i'm not even totally sure if it's fiji.  i'm not up on my 

'where-is-the-best-place-to-get-all-tropical',

but i'm thinking fiji is pretty great.

i want to stay in one of those huts right on the water.

for reals.

(but how do you use the bathroom in one of those things?)

prague {old europe}

i saw them go to prague in an episode of the amazing race.

i decided at that moment it had to be added to my bucket list.

it just looks like one of those magical cities.

(although if i'm going to prague, i'd like to stay for awhile and tour the rest of europe, too.

so tack on switzerland, germany, england, etc ;)

and i'm not sure what that castle is. but i want to go to a castle.

because this girl has some inner-princess issues.

(it's probably a church or something, but i know there are castles around there, and i will find them!)

rio {south america}

i think south america looks pretty amazing.  

costa rica, brazil... i'd love to see all of it.

but at the top of that list is rio de janeiro.

i'm not sure if it was the movie rio or the clip from breaking dawn

(i need to start watching better movies)

but i want to go there.

hawaii

sometimes i think i'm the last person on the planet that hasn't been there.

i want to go to a luau.

hula dance.

hike up a volcano.

and yes.  lay on the beach. with warm water lapping my feet.

and i wouldn't say no to a tropical drink ;)

so there you go.

places i wish i was on a plane to today.

(although i would be overjoyed to be on a plane back to secrets maroma, too!)

don't get me wrong... 

i LOVE my life.

i love where i live, my family, and all god has blessed me with.

but let's be honest...

life with three kids is rarely glamorous.

 it is really nice to get away.

see all that god has created on this earth.

and come back refreshed and ready for everyday life.

i really do want to see the world.

i realize there is a lot more history & culture than orange county has to offer.

so someday.

i'm going.

who wants to come along?

where are your dream vacations?

where have you been that was just amazing?

today, let's all have a little wanderlust.