Travel....

This was Cheryl's second question.  Her first was about the choir, but I'm afraid I'm not allowed to blog about the choir.  I have lots of funny stories to tell, we get a lot of laughing in between the singing part.  Especially in the alto section.  Especially especially in the back rows of the alto section.  But we can do lunch sometime and I will tell stories of pranks and giggles and long-running jokes and new words to the songs and things the conductors say. 

Anyways, her second question was " If you could travel any where, where would it be and why and with whom"

I have a list.
Paris 
Angkor Watt
Paris
Macchu Picchu
Paris
Jerusalem
Paris
Hawaii
Paris
Vienna
Paris
Italy
Paris
Prague
Paris
Rio De Janero
Paris
Congo
Paris
South Africa
Paris
Oregon
Paris

In that order.

And please don't think I am kidding.  Everytime I think about going anywere, there is a littel nagging voice in the back of my head that says "wouldn't that money be better spent in Paris?".  And I realize that the only way I can justify travel will be to make sure Paris is revisited as often as possible.  It is, after all, one of the few places on earth that feels like "Home" to me. 

Do you know that feeling?  Not everyone does.  When I first told my Minnesota class that I was moving to Utah, one of the parents stopped me and told me that while she had only driven through Utah once, she loved it more than anything, because for some reason, the moment she crossed the border into the state, she felt like she was "Home" for the first time in her life.  I asked her if she had been on I-80, just outside of Evanston, where you are driving through those canyons.  She got very excited.  Yes!  I know that spot exactly.  And then you take 84 instead of 80, and turn north-ish into Ogden and its one of the prettiest most peaceful places in the world to me.  Although if you take I-80 into Salt Lake and drive up Parley's just in time to see the sun setting over the Salt Lake Valley, you might have to pull off the freeway to contain yourself. 

Home is different for everyone.  I'm not saying you have to love the Wasatch mountains the way I do.  I'm saying they feel like Home to me.  I'm saying there are places on this earth you can go to that feel like Home from the moment you set foot (or wheel) there, it doesn't take time to adjust and it doesn't change if you leave for a while and come back.  Just like the Madsen Recital Hall in the HFAC at BYU feels like Home to me.  And the choir loft in the tabernacle feels like Home.  And Paris.  Paris felt so much like Home, and I could never explain why.  Not even to the companion who refused to go into the city.  But it's Home.

So it does seem a waste if I have time and money to travel and I don't use it to go Home. 
But it's also kind of selfish to declare that Paris is home without giving anywhere else a chance.  So I would love to see the world, and to see if there is anywhere else that feels like Home. 

The other places on my list are actually interchangable.  Maybe not in that order, but I want to see them all the same.  I want to find out if they feel like Home and I want to figure out why.  Angkor Watt and Macchu Picchu and Jerusalem are ancient temple sites.  I want to go before they become so tourist ravaged they are closed to the public (so Jerusalem is already a mess... I may be too late there).  They are considered wonders of the world.  Designations like that are given for a reason, and I want to know why. 

Everyone seems to go to Hawaii.  I want to know the appeal.  Vienna, Italy, and Prague are centers for music and art and pastries.  I could do them all in one trip that begins and ends with Paris.  Rio de Janero is an intrigue thing.  Its the one place on the South American continent that I am curious about.  The Congo and South Africa are both results of my experience with people from there.  We could throw in Madagascar too.  The people I have met from these parts of the workd are fascinating to me.  I want to see their culture and how such amazing individuals come out of certain societies.  Oregon seems random, doesn't it?  Especially since it is so close.  But it is rumored to be one of the most quietly stunning places in the US.  Green.  Mountains.  Beaches.  Waterfalls. It sounds like my kind of a place. 

And who would I go with?  That part is easy.  A friend.  Not a group of people with different agendas.  No agendas.  One friend.  Someone who is willing to hike a mountain one day and lay on a beach the next.  Someone who doesn't mind taking the metro to a random stop and discovering the nearest restaurant or bakery.  Someone who will sample local cuisine, go to a grocery store instead of the latest rendy restaurant, and walk through local markets without a schedule.  Someone who does or does not know the language, but is willing to do or put up with sign language for haggling and someone who is willing to watch people and learn about the real cuture, not just the tourist culture. 

I went to Paris with a group of friends. There were 5 of us. They had agendas and things each of them wanted to do.  I spent a lot of time being a tour guide and translator, and I spent a lot of time frustrated with the group dynamic. The best time we had as a group was when we went outside of the big city, to Troyes, and I made them eat cheese and chocolate on the train and we went to a movie and then to a creperie at 2 in the morning and really lived the culture.  The best time I had was when I went to the Opera alone (who would turn down student seats at the Garnier for $6?) and ate a grec from a street vendor.  I think they spent that evening going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  I still have never done that.  And I think I'm OK with that.

So no more groups for me.  Going with one friend means we can do the things each of us wants to do, and share the expereince if we want or split up if we want without offending the other.  No one is forced to run around on someone elses schedule. 

As for who specifically, well that's up to all of you.  Where would you like to join me?