He said, she said – Where do you want to travel to this year?

The most exciting thing about He Said, She Said is wondering if we’ll still be married by the end of each post! We both write on the same topic but we don’t read the other’s work until after it’s published.

We love to travel. For this post we decided to write our top 10 travel destinations wish list and why we want to visit there. Hopefully some of our places will match so that we can start planning our next trip right away.

He said:

Too many places, too short a list, too many bad geography teachers at high school.

She said:

Anywhere! When can we leave?

What’s more, he says:

There really are so many places in this world to go. Narrowing a wish list down to just ten gets harder for me every day. I know this is the truth for most people, but it’s especially true for me.

Geography wasn’t well-taught at my school. Lessons were centred – for some confounding reason – around agriculture, even though none of us wanted to become farmers. Lots of us do get lost a lot these days though!

So here’s my (ever-changing) list of places I want to go and why. They’re in alphabetical order – just be fair.

1. Antarctica – we once went to Iceland to see the Aurora Borealis. It was cloudy the whole time. The Aurora Australis is much closer these days, and it’d be the furthest south I’ve ever been. Also, David Attenborough is one of my boyhood heroes, so watching Frozen Planet has also made me want to go there.
2. Cuba – one word: cigars!
3. Easter Island – those giant statues of the old kings of the island have always fascinated me.
4. Galapagos Islands – again this is mostly Attenborough’s fault, but the wealth of weird wildlife here is a big draw card.
5. Kenya – Attenborough, you’ll pay for this! I’d love to see the Serengeti and the beauty of the endless veldt. I’d love to visit Karachi or Mombasa – they sound so exotic and mysterious.
6. Mexico – the food, the culture the beaches… down the eastern fringes of Mexico is some of the most outrageous coastlines I’ve ever seen.
7. Morocco – North Africa has been on our radar for a while. The food and architecture in Marrakesh and the Atlas Mountains so close by. I’d definitely push for a trip from here to Egypt as well though. It’s only a couple of countries over after all!
8. Scandinavia – Denmark, Norway or Sweden… probably Denmark – we’ve been to Finland and the Netherlands and enjoyed them in their own way. Copenhagen seems like an incredible progressive city… but then the Norwegian fjords are also something I really want to see. You never know, I might get to see the Aurora Borealis while I’m there too!
9. Somewhere in the States – I’d love to go back to Chicago or SoCal or NYC, but I’d love to go to Montana/Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park or to Texas… hmm. Not thought that one out very well, have I?
10. Vietnam – food, history, culture, architecture, the fear of being slaughtered by a moped stampede… there’s just so much to do here!

This was a surprisingly hard list to write – as you can see I’ve been a bit sneaky and slipped more than one place in some of them and been as general as possible in others – but it is my list after all!

I wonder if Mrs Romance’s list is anything like mine…?

And another thing, she says:

One of the hardest things with travel planning for me is deciding whether to return to a favourite place or visit somewhere new. I’ve included both in my list.

One of my goals this year is to be location independent so that we can travel for longer while we are working. One thing we discovered last year is that working and travelling at the same time is much harder than it sounds. I’ve learnt we need to stay longer in one place to make sure we can work and enjoy the destination. I also miss dependable wi-fi so that is a must when we travel.

1. Cook Islands – The Cook Islands are a tiny piece of paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Mr R proposed to me on a beach on Rarotonga and so it’s for sentimental reasons that I put this as my number one wish list destination. I’d love to see how it has developed since we visited, and make sure the water in Aitutaki is still as blue as I remember.
2. Cuba – I have always wanted to visit Cuba and I almost made it there when I was 19. I was travelling alone and was a little scared at the prospect so I went to Paris instead. I want to get rid of that regret and go there before it changes too much.
3. Mexico – Maybe it’s too many photos of Tulum on my instagram feed but I can’t get those cenotes out of my mind. Plus being so close to Cuba, it makes sense to visit both countries in the same trip, right?
4. USA – while we’re over there, I would love to explore more of the USA, especially California. I miss our friends and I only had a taste on our last trip and would love to see more.
5. South Africa – Another place I’ve always wanted to visit, especially around Cape Town and to explore some of the game reserves in the north. I have a few South African friends I would love to visit, and maybe make it the starting point to explore more of the African continent.
6. Brazil – This is a place I’m sure won’t be on Mr R’s list but I’m trying to convince him. Brazil does have a dangerous reputation but we have so many wonderful Brazilian friends and I have always wanted to fly over Copacabana beach. I’d love to join our friends over there for the World Cup in 2014.
7. Vietnam – I’ve explored parts of Asia but I’ve never been to Vietnam and I don’t have a good reason why. Friends from the UK also want to visit there and I’m hoping we can meet up with them for a joint holiday later this year.
8. Russia – My grandmother travelled all over Europe and visited Russia and loved it. I’d love to go to see Red Square in Moscow and see a ballet performance in the Bolshoi theatre.
9. See the northern lights – We tried to see them in Iceland but cloudy skies were against us on those nights. It’s a dream of ours to see the Aurora Borealis and we’ll have to hunt out a new destination to see them. Maybe Canada or Norway?
10. Australia – I love my home and there’s so much to explore here. Our friends at Y Travel Blog are on a one year roadtrip around Australia at the moment and it’s making me realise how much beauty there is at home.

Writing this list was much harder than I thought it would be because it made me realise how many places I wanted to include. I’m not very good at choosing favourites and when it comes down to it, I’d love to do more travelling this year no mater where we go. Travel teaches you so many things about other cultures, but also about yourself.

Travelling with your partner is also another major relationship test. They say if you can travel together, you’ll last the distance, and I like to believe this too.

What’s on your travel wish list for 2014? And how do you cope travelling with your partner?

Image by Mr Romance – of  Mrs Romance!