This is my very short list of countries that ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I could revisit again and again. I’m always taken aback when people ask, for example, “Why are you going back to France again?” Why? Are you serious? A person could revisit Paris on a yearly basis for their entire life and still not have seen it all. France has beaches, sea side towns, forests where a person can actually hear a …cuckoo…cuckooo… while walking along. There are hills, low mountains, the glorious French Alps (Chamonix is beyond words), crystal clear lakes, small villages and towns that have looked the same for a thousand years, cathedrals, pilgrimage trails, historical sites and wonderful food. A pittance of what’s available in just France.

We have the same three limitations as everyone else. Time, money and health. The following places are doable financially but, again, you’d have to spend an entire year traveling while many can only be visited during certains seasons of the year. When you read this article about where I’d love to return and why, remember these two important words – Wish List.

Summer Day Hiking in either Austria, Switzerland or France. Visualize gorgeous town, barns and houses with flower-filled window boxes, snow-capped mountains, fat, healthy cows with bells clanking around their necks, great food, comfortable beds with duvets and hot showers to come back to after spending the day outside. Wouldn’t you want to return over and over again?

ex-Marine, husband, Steve, at a mountain border marker between France and Switzerland 

a remote chalet in the mountains of Austria
West Africa. I have the world’s best tour operator for West Africa if you are interested, the incomparable Roberto and Alberto, Trans Africa Group. Take a look at some of their offerings. You’ll be safe, well fed and see sights you never dreamed of. Initiation ceremonies, music festivals, tribal visits (handled sensitively) in a group that consists of Americans and Europeans. GO… Guinea Bissau and Senegal are calling me.

a Dogon mask in Mali, West Africa 

a Dogon ladder used to climb up the escarpment in Mali, West Africa
Italy. The Amalfi Peninsula, Sorrento and Sicily (love Sicily…love Gelato…love wine) would be the “return to in an instant” Italian destinations. Puglia is an area we haven’t visited yet.

India. Not only would we like to return to Ladakh with the incredibly remote and scenic monasteries, but there are still the States of Gujarat, Assam and Goa to experience.

China. You’d think by reading the many articles on Travels With Sheila that we’ve been there…done it… Wrong. I could return to Beijing and Shanghai over and over again. Stop by familiar places and see the latest reincarnations of hotels, restaurants and the ever changing skyline. How about revisiting the national parks like Huanglong National Park instead of rushing in and out?

France. I want to set these old, bony feet back on the pilgrimage trails of St. Jacques, Camino de Santiago, Way of St. James, whatever you want to call it that stretches for 1,600 km/1,000 miles. We’ve only walked the beginning section from Le Puy de Velay to Conques, 210 km/130 miles, a mere drop in the bucket.. That leaves to many miles for me to count until the pilgrimage trail ends in Santiago del Compostela, Spain. There are many different routes but this is considered to be the main route and usually takes over two months.

map showing the main pilgrimage route from Le Puy, France to Santiago del Compostela, Spain
Indonesia. Bali is number one on my “return to” list followed by Yogyakarta and Malang. We haven’t seen the Komodo Dragons, Flores, Sumatra.
My Wish List goes on and on…
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