Wanderlust

I have a bit of wanderlust in me. Actually more than a bit. And it’s more than just a travel wanderlust, although that’s what caused me to contemplate it this weekend. I read an article on cnn.com about the 10 “hot” spots to visit in Europe this year. I’ve only been to 2 of them, although to be fair, my “visit” to Amsterdam was totally within the walls of the Schipol Airport as I changed planes, and sat on my outgoing flight for four hours, going from Basel, Switzerland to Atlanta. Number one on the list was one of my favorite destinations, Corsica. I never hear Corsica mentioned with respect to places you should visit in Europe. I don’t think Rick Steves has ever done a show in Corsica. Which is too bad.

Corsica is a fabulous place. For a small island, it seems incredibly large. It has lovely beaches and tall, carsickness-inducing mountains. It has cities that hang off cliffs.

I visited Corsica on a two week trip to Europe with my brother Paul, my sister-in-law Beth and my two nephews Allen and Boyce. We stayed in a lovely villa overlooking the Bay of Palombaggio. We spent most of our time there hanging out on the veranda or lounging in our own personal infinity pool.

 

It was spectacular. I read that they are holding part of this year’s Tour de France in Corsica. Which makes me wonder how they will get to the mainland of France – are they going to bike over the Mediterranean? Probably not, but I’m sure it will be spectacular.  LOL

There are some other locations on the list that I would love to visit. Berlin, Crete, Istanbul, Innsbruck (although I did go to Garmisch, which isn’t far away), and a real trip to Amsterdam. Liverpool is on the list, which surprised me. I know my brother George, a devoted Beatle-phile, would go in a heartbeat for International Beatle Week, but other than that, I found it hard to believe this would be one of the hot spots for 2013.

I’ve been fortunate to visit a lot of places, both here and abroad. I thought I might start blogging about some of them in upcoming posts. There are lots of places I’d like to go, some as mundane as Wrightsville Beach, NC and Charleston, SC and a long weekend in Southern California. But, as much as I wish I was, I am not a good solo traveler. I’d much rather go with someone than go alone. And so I don’t end up going to these places I’d love to see. Perhaps I can muster up some courage and just do it.

The wanderlust hits me in other areas as well. I am currently early in my 8th year with my current company. That’s 2 years longer than I’ve ever worked anywhere. My inner job changer has screamed loudly at me over the last 3 or 4 years and yet the time has never been right. But my desire for a change of scenery, new experiences and challenges, new opportunities still is there, still creating that itch I need to scratch, that vague unsettledness. While on the one hand, feeling comfortable with the familiar can be good, I never like getting too comfortable. I feel like there’s new mountains to climb, new experiences to have, new crazy employee issues to solve.

And relationships. If you were to ask me, I would probably tell you that I’d love to have that long-term companion, be it husband or not, someone to feel comfortable with and have experiences with. Maybe that person to go on all those trips with. But after a couple years in a relationship, I always have that desire for something else. Relationships start hot, but cool off fast for me. It doesn’t take long for me to get bored with the sameness, to stew over the faults, to want something new and different.

So maybe 2013 will be the year for me to satisfy some of the pent-up wanderlust I’m feeling. Stay tuned!