This is not about how I hope the English National team kicks the bucket (though I do). And while I know some of you are rabid football/soccer fans--and I guess that's ok--I really really really hate football fans in this country (I don't hate football, I just find it incredibly dull and mind-numbing to watch). I also hate people who aren't football fans, but display obscene amounts of inappropriate "patriotism" every four years because of the World Cup (it's not like it's the Olympics). You cannot safely drive a car when it is completely obscured by flags, stickers, magnets, window decals, and random "England" crap. Nor can you safely buy baked goods or sandwiches in my shop without being visually assualted by a selection of flags and other patriotic/footbally crap that they put up today (possibly on orders of the company owner, not sure). Plus, my coworkers bought big poofy "England" hats, and are expecting me to wear one as well. I will lose my job before I go down that road. Don't tell me who to cheer for. Besides, I'm not paying for that tat (or wearing it for free).
Also, if you really need a St. George's flag* with the word "England" emblazoned upon it, I question your knowledge of history, country, and vexillology (look it up).
*To my American readers who may not know: the Union Jack is the flag of the United Kingdom, but each of the individual countries (ie., Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland) have their own flags as well. Well, not exactly Northern Ireland; that's complicated (go figure). Also, the Union Jack combines the St. George's Cross, the St. Andrew's Cross (no, not the BDSM one...wow, the things I learn when I write blog posts), and the St. Patrick's Cross. I assume the Welsh are pissy about being left out. Oh, my research indicates they are, and want the Welsh dragon added to the middle of the flag. I must say, in this case I wholeheartedly agree with the Welsh. Every flag looks better with a dragon on it.
Right. Onto the actual point of this post. I live in England. Hello! We'll probably live here about 2 more years, or until I get my UK citizenship sorted, and then a job sorted out back in the US (Adam will not need to worry about this step, due to Green Card rules). But in the meantime, I live here. And because "here" is much closer to Europe proper, and therefore cheaper in terms of travelling to Europe proper, I'm making a list of places I want to see before we leave. I'm also making a list of places I want to see on this little island. Since I, you know, live here, maybe I should, you know, see more of it.
There are lots of places I want to go, both in and out of England. Iceland, Venice (before it's flooded away permanently), Greece, and Copenhagen/Denmark for more than 24 hours. Stonehenge, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Penzance probably top my UK list (excluding Nottingham to replace the Olde Trip glass that I stole, had Adam keep safe for 3 years, then promptly broke when I started packing his stuff so we could move out of his parents' house).
But where would you like to go? If you were in my shoes, what would you like to see? What are your top 3 priorities, and why? I'm genuinely curious, and looking for places that I've not thought of. Is it Turkey, because your in-laws now live there? (Don't think I haven't thought about knocking on Greg and Nancy's door and saying "hi! You really don't know/remember me, but...") Is it Amsterdam because you really want to get stoned (better weed in the Pacific Northwest)? Some little hill-town in Italy or in Spain? Or is it slightly further out, like Morroco or Egypt (which is very high on my list, but probably will not happen at this time)?
Please, post a comment telling me where you would go and why. Also, please let me know if you've been there before. And if you don't want to post a comment--or can't for some reason--send me an email letting me know where yo'd go. My only requests are that it be a reasonable travelling distance from the UK, or at least clearly closer to the UK than to the US (Iceland and Egypt fall into these categories, as do Northern Africa, Western Asia, and the Middle East).
