Holiday Destinations

Travel is kind of a big deal for me, because I don't get to do it very often. I have big plans that are way outside my budget as it stands, but if I had to make a list of five places I'd like to see... well, that's exactly what I'm going to do now.

New York City

Beginning the Incredibly Clichéd List with NYC is no big surprise. I've never been to the States, but I've always wanted to go. We just aren't one of those families that had the money for a big holiday like that - sun holidays are expensive enough, and you can go on them and not worry about the whole Capitalist Nature of the place you're visiting. But New York? No, not a chance. Not one of us could have afforded to go there and justify spending money on most of what we wanted - which, from an Irish point of view, is a waste of a trip to New York. It's seen as a shopping holiday.

For me, though, it's more than that. I want to do the stupid tourist things. I want to see the city in the flesh that I've seen in comic books and movies for most of my life. I want to make this big Dream City a reality.

London

I've already been. I have to admit that right now. But I want to go back. I want to see the London Dungeons, and do the Jack the Ripper tour, and go see the big tourist attractions. Yes, my trip to London was amazing. Yes, I would do most of it again (the trip to The Who Shop was disappointing...). But we didn't have enough time for everything. So, I want to go back, and I want to do everything I missed out on. Even if it took me two weeks of being a Tourist-with-a-capital-T.

Barcelona

Again, I've already been. Twice, in fact. But I love it, and it was the last place we went as a family. I want to see the architecture again, and Monte Serat, and the Gaudi museum. Everything, really. I want to see the city, and relive some memories, and try some of the more authentic local cuisine. The Hard Rock Cafe is good, but it's the same everywhere you go.

Paris

I never thought a huge amount about Paris beyond it being one of the big romantic getaways for couples. But, and this is largely from reading Michael Scott's books, I've come to see that the city is full of this extra life. Take into account the fact that two of my favourite people from history lived in the city - Nicholas Flamel, because of the myths around his life, and Marie Curie, because of her contributions to Science and recognised achievements in Physics and Chemistry - and it's a package deal. There are at least a dozen other people and reasons I'm not even thinking about right now, and that's just more reason to go see the city for myself.

Rome

When I was college, I had three opportunities to go to Rome, and I could never afford it. Ever. I always regretted that fact. So, I want to go myself (or, you know, with someone - not the point.) Basically, I just want to be a tourist for a bit, and eat fresh pasta, and try catch a mass with the Pope, even if at that moment in time I'm not feeling the whole Christian-vibe thing.

And the rest...

It's bad, but Europe keeps calling for me to visit it. I want to see Amsterdam, and Auschwitz, and Berlin. I want to go to Stockholm, and Edinburgh, and Belfast (which, really, isn't that difficult for me to do!) The main thing holding me back is money, because full-time work at a rate higher than minimum wage just isn't a reality for me at the moment. But I want to make it happen. When I finish my Masters, I want to mark one of these cities off my list. I want to just get away for a while, get some experience in the world. I think, before I get bogged down in the world of Being an Adult, I need to do some soul searching abroad. It's cliché, and everyone talks about doing it, and I think, right now, I really just need to make it happen. No more fussing about over it. No more just thinking about it.

What's Going On?!

I don't know if you've been watching the news lately, or the Twitter feeds, but the world is slightly falling apart. Let's review, shall we?

Britain and Ireland, and I think a lot of Europe too, went through The Cold Snap. It was, as you can guess, very cold. If I'm not mistaken, it's still cold in England. Lots of snow, lots of ice, lots of sleet. In Ireland, that was followed up with lots of rain and lots of wind. And there were shortages of water as a result of increased consumption for heating.

Zoom over to the other side of the world, and what do you get? A massive earthquake. A few days later, a smaller, but still frightening earthquake. And three more in one US state.

Haiti. Venezuela. Oklahoma.

The world, it seems, is slightly falling apart. Relief organisations are up to their necks in work, people are donating what they can, the news is filled with all the latest info on nature (which, subsequently, destroyed my umbrella - it was a kite with a spider-work frame by the time I reached my destination).

And what do the people do?

The collective "we" of the developed world take the homeless in off the streets to keep them as warm as possible. We donate food and clothing to the poor people of Haiti. And we talk about it. We talk about it a lot.

And all the while, life for us has to go on. People still get sick over here. Terrible illnesses still cripple our nations.

I don't know everyone's situation in life, but if you have a little extra you can give, please think of those in need right now. All the world relief organisations are on this case, doing what they can to help out. Pick one and go with it, no regrets, no pain. It may be a recession, but it's also a matter of life or death.

Respectfully yours,
Paul Carroll.