Wow...well, since traveling is my absolute first love, I've been to a number of places. And since I love making lists almost as much as I love to travel, this post is likely to be long (and probably boring) to anyone who isn't as obsessed with travel as I am. And I am pretty obsessed.
I've been to all 50 states except for Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. I have lived in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Idaho and Alaska. My favorite state, hands down, is Alaska - complete no-brainer.
I've also been to both Mexico and Canada...and to the Bahamas.
As for traveling outside the U.S., I've been to about 35 or 40 countries (including Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas), I think.
I've been to every country in Western Europe EXCEPT for Portugal, Wales, Sweden, Norway and Finland, (and if you count them as Western Europe) Greece and Turkey.
In Eastern Europe I've been to Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia and Ukraine. I actually lived in Moscow, Russia for a year, in fact.
In Central Asia, I've been to Uzbekistan.
In Asia I've been to China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
The countries where I've spent the most time:
Russia - one year
Japan - about 10 weeks total
The UK (mainly England, but also Ireland and Scotland) - about 9 weeks total
Italy - about 5 weeks total
China - one month
Vietnam/Cambodia - one month
My favorite cities:
Paris, France
Barcelona, Spain
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
St. Petersburg, Russia
Hong Kong, China
Beijing, China
Tokyo, Japan
London, England
My favorite countries:
Italy
China
Russia
My least favorite country:
Switzerland
Best Airport to kill time:
Hong Kong, China
Worst Airport to kill time:
Charles de Gaulle, Paris...or Dillingham, Alaska
Best City to kill time:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Worst City to kill time:
Zürich, Switzerland (Zzzzzzzz......)
Most Impressive Sites I've ever visited:
Angkor Temple complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia
St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy
Great Wall, outside of Beijing, China
Red Square, Moscow, Russia
The harvesting of a 42-foot whale by Alaska Natives on the beach of the Arctic Ocean, Barrow, Alaska
Most Sobering Sites I've ever visited:
The Killing Fields, outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Hiroshima, Japan
Auschwitz, Poland
"Hanoi Hilton", Hanoi, Vietnam
"American War" Museum, Saigon, Vietnam
Grave of Pope John Paul II, Vatican City
Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam
Best Art Museums (outside the U.S.):
The Louvre (duh!) - Paris
The Hermitage - St. Petersburg
Musee D'Orsay - Paris
The Uffizi - Florence
The Academia - Florence
Favorite single piece of art:
David - The Academia, Florence (IMO, if you see ONE piece of art in the world, let it be this one)
Most Beautiful Churches:
Notre Dame, Paris
Sacre Coeur, Paris
St. Isaac's, St. Petersburg
Any of the major Basilicas, Rome
Duomo di Milano, Milan
Basilica of St. Therese, Lisieux, France
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (unfinished)
St. Stephans Cathedral, Vienna, Austria
Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany
Largest Display of Conspicuous Consumption EVER:
Versailles
Favorite Small Towns that are off the beaten track:
Lisieux, France
Castellaneta, Italy (Valentino's hometown)
Most beautiful gardens:
Kyoto, Japan
Blenhem Palace, outside Oxford, England
Most breathtaking natural beauty:
Alaska - pick a mountain range
Jackson Hole area, Wyoming
Yangshou, China
Halong Bay, north of Hanoi, Vietnam
Coolest Architecture:
Barcelona, Spain
Most Romantic Cities:
Paris, France
Prague, Czech Republic
Most Amazing City Squares:
Red Square, Moscow
The Grand Place, Brussels
Tiananmen Square, Beijing
Old Town Square, Warsaw (would be cooler if it hadn't been bombed to bits and rebuilt)
Trafalgar Square, London
Best View:
View from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (WOW!)
All-round Funnest Country:
ITALY!!! No one knows how to have fun like the Italians. NO ONE. And they also have the best food.
Places I most want to visit, but haven't yet:
Tibet - particularly Lhasa
India
Ecuador & the Galapagos
Peru
Nepal - particularly Everest Base Camp
Kenya
Mali
Morocco
Israel & Egypt
Wow, I love to travel! I could do it 24/7/365. Seriously. The world is such an amazing place - I just can't get enough. Even thinking about this stuff makes me happy.