I have the travel bug!

Happy Monday and hello from the The Enchanted home! So nice to be here.......I was so happy and honored when Barbara asked me to guest post for her. I love her blog, her wonderful sense of style and her obvious impeccable taste. When I asked her if she had anything specific in mind for me to guest post about she said anything but did mention maybe something having to do with travel. So that was easy as I am never one to shy away from talking about travel. I haven't traveled as much in the last three years as we had before we started building our house but have been fortunate to have traveled a good bit and have enjoyed every minute of it!! I plan to pick up where I left off (and not skip a beat) once we are settled in the new house and have a whole list of places I hope to visit once we settle in. In terms of places I have been that have ranked high on my list…..of which there are many, below are a few more recent highlights I will share with you today and then I will also discuss a few of the places on my "bucket list". Have you been to any of these incredible locations? Do you have a favorite spot? If you could pack up at a moments notice and head out to any place in the world, where would you go tomorrow? Wouldn't that be fun! Ahhhh…. a vacation sounds sooo good right now!! Here's to vacations………

FRANCE. Whats not to love. With their rich culture and history, breathtaking architecture, chic style, magnificent gastronomy, and delights for every one of your senses, Paris to me is the ultimate in well, everything! We were in Paris last year and traveled South to Avignon and the Loire Valley where we stayed with my aunt and family in their magnificent "country home". A few highlights are below. We had been to Paris three other times but never to Avignon and it was also the first time to the Loire Valley and suffice to say we hope not the last, storybook land is the only way I could possibly describe this incredible place!

The iconic Eiffel tower, such a beauty!

The unmistakable fabulous Champs- Elysees

The side courtyard at my aunts country home...magnifique is an understatement! (and that's just their garage if you can believe it)

The guest room at my aunts house...it was soooo beautiful!

Such gorgeous hardware at a small furniture factory that we stopped off at

A beautiful castle on our way to the Loire Valley

The stunning square in Avignon

Beautiful Avignon, something gorgeous at every turn

I will never forget my sons face at seeing the infamous Mona Lisa for the first time

Loved this picture of my son just "hanging out" after a long day at Louvre, just relaxing and checking out the scene in the courtyard right outside the museuem

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE. First time there, hopefully not the last. An amazing colonial town in central Mexico. Absolutely incredible place, full of history, culture and warmth. Beautiful colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, colonial cathedrals and art galleries dot the bustling downtown. We were there for a destination wedding and didn't want to leave. It was incredible......would most certainly go back. It is filled with friendly locals, lots of expatriates and hordes of tourists.

The trolley that took part of the wedding from the house to the wedding reception

The gorgeous decor of the house where the wedding ceremony took place...breathtaking!

The Mariachi band serenading us as we walked down the cobblestone streets to the reception

The magnificent reception!

Another view

Gorgeous at night.....

The famous cathedral, Parroquia

The beautiful colorful colonial buildings and cobblestone streets....

NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA Ever go somewhere and you could actually see yourself living there? Well Napa valley was one such place. I could so see moving there one day. I fell in love, madly in love. Whats not to fall in love with. I mean look at this place. It is breathtakingly and intoxicatingly gorgeous. Fabulous restaurants, incredible vineyards at every corner, miles and miles of beautiful bike paths, a vibrant art and music scene, gorgeous valley weather. It is a place I know I will go back to again and again. And if I have it my way, one of my sons will have a wedding there....lol.

CASA DE CAMPO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Another fabulous place in the Caribbean. We have been here three times, we like it so much. We rent a villa with another family..great family friends. We stay at Casa de Campo, where there is everything from boating, tennis, world class golf, beach, riding, shooting, literally every activity you can imagine, the resort is sprawling and very luxurious and spread out on several thousand acres. There are hundreds of luxury villas on the property as well as a hotel. With each villa comes a few golf carts and this is how you get around. The kids had an absolute blast. We were all spoiled and it was one of the few vacations that we didn't' want to end. Truly a vacation to remember.

The world famous "teeth of the dog" golf course

A typcial villa..not too bad, huh?

The famous marina where yachts come from all over the world

Now, moving onto to a few places I would like to visit in the next few years…..and if by chance you have been to any of them, sure would love to hear what you think

MOROCCO Of course Casablanca put Morocco on the map as the most exotic place on the face of the earth and I would love to go and ride a camel through the desert, bargain my way through a bazaar and who knows perhaps perfect my belly dancing skills (actually i have no belly dancing skills) but it sounds good and awfully exotic. The few people I know that have gone loved it there, enjoyed visiting both Marrakesh and the most Medieval city of Fes, a place I have always wanted to go and have been fascinated by...... how exotic!

GREECE OK so I know they are bankrupt and in financial ruins, people are fleeing and running away...but at least I can stare at the gorgeous white buildings, blue Aegean sea and eat amazing Greek food! Plus I love the warmth of the Greek people and forget about the Greek music, makes me want to dance until the wee hours of the morning! We actually talked about going this summer with the whole family but with our impending move, its unlikely....perhaps next year? Santorini is known to have the most beautiful sunsets in all of Europe, I want to see the museums in Acropolis and dance the night away in Mykonos. Greece is high on my list and I have a feeling we will end up going in the next year or two......it just looks so beautiful, doesn't it?

CHINA This is what they refer to as the future of the world...well I want to see what the future looks like! My husband travels to China once or twice a year and unfortunately every time I want to try to work it out to go, it just seems to never be the "right time". One time soon though I am just going to make it happen. I am dying to go, really want to see Shanghai, he regals me with tales of the city, the people, the organization and precision with which the city is run and he marvels over how such a large population is so regimented and how everything is so pristine and done so efficiently. Huge eighty story skyscrapers pop up seemingly overnight in the time it takes us to build a small road.....we have a lot to catch up on! China is definitely a country I want to get to.

These trips could keep me busy for quite some time...so I had better start planning....what are your travel ideas? Do you have an ideal trip? Relaxation? Culture? A little of both? Would love to know! Whats on your "bucket list"? Hope you have an amazing day. And many thanks Barbara for having me here...its been fun!