If A List of Places Could Define Me, This Would Be It

I have never introduced myself without mentioning my love for travel or providing a run-down of places on my bucket-list, so I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce myself to Seeker. #seekerchallenge

Lake George, Bourbon O Bar, Las Peñitas, Nicaragua, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Jardins de Juberri, Walt Disney World® Resort, Jebel Jais, Giverny, Friðheimar, Singapore, Leon Nicaragua

• Lake George in New York, United States

  
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  Growing up in NYC, weekend trips upstate with your family and then your friends were pretty commonplace. You have not experienced an upstate summer until you’ve taken a dip in Lake George. But skinny-dipping in Lake George mid-winter may win you more points with your friends.

• Bourbon O Bar in New Orleans, United States

  
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  New Orleans is in my top two favorite cities I’ve visited in the US. If I could fly there regularly to listen to jazz and eat, I would. And while my favorite drink, the Hurricane, isn’t unique to this one bar, my favorite was at Bourbon O Bar. Maybe it was the ambiance or the great band but this was the best one I had the whole trip.

• Las Peñitas, Nicaragua in León, Nicaragua

  
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  I have not been to many beaches other than in my own state - in fact, I’m only flying out to my first island trip this week. But I absolutely loved spending the entire day at Las Peñitas in Nicaragua. While it’s not far from town and is considered a “tourist beach”, there were so few groups on the beach and felt as if you were far from the city. There were so many little spots to explore and relax and the sunset was magnificent.

• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France

  
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  While I an mildy bias towards my home airport JFK, my favorite airport to date has to be CDG in Paris. I remember landing in the Paris for the first time and thinking “these escalators look like something out of the Jetsons”. I like how it’s modern and easy to navigate, but I also mainly enjoy that I can delicious French sandwiches on olive baguettes in several locations with fantastic coffee.

• Jardins de Juberri in Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra

  
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  I had not even heard of the country of Andorra, a tiny country that sits between Spain and France, until I was researching “potential day-trips from Barcelona.” The two pictures I saw of a small sculpture garden was enough for me to include it in our trip itinerary. It took a long drive up a winding mountain road and almost getting lost, but this mystical little garden on the side of a cliff is the only place that didn’t make me groan in agony at having no cell phone service.

• Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando, United States

  
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  My mother always tells us the story about her first real crush, whom she met at 13 while visiting Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. They even spent a whole night coaster hopping. I guess it runs in the family since I also had my first travel crush in the “Most Magical Place on Earth”.

• Jebel Jais, United Arab Emirates

  
  jasmineagbhow

  One of my most-memorable action-packed experiences was taking a ride on the World’s Longest Zipline atop the highest peak in the UAE while visiting Ras al Khaimah. The ride requires you to lay flat on your stomach, arms back so you feel like you’re flying while you take in the mountain range for about two full minutes. But the view at the end - especially when you’re close to sunset makes for the best instagram shot following your successful flight. And obviously I plastered that exact photo across every form of social media including Instagram. #mostinstagrammablespots

• Giverny, France

  
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  If I could retire anywhere that I’ve visited thus far, it would be to the Giverny/Vernon area of France. I could spend hours repeating my time there, wandering Monet’s gardens and eating my way through markets - while being close enough to Paris, one of my favorite cities. I think there’s a reason Claude Monet spent the later half of his life there and I could definitely do the same.

• Friðheimar, Iceland

  
  jasmineagbhow

  I would put “food” in one of the top reasons I enjoy traveling without shame. And while it’s hard to narrow down the best spots I’ve eaten, I’ll have to go with Friðheimar in Reykolt, Iceland. The restaurant is situated inside of a tomato greenhouse. Naturally, every item on the menu including dessert have tomatoes included! Highly recommend the tomato soup, the ravioli in tomato sauce, and the green tomato and apple pie. You’re able to garnish your dish with a small basil plant and scissors on your table. You can even wash everything down with a tomato beer. This was more than a meal, it was an experience and service was lovely.

• Singapore

  
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  I haven’t been to Singapore yet but it’s always called to me and remained higher up on my list. During the pandemic, I naturally planned a dozen of future trip itineraries (several based around Asia) and each time I aimed to see if Singapore could be hit as a pre-stop. There’s at least sixty places currently on my bucket-list and I hope Singapore is the next spot I check-off.

• Leon Nicaragua in León, Nicaragua

  
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  Funny story: I was all geared up to sign up for a class during my undergraduate that included a trip to Italy. Not so surprisingly, that class booked up in the blink of an eye and I booked the only class that fit in that time slot. On our first day, the professor noted the community service hours we had to complete as part of the class could be done during an optional trip to Nicaragua. And so my first international trip to the land of wine and pasta, became a trip to Nicaragua where I hiked a volcano, met community leaders, swam in Lake Nicaragua after dark, and made friends I’ll ways remember.