I have been chomping at the bit to take a much-needed vacation. I have not had a bona fide vacation since 2007 and long to spend a week somewhere that offers relaxation, adventure, culture, and which finally gives me a chance to catch my breath from the hustle and bustle of a life that is full of activity and responsibility. Everyone needs this kind of break!

I think because I have waited so long to give myself permission to go anywhere for fun, my brain is getting flooded with all the places I have longed to visit. One criterion which I have established in my determination of where to go is that it must be a place I have not yet visited, and it must be outside of the United States. Out of habit I have included the IFBB Tijuana Pro as part of my travel plans despite the fact that this is a competition and thus not a vacation destination on my list.

My desire to go somewhere I have not yet been rules out the following countries: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece and Turkey. But that’s only eight countries out of a relatively long list of countries I would love to visit. One question I have entertained is, do I visit a country of my origin? That is relatively easy since my heritage stems from only two countries: Japan and Hungary. However, my knowledge of the Japanese language is quite limited now, and I feel somewhat ashamed even though as a Eurasian half-Japanese mutt, I am considered “gaijin”. And with Hungary, I only know a couple of Hungarian words. I know that the other language which is spoken in Hungary is German, and sadly, my knowledge of German is quite limited as well.

I just looked up a list of all the countries in the world and this is the list of countries I have not yet been to that I would like to visit:

Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Brazil
Canada
Cayman Islands
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Egypt
Fiji
Hungary
Jamaica
Japan
Monaco
New Zealand
Peru
Portugal
Spain
Venezuela
Virgin Islands

I am thinking of going somewhere at the end of July or the beginning of August before my contest prep for November gets too restrictive. I welcome suggestions on what locales are the best to visit, especially on a shoestring budget.