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I'm torn between the following:
I've always wanted to go to all three because they all seem great. They'd be expensive for me to go to. I think if I had to pick one it would be Japan because there's so much to see and do, and the culture is gorgeous.
Go to Iceland now. We're at solar maximum, best chance to see Auroras.
Iceland, need to be scouting regions far from the nukes.
It's easy to avoid the nukes ... just don't go anywhere near big cities or military locations ... it's the radiation and nuclear fallout you have to worry about ... so it's best to head to the southern hemisphere and go to places like New Zealand instead.
Fair point...
My first choice would definitely be Iceland, too! Canada probably second :)
I just came back from Japan and gotta say it is definitely worth a long visit. The 2 weeks would even be a tad short, but still a great opportunity. Food is not expensive so you dont "save" a lot on it in this thought experiment, but hotels, especially during sakura time right now, would be a big one. And well, just getting a chance to experience Japanese culture, especially coming from "rude western countries" is pretty great. Definitely gonna go back there.
As a US citizen, if I ever have a chance to get the fuck out of here, I ain't planning to come back.
Fuck, I dunno, Sweden maybe..
Same. If I win an all expenses paid vacation to anywhere I’m going to one of those countries that’s high on the happiness index and applying for refugee status as soon as I get there.
I'm so sorry for what's happening in your country right now
They should be the ones apologising to the world
As an American I would be afraid to travel right now. We have pissed off a lot of the world and I would want to work on a French accent before getting out that passport.
I would go to the Azores and see what it would take to stay there. I've always found the vibe in coastal regions more agreeable and I've heard good things about the Azores. No need to worry about currency as it is part of Portugal so Euro zone. The weather is fine, not too hot, not too cold. Areas are beautiful.
Only thing is that it might cease to be above water if the seas keep rising.
I've been to Portugal once it was absolutely lovely.
I'm off to Madeira tm...then Albufeira, Seville...21 days...I'm bragging, sorry...
I just noticed you said 21 days .... Holy Week is happening from April 13 to 21 this year ... Holy Week is basicaly everything surrounding Easter (the Spanish celebrate it for a week before actual Easter Sunday) ... Seville will have huge events starting on the Monday 13th and last all week until Sunday 20th
Seville has big events but Malaga has the biggest most spectacular gatherings that will last all week ... the city has a population of about 500,000 - I think it was about 300,000 for the city proper ... but it balloons to over a million people on Holy Week. The Easter processions where brotherhoods of people march through the streets all day start on Monday and each day after get bigger and bigger and more numerous processions all week ... it all culminates on Good Friday with the largest processions and about 20 processions marching through the streets ... it's also a 'familyish' event as the entire city will be filled with families, children, elderly, adults, teenagers ... some drinking but no outright partying. But it is jam packed and mobs of people pushing together everywhere. Unless you've booked a place to stay weeks ahead of time, you won't find any place to stay in the city unless you want to pay thousands per night.
The biggest day is Good Friday ... events die off on Good Saturday and Easter Sunday is quiet as it is traditionally considered a holiday that is spent at home with family instead of making people work or participate at a major event.
During Holy Week ... Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Almeria have big events, but the largest and most spectacular of them all is Malaga.
Here's a photo of what you would see during Holy Week in Malaga ... don't let the imagery put you off, those outfits were part of the Catholic Church for hundreds of years before any one in North America used them ... and the outfits and parades come in a variety of colours (black, white, purple, red), and the largest brotherhoods on Good Friday march with the Priesthood leadership, the brotherhood, the congregation, its elders, a full marching band, leading women, alter boys and girls and a float representative of their church (the largest of which weighs about 2/3 tons and is lifted and marched for several hours by a host of 100 men) ...
One of the most famous brotherhoods includes the actor Antonio Banderas, who is from Malaga and he secretly and discreetly joins his brotherhood every year as one of the masked participants.
You got me excited because I've been to this celebration three times and each time it was amazing.
I once visited Granada during Semana Santa (not knowing that it was that time of year). It was similar to how you've described the festivities in Malaga. In Granada, the procession begins at a church at the bottom of the city, and ends at a church at the top, in Albaicin. A couple of incidents still stick in my mind: first, after the procession was over, some of the people carrying the massive statue of the Virgin Mary were sitting on the wall smoking hash and drinking wine. Very jolly local scene. And later that evening, there was a highly entertaining drunken fight between two guys over an impressively massive transwoman (like someone who'd be good on an American football front line). Andalucia is always a fun place to visit.
Not all of the penitentes wear white hoods, by the way. There's a separate group who lear black. Back in the day, there were also self-flagellators and crucifixion re-enactors, but the Church now discourages that practice.
Albufiera used to be a small town gem about 20 years ago but now the vacationing Brits have turned it into party central and it feels more like a giant disco sports bar now. I saw it first in about 2005 and it had a lot of historic charm. Then I saw it again in about 2015 and it was drastically changed with whole streets filled with sports bars and discos. Be careful in the weekends there because the streets are filled with drunken tourists. It was like New Orleans during mardi gras ..... every weekend! As exciting as it may sound to tourists, the locals absolutely hate it and judging from the last time I was there they hated the tourists, especially the Brits.
Portimao, to the west is a quieter and more Portuguese location with better and larger beaches and more traditional and cultural appeal.
I'd avoid Albufiera because of the bar scene (which can be had anywhere in the world), unless that is what you are looking for.
Seville will be amazing and beautiful .... head to Malaga and Granada if you have the chance. Malaga is beautiful this time of year because there aren't that many people and you can enjoy their huge Malagueta beach next to the city.
Oh shut up haha 😄
I haven't been to Japan in ages and would love to visit. I've been curious about checking out Okinawa for a while, too.
Excellent trains and excellent food.
Spain, specifically the south of Spain.
It's known for very hot summers, tropical but it's tempered if you stick to the Mediterranean coast and even more so in the Atlantic coast. It's also got the warmest winter weather in all of Europe on its southern Mediterranean coast.
It's also a first world country so everything works for modern banking, telecommunications, transport, rentals, hotels, restaurants and all services in between. But it also still has deep cultural roots so there is lots of interesting things to see and do. In the late winter there's a period in the year where you can go skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountain peak in the morning and go sunbathing on a beach in the afternoon.
I've been to Spain about a dozen times years ago and it's the best base to travel from when going to Europe. You can connect to everything in Europe on cheap flights from Malaga.
Definitely Spain.
Atlantis, cause it ain't real and I'm kinda tired of reality.
Better bring your scuba gear because some unfortunate events happened there a few thousand years ago.
Cool. I love sleeping with the fishes.
Probably Sweden, Switzerland or Denmark as they're far from Australia and kind of expensive.
What's Australia like to live in
Its nice enough, Melbourne's a big city there's a lot of pockets of different cultures. I think we've got the same problems a lot of places do.
Yes I agree. What's the feeling on climate change there? Not a great place to be when it gets hotter
The fires are a problem but we've been getting pretty hot for a while and are starting to build places with that in mind - better insulation and AC. A lot of older houses struggle in the hot and cold.
That sounds sensible
Hmm hard choice. Maybe the maghrib, Malta, Finland/belgium or something like that.
As the other user said, i'd never want to come back to my country (unless it's the maghrib, lol) but that wasn't part of the question.
If all expenses are paid I would make sure to find somewhere expensive to go to. I am going to with Thailand since its an expensive flight and while I know its not as expensive when you get there. I have also been watching White Lotus. Why do you ask?
I've watched too many back packing gone wrong movies to ever go there
Well if I am going all expense paid I will have some kind of fancy security team to go with me for my back packing videos. I might get a few private boats and plane trips as well. Got to cram as much nature as possible in there
Croatia was absolutely gorgeous! I'd love to go back with my expenses paid.
Does it have to be a country? I want to take Virgin Galactic to space.
If I can't go to space, I'd like to go back to Antarctica.
If it has to be a country, then either Australia or New Zealand, I'm not sure which right now.
Why settle for just "space" when you could go to the ISS? This is an "all expenses paid" scenario, after all.
Can you actually just pay to spend time on the ISS, with no other qualifications? Because I'm sure not qualified with any skills or abilities.
Home
Start in Hokkaido to ski then bounce around the rest of Japan for food. Maybe pop back up to ski more if the weather is perfect.
End by eating blowfish in Fukuoka.
Brazil - the northeast.
If the goal is to maximize money spent, I'd stay in Copenhagen and hit a few gastro hot spots. It's a lovely city, good for drinking and dining, but whenever I go there, I feel poor.
I'd also consider less costly but equally wonderful foodie visits to Bologna or Girona. In either case, I'd rent a villa. In Girona, I'd stop at El Celler de Can Roca.
2 weeks is not enough for Australia or New Zealand so I'll probably go for Sweden
I would really prefer just the cash but as much as I hate the environmental impact I could not pass up a free all expenses paid vacation. I would choose japan with one week in Aman Tokyo and one week in Aman Kyoto because I want super decadent high end pampering but at the same time I would just love to see the two sides of japan like that. I guess if it was limited to standard fare I would still do japan honestly. I mean I need to see a bit of these places animes take place.
I've been to Jamaica twice already, but I gotta say,
I'm French, I would go to France. But like the other side of the world type of France. Tahiti is a beautiful place as we all know