A year or so ago, two of my blog buddies — I’ve Bean Travelling and An Orcadian Abroad — took part in a blog challenge that had them come up with 26 prior travel destinations, one for each letter of the alphabet.  I liked the concept, but figured it would take a lot of time to assemble.  Correct!  This was a time-consuming project—several letters generated a long list of destinations while others (think J, Q, U, V, Y, Z) were lucky to have one or two, and letter X forced me to cheat a little bit get creative—but it was also a trip down memory lane, so fun as well.  Instead of writing about each destination, I decided to do “stream of consciousness” captions, listing words or phrases that capture the sights/sites, sounds, and sensations I experienced along the way.

A is for Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

Van Gogh Museum . . . canals . . . Red Light District . . . ristaffel . . . stroopwafel

B is for Belgium

The Belgians . . . Mannequin Pis . . . The Atomium . . . Bruges . . . chocolat

C is for Chinon (France)

Loire Valley . . . Chinon Castle . . . Joan d’Arc . . . Henry IV . . . beaucoup châteaux

Read more about France:

D is for the Dolomites (Italy)

Hotel Rezia . . . hiking . . . cycling . . . Ladin . . . La Villa

Read more:

E is for England

Stonehenge . . . London . . . Whitby . . . Portsmouth . . . Castleton . . . Lincoln . . . Nottingham . . . Carlisle . . . punting on the Cam . . . Hampton Court . . . Jack the Ripper Tour . . . curry . . . fish & chips . . . in-laws

Read more about England:

F is for Four Corners (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)

Boiling . . . sweltering . . . baking . . . sultry . . . scorching

G is for Germany

Cologne . . . Heidelberg . . . Rüdesheim . . . Breisach . . . Marksburg Castle

H is for (Budapest) Hungary

House of Terror. . . Széchenyi Baths . . . goulash . . . paprikash . . . Café Gerbeaud

I is for Italy

Colosseum . . . Lake Como . . . Cinque Terre . . . train strike . . . pizza & Chianti 🍕🍷

Read more:

J is for Jamaica

Negril . . . Seven Mile Beach . . . SCUBA diving . . . patois . . . reggae . . . bliss

Read about our struggles getting to Jamaica:

K is for Kinderdijk (The Netherlands)

Viking River Cruise . . . Archimedes’ screw

Read more:

L is for Loneliest Road (US Route 50 in Nevada)

Oppressive heat . . . chatting with crazy bikepackers . . . “I survived the Loneliest Road” passport

M is for Montana 

Glacier National Park . . . whitewater rafting . . . Missoula . . . mountains . . . home

N is for New York City

Central Park . . . Seinfeld coffee shop . . . NY-style pizza 🍕 . . . the Addams Family on Broadway . . . Statue of Liberty

O is for Oregon Coast

Sea lions . . . seafood . . . fog . . . Newport . . . WIND!

P is for Prague (Czech Republic)

Dancing House . . . black light show . . . astronomical clock . . . Prague Castle. . . marionette opera . . . Charles Bridge

Read more about our harrowing journey to Prague:

Q is for Quebec City (Canada)

Île d’Orléans . . . Plains of Abraham . . . Vieux Quebec

R is for Rocky Mountains (Colorado)

Hiking . . . cycling . . . 14ers . . . home away from home

Read more about our adventures in the Colorado Rockies:

S is for Southeast Asia

Luang Prabang . . . Siem Reap . . . Angkor Wat . . . sticky rice . . . Buddhism

Read more about SE Asia:

T is for Tucson (Arizona)

Solo spring break . . . hiking . . . saguaro cacti . . . Catalina Mountains . . . gila monster

Read more:

U is for Utah

Canyons . . . hiking . . . cycling . . . national parks . . . scenery

Read more:

V is for Vienna (Austria)

Ringstrasse . . . Prater . . . Hofburg Palace . . . Jesse & Celine ❤. . . sachertorte

W is for Washington State

Roslyn . . . Northern Exposure . . . Seattle . . . Spokane . . . Cascades

Read more:

X is for new meXico 😉

Hot springs . . . ABQ . . . Santa Fe . . . Taos . . . “Christmas” 🌶

Read more:

Y is for York (England)

I was all geared up to do Yellowstone NP for Y, but couldn’t locate the photos, so York it is.

Z is for Zion National Park (Utah)

Hiking . . . red rocks . . . canyons . . . Angels’ Landing

Read more:

Have you been to any of these places?  Would they make your A-Z list?

38 thoughts

  9. I did this post last year, and it was a lot of fun! Really makes you retrieve all of your travel memories to compile them into one post…I especially like yours from Germany and Washington State, both which have lovely things to do and see. I feel you on the letter “X:” luckily, I had one (Xi’an, China) that worked for me! Thanks for sharing your travels; it must’ve taken you a long time to make this post!

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  11. I think New MeXico goes way beyond “getting creative,” but I won’t quibble! This is a great list and a fun post. I am obsessed with the Dancing House in Prague and would love to visit my motherland someday. Budapest, too!

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  12. This is such a fun post! I very much enjoyed seeing the beauty of the world through your wonderful travel photos, especially the Dancing House in Prague. Its design is truly unique! Thanks for sharing and have a nice day 🙂 Aiva

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. I love this!! What a fun walk down memory lane. I also like the X location. LOL. Looks like we are NOT going to England this summer. Too much uncertainty. BOO. Hope all is well!

    Like

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