An important A large part of my life has always been my desire to travel. Without a doubt, this love came from my dad. He was a great traveller himself, and he fueled my desire to see the world. As a child, I remember watching a documentary on whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon existed, and my dad explained to me about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He taught me all the names of the wonders. The history of each one, and their location. Years later, we would discuss what our seven “must-see” sites of the world would be now. But we never did make a complete final list.

The New Seven Wonders

Last summer, they announced the new Seven Wonders of the World. When I read the list, I smiled. Knowing my dad had managed to see all these wonders. But also that I was lucky enough to share some of these experiences with him.

When I was a child, our first big family holiday was a six week trip to India. Although the holiday was meant to be a chance to spend time with the extended family. It was important for my dad that we saw the country as well. Even though I was still very young for this holiday, I remember the long coach ride from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I had no idea then why the building was so important. In fact, before the visit, all I knew of the landmark was a new story when Princess Diana went there alone.

Over the years, we continued to have many family adventures. But the last time all four members of my immediate family travelled together was to China. As you can imagine, it was an extremely memorable trip. For me personally, it was particularly memorable. It was the start of my journey to giving up meat. I lived off rice and chocolate for two weeks. But without a doubt, the highlight of the whole vacation was seeing the Great Wall of China. We walked along the section of the Great Wall at Badaling.

The following year my sister and I intended to have our own adventures. But when my parents told me they planned on spending three weeks travelling around Mexico, I decided to tag along. Early one morning towards the end of the vacation, we woke at 5 a.m. to avoid the crowds and head out to Chichen Itza. We ended up spending the whole day there climbing ‘the castle,’ exploring the throne room and walking around the ball court.

It doesn’t stop there

My family’s link to the Seven Wonders doesn’t end there. Last year, after getting engaged to Jason. My family and I started planning a family holiday before my name changed! We decided to have an adventure to Machu Picchu. (Jason did not want to come along because he was scared of spiders). Unfortunately, a month before our trip. My dad was diagnosed with cancer, and the holiday was cancelled.

So having travelled to three of the seven wonders, I became determined to see the other four as a legacy to my dad. As the new most important man in my life, Jason has already taken on this quest. Taking me to Rome to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, enabling me to see the Colosseum. And he is even talking about ways to avoid the spiders in Peru!

Published with the wonder of WordPress, whilst I am away.