Apologizes for not being able to do this last Friday, but better late then never!

These are some locations around the world that I want to visit some time in my life. I'm not listing the large cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, etc because that's obvious. I'm more thinking of a little bit more smaller cities though Venice still counts despite it being famous!

Venice, Italy

I've always wanted to visit Venice, the city of canals. Unfortunately it is said that there exists more tourists in Venice than actual residents. Still I would love to ride a gondola one day and explore the canals of Venice.

Florence, Italy

Florence is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the home of the Italian Renaissance, renowned for it's art and architecture, the birthplace of Dante (who was banished by penalty of death), Michelangelo, Galileo, Donatello and others. And of course as the capital of Tuscany one can find some of the most amazing cuisine in the world. I would just love to go and marvel at fine arts and it's amazing architecture. In fact it is rumored that even Hitler, who ordered that all bridges in Florence be destroyed, decided not to blow up the bridge Ponte Vecchio because it was too beautiful.

Kanyakumari, India

I'm cheating a little bit on this one because I've already visited Kanyakumari, but seeing as I how was only about 8 years old I think I would love to visit it again. Kanyakumari is the city and beach at the southern most tip of the Indian peninsula and is perhaps the only place in the world where three large bodies of water (Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean) meet at one single point. It is one of the few places in the world where you can watch both sunrise and sunset at the exact same spot. Also as a matter of personal interest I'd love to visit the Padmanabhapuram Palace which was created in 1601 to be the home of the king and queen of Travencore (one of the princely states of India before the Birtish and one of the three states that eventually ended up being my home state).

Otty and Kotagiri, India

Otty is a hill-side resort place I've always wanted to visit even when I was a child and one of my parents' favorite places. They (and others who have visited it) had many wonderful stories of the place and despite it being only about 270km (~168 mi or 20mi less than Berkeley to Fresno) I never got to visit. One of these days I will. It's also unique in this list as I'm not going here to see any man-made structures at all, but rather to see its natural beauty and drink tea as it is one of the biggest tea producers in India. The nearby Kotagiri is just as idyllic and beautiful and has what is considered one of the best climates in all of India and maybe the world as it is a pleasant cool year-round. Depressingly among this is a place and tourist attraction known as suicide point because many people plunge from great heights to their deaths onto the foothills of the Nilgiri mountains.

Srinagar, India

This is the only place on the list that I'm afraid to visit because it located in the northern state of Kashmir in India and it is the location of numerous terrorists attacks and the source of armed border conflicts between Pakistan and India. Hopefully once all of this cools down I'll be able to visit to see the area. I list Srinigar as it is home to great lakes and mountain hikes as well as wonderful gardens created by the Mughal emperors when they ruled India many centuries ago. However I just as equally want to visit the various shrines, temples and villages in the various mountains around Kashmir as they are supposed to be breathtaking to behold.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was once called Constantinople when it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was also the last of the Roman Empire. Istanbul is a beautiful city with amazing historical locations from the Hagia Sofia to the the odd bridge in which you can drive from Europe to Asia and back without having to acquire a passport and visa. There's not much to really talk about here but it's just a marvelous city to visit for someone who loves history (and awesome doner restaurants!)

What places would you love to visit someday?