Twenty Eight Things To See Before You Die

Six times a week I refer visitors at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona to the Smithsonian’s list of 28 places to see before you die. The staff of Smithsonian—as diverse a group of travelers as you’re likely to meet—put their heads together to come up with an exclusive list of neat places the senior reader might wish to visit.

Some of the sites are portals into the past—ancient cities so well preserved that visiting them is like stepping into a previous century. Others feature feats of engineering or sublime works of art as in the cases of the Taj Mahal and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA, called “The House That Floats On Air.” is a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpiece.

Here’s a suggested list of US Destinations for Your Senior Travel Bucket List starting with the Grand Canyon, the US Capital and the Space Needle in Seattle. Seen each of those already?  Many have.

Seniors, Don’t Say, “No”…Say “Not Yet”

I am confident that some senior travelers have knocked on the doors of a few of these places. I always ask on my tours, as a guide at Taliesin, if any visitors have been to the Taj Mahal. Most say no. I respond by saying, “Don’t Say No, Say Not Yet.”  This is always what I told my students in my French classes to say when asked the same question on any destination in the world.

The site above classifies the destinations as: Portals Into The Past, Feats of Engineering, A Matter of Timing, Triumphs of Vision, Scale New Heights, In the Presence of Gods and Here Today Gone Tomorrow. That makes for a nice array of Culturally or Historically significant sites throughout the world and many World Heritage Sites.

Seems like so many travel organizations have their own ideas for 2014. I kind of liked List Challenges listing of 100 picks, several of which I’ve seen. How about you?

 Five Trips To Consider

The World is your marble and you have wings, so go for it. Maybe put Bhutan, Valparaiso, Chile, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, Istanbul and Iceland into your travel bucket plans. There is a little more information on each on this site and you can always Google for more.

The Smithsonian Advises: Walk the timeless streets and byways of ancient cities on three continents | The world’s surviving architectural wonders hewed from stone and mortar beckon as ever | Choosing the right year, month or even moment can make all the difference | Don’t just see nature’s most spectacular sites—experience them.

 I’ll depart on a “high note” today with 27 Surreal Places To Visit Before You Die by Buzz Feed Travel with three awesome photos of each. Enjoy your upcoming adventure folks and pick out a few from this great list of 40 more that includes snorkeling with whale sharks. You’ve got your work cut out for you seniors. Enjoy!  jeb