My Own True Love and I recently sat down to synchronize our calendars for the coming year–a terrifying process. (We already have things scheduled well into September? Really?) As always, it gave me the travel itch and made me think about the places I really, really want to see. Some of them have been on the list for years decades a long time. Others are relatively new.

Here are a few road trips through history that I’d love to make:

• The Minoan Palace and Archeological Museum at Knossos:  This one’s been on my list since I was a kid. (Thank you, C.W. Ceram.)  English archeologist Arthur Evans. like Heinrich Schliemann* before him, used ancient legends to  guide his excavations on Crete, long associated with the legend of the minotaur and the labyrinth.  The story of his discoveries, the later story of how the script was deciphered, and the sheer beauty of the artifacts continue to fire my imagination.
• The Plains of Abraham:  In recent years, My Own True Love and I have grown increasingly interested in the history of the French in North America.  The Plains of Abraham in Quebec is the site of a critical battle in the French and Indian wars, which ended with North America in the control of the British–if not for long.
• The Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska: It’s just one small step from being interested in the French in North America to being interested in the North American fur trade.
• The Alhambra:  I assume this needs no explanation.  Who wouldn’t want to see the Alhambra?

What road trips through history are on your list?

* Retired German businessman Heinrich Schliemann ignored conventional academic wisdom, insisted that the stories of the Trojan War were true, and used Homer’s descriptions to discover an ancient city.

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