All Around

They say that Glaswegians have always been travellers. By virtue of being several hundred miles closer to North America than anywhere else in Great Britain, for many years it was the centre of trade with the New World - particularly the tobacco trade with America. Importing tobacco was responsible for turning Glasgow from a large-ish villge that still lived up to the Gaelic meaning of its name "dear green place" to the industrial, smoky (in more ways than one!) city that we know today. In return for baccy, we sent back to America a typically nifty Scottish invention: sticky-backed plastic, which is why the Americans call it "Scotch tape". This is all a very long way of explaining that for as long as the city has been a city, ships from exotic corners of the globe have chugged up the Clyde and let the working people know that there was a great world out there worth exploring, long before the working people in other parts of the UK realised.

And explore it we did. As Billy Connolly famously pointed out, we explored the warmest, sunniest, generally wear-sunglasses-all-year-round places, then promptly settled happily in the dullest, rainiest, generally wear-wellies-all-year-round-places. Having lived in Vancouver for two years, and happened to spend a weekend in Sydney when it suffered the most rain it had in 120 years, I can't really disagree.

So as you can see, it's really not my fault. I am patriotically destined to get itchy feet every few months. My parents kicked it off: by the time I left school, I had lived in 4 countries - and tried to persuade teachers in each one that we hadn't done homework in the last, so I really couldn't be expected to start now. So a few months ago, when my friend Toby told me about the "30 Countries Before 30" challenge, I was already on my way

I have already visited, in no particular order:
Scotland

England

Wales

Ireland

France

Italy

Vatican City

Greece

Holland

Switzerland

Belgium

Luxembourg

Spain

Portugal

U.S.A.

Canada

Australia

The Bahamas (a country? ... let's say yes for now... )

Singapore

Thailand

Germany

Monaco
Croatia

Which I don't think is too bad in 28 years. The list comes to 23, which means I have two years (oh all right, a year and a half) to hit seven. I think it's do-able.

ETA: Ahhhh! San Marino! 24! Thank heavens for random little European principalities. Six to go…