This is a good thread idea.

Wales: I've been to Wales twice. The first time as a child of seven, and the second time as a child of fifteen. The seven year-old didn't care because he had no interest in anything other than video games. The fifteen year-old didn't care because he was only there for the F.A. Cup Final. Basically, it's just England with funny signs.

Scotland: Been to Scotland twice, too. The first was a trip to Edinburgh, which I very much enjoyed. It's a very nice city to walk around, although I wish I could've gone during festival time. The second was a miserable stay in the Highlands, where I accomplished nothing besides playing a lot of pool, and crashing a boat into a pier. The scenery was nothing to get worked up about, particularly as it was covered by thick fog half the time.

France: What with the countless school trips and duty-free runs, I can't even remember how many times I've been to France. It's rather nice, both in the urban and rural areas, and the people are much friendlier than I had expected. Didn't think much of the food though.

Belguim: We dropped into Belguim for a day or so, so I didn't really get to see much of it. Brugge was alright, can't say much about the rest of it.

Spain: Barcelona was a lovely city, with some nice architecture and a friendly atmosphere. I could spend ages just wondering around Montjuic at dusk, doing nothing in particular. I also saw a guy wearing an Instructor del Sexo shirt, making him the best foreign guy ever.

Italy: I adore Italy, and need to go back there some time. Our first visit was to a small town near Florence, named Il Reggino. The countryside was spectacular, the food magnificent, and the architecture so stereotypically Italian that it hard not to enjoy simply being there. The second trip was to Venice, which is quite simply the most atmospheric city in the world. Everyone needs to go there at least once, just because the experience is so unique. Seriously, go now.

The USA: The best holiday ever, bar none. New York was the most fantastic experience, because the city just feels so alive. You get the feeling that anyone you bump into on the street could be a character in a TV Show, and everything about the country is just so American. Seeing rows of yellow school buses packed with kids just summed it up for me, ordinary though it may have been. The city itself is fantastic, and so different from any other metropolis I'd been to before. You can be working your way up the Soho thrift stores one minute, and relaxing in Central Park the next. I could go on for ages about how fantastic this experience was, but you're probably not reading this anyway, so I won't bother. All I can say is that I have to go back.

That's pretty much the extent of my travels. I've been on a train that passed briefly through Switzerland too, but I didn't really see much of it at all, so I couldn't really say what I thought of it. With any luck, my next stop will be South Africa...although I've always wanted to drop in on my pals in the Czech. Republic.