Today I’m going to respond to a prompt I got from the awesome Miss Zoot on the subject of travel.

In the context of these travel fantasies, money and jobs are not an issue. So, you can go anywhere, do anything, and when you come back, your life is waiting there for you. Feel free to play along in the comments or on Twitter!

1. Where in the world would you like to spend one week?

Paris. I’ve been there once before, but the trip was sort of a disaster. The city was amazing, because how could it not be, but the company left something to be desired. This time I’d go with my husband and we’d explore, eat, drink, and generally have a lovely time.

We’d peruse flea markets and bookstores and I’d buy some kind of overpriced scarf in a snobby boutique and try on lots of perfumes and we’d drink coffee all morning and wine all night and eat bread and cheese and snails. Vive la France!

2. Where in the world would you like to spend one month?

Scandinavia. The land of my people. I would go in the winter, when things are at their most hyggelig. The cozy fires, candlelight, and amazing sweaters. Maybe at Christmastime.

I would spend a lot of time in Denmark, seeing the sights in København and Odense and then maybe sailing around from tiny island to tiny island. Or maybe not, since it would be December (the only crimp in this otherwise great plan!). I would eat a lot of smørrebrød and drink Danish beer.

I’d love to see the mountains and rocky coasts and fjords of Norway — I’ve never been there and the geography is amazing. There would be snow and all kinds of winter sports to try. I don’t care for downhill skiing, but I feel sure I could amuse myself otherwise.

In Sweden, I’d have to spend at least one night in the famous ice hotel, a hotel north of the Arctic circle, built of ice harvested from a nearby river. The hotel melts away every spring and is redesigned and rebuilt every winter. According to the website, the village where it is located, Jukkasjärvi, is “a small village in Northern Sweden with 1,100 residents and 1,000 dogs.” I am obsessed with it.

3. Where in the world would you like to spend one year?

Greece. When CW and I were there for our belated honeymoon this past summer, we fantasized about moving there or living there for a year doing some kind of teaching or research or writing work. What a dream that would be! We could be based in Athens and still have time to explore the rest of the country at our leisure.

I’d want to spend some significant time in a little house on one of the charming tiny Aegean islands like Hydra, with little to do except read, write, swim, drink wine, and climb hills.

We’d get to visit and revisit all the ancient sites that are so inspiring, learn the language a bit more, learn to cook some of our favorite dishes, and become regulars at our favorite places. Think of the sandals I could acquire! Think of the olives! Sigh.

Okay, where would you go?