My early view of the world was shaped by the magazines and books I read, less so by television. Certainly National Geographic was influential. But my most burning desire was to see castles and places where I might have some view of the medieval world. At the age of 45, I made my first trip to Europe. Research told me that one place with a decent concentration of castles was Wales and so there I went. I spent my time going back and forth between Wales and England and saw enough castles and cathedrals to last a lifetime.
The one place I haven't been that I still want to see is Japan. I'd also like to see some of the places where my father and uncles served during WWII; New Guinea, the Philippines, Chuuk, Guam. I suppose if I took enough time, I could do it all in one trip. My other desire is to see the 10 or so states I haven't yet visited; concentrated in the Northwest, plus Oklahoma which I've somehow managed to so far avoid.
My thanks to the OP for bringing up a topic that is both fun to think and read about as well as less likely to lead to rancor amongst FTers than many other topics found here these days (although OMNI PR is a bigger blessing in that regard).