Saturday, February 21, 2009

These Books were made for Walking meme


Strumpet has posted this month's These Books were made for Walking question:



Is there a place that you have always dreamed of visiting specifically because of a book you read? It can be any kind of book: fiction, non-fiction, travelogue, you name it. If you have been to the place, did it live up to your expectations? If you haven't been, do you think you'll ever make it there?


Strumpet and I actually have the same city as at least part of our response, but because of different books!

I have wanted to go to St Petersburg since reading Paullina Simon's fantastic trilogy that starts with The Bronze Horseman. I can't tell you how much that book captured my imagination and made me want to go to Russia, and if I could make it during the White Nights of the Russian summer then that would be totally fantastic too! It certainly didn't hurt that not long after reading TBH, I then read Anna Karenina, which is predominantly also set in St Petersburg, but a hundred or so years earlier. Click here for images of St Petersburg.

I love it when reading a book makes me want to go there! There was a time after reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, I so wanted to go to Tuscany again. Not just a little bit, but desperately, desperately! I know that going cyber touring isn't the same as actually being there, but I am grateful that it is possible to just click on links and find all kinds of images to further whet the appetite.

In some ways there are lot of places that I would love to go back to as well as new places to go to. After reading Sharon Kay Penman's books, I would love to go to Wales for the first time, but there are so many books that I have read that make me want to go to plaes where I have been before because I think I would appreciate the history, and the experience so much more than I did when I was 24 and travelling the world. I am sure if I was to go to a lot of the same places again now it would be a totally different experience than it was back then!

While I have been lucky enough to travel quite a lot, my life is in a far different place now, and even though my feet get very itchy some times I have pretty much resolved myself to the fact that for the time being I am not really going to be going anywhere! Cyber tourism will have to do for me for now.

So here is a video made from the movie of Under the Tuscan Sun.




And I had to post this one just for the food alone!

10 comments:

  1. I liked that movie , and it did make me want to visit Tuscany too!

    Another place I'd like to visit - Botswana, entirely because of Mme Ramotswe (from the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series)

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  2. St. Petersburg is one of my very favourite cities in the world (although it's not tourist-friendly, so if you don't speak/read basic Russian, you'll probably have a lot more problems)! I haven't heard of that series, but now I definitely want to read it-thanks for blogging about it! :D

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  3. It is often that books make me wish I could travel. I would first go to England and then France. Those would be my top two destinations.

    You've been nominated for an award on my blog :)

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  4. I'd love to go to Egypt after reading Elizabeth Peters' Peabody books - before I read them, I had zero interest in Egypt, and now I really really want to go and see the Pyramids and experience Cairo and all that!

    Li

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  5. Lol, oh the irony! For as long as I can remmeber I've wanted to visit Ireland but since I just finished reading Greyfriar's Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson I think I would really rather go to Scotland instead!

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  6. I love this movie as well. When ever I find out it is on TV, it is a must for me. The book is on my list to read. After watching the movie, I always get dreamy for Tuscany.

    Anne of Green Gables and the rest of the series makes me want to go to Prince Edward Island.

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  7. I still haven't read The Bronze Horseman, although it sits on my shelf patiently waiting for me!

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  8. Michele, Michele, Michele! Read it!

    Vickie, I haven't seen it for years I think I will try and keep an eye out for it!

    Ladytink, in reality I would love to go to both Scotland and Ireland, but if I HAD to choose only one of those two, it would definitely by Scotland.

    Bookdaze, I always had a bit of interest in Egypt, but yes, the Amelia Peabody books certainly made me want to go, and then the Michelle Moran books as well.

    Arleigh, I will drop by and check it out tomorrow! Thanks for the award.

    Eva, I can not tell you how jealous I am that you have been!

    Wordjunkie, I love that series, but for some reason it doesn't move me to want to go there as much as other books do to make me want to go to other places.

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  9. Ah! Yes! Tuscany!! That movie is fabulous ... I sometimes browse villas for rent, in the hopes that I could go somewhere that charming! For now it's on the cyber-travel list only though. Can't imagine it would be very romantic and lovely with the kids!

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  10. I have never seen the movie or read the book. I have to move this one up my TBR list.
    Reading definitely makes me want to visit many places, with Venice/ Florence, Paris and England topping the list.
    I would love to just travel the world, to be honest :)

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