For those of you interested, I just checked and I’ve been to 43 places in this book. That would be just over 4% of the places that Patricia Schultz believes we should all visit.
…how depressing!
Granted, I made myself not cheat – only places I can actually remember visiting were counted (sorry, Madrid…better luck next time!). But still, 4%. And I thought I was a “world traveler!”
Such is life though, right? There’s always more to see and always more you should have done.
So I’m sitting on my bed, wondering whether I should let this book motivate me or crush me…and I suddenly felt the urge to see what she had to say about Gibraltar, one of my most impressive childhood memories.
Well, apparently nothing. A big, fat nothing.
Gibraltar is where I first saw Africa. It’s where I had my first out-of-zoo monkey experience. It’s where my dad unknowingly pissed off a few dozen drivers by skipping the line to get through the passport check. How about the great siege tunnels in the rock of Gibraltar?
How could this little speck of land be forgotten? With its flip-flop ownership, I checked under all of the major European countries, as well as in the index. I double-checked my spelling of the name…and found out that I’ve incorrectly been spelling it with an ‘O’ and not an ‘A’, but still, it was not to be found.
Granted, picking one thousand singularly exciting and unduplicated (is that even a word?) spots in the world is a mammoth task, to be sure. I guess my ego just assumed that the places I have visited are simply the coolest and most awe-inspiring places in the world, and should (naturally) all be listed in this book.
That’s the thing about travel, though. It doesn’t matter if your favorite vacation spot isn’t included in this, or any other travel book. Individuality is what makes a memorable moment – so if you can’t afford to visit half of the expensive hotels in Ms. Schultz’s book…who cares? I know I will not die sad and depressed because I didn’t have tea at the Ritz Hotel in London. Instead, I will die well-fed and happily cared for because I had tea and a sausage roll served to me by an old local at a run down pub in some back alley of London.
Only 4 1/2 months until I can start checking off Ms. Schultz list, and adding in a few of my own favorites. GibraltAR will be on my list, for sure.
Hi Mary and Sean!
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I actually think the book is a very neat idea overall. I definitely am using the book as motivation – it really is making me excited for the places I plan to travel to. But I definitely agree with you, that travel is a unique and individualized action – perhaps Ms. Schultz's travel just isn't entirely for me. Who knows?
You should use the book to motivate, but also keep in mind that sometimes our best experiences with travel are in the most obscure places…in the end, it's the unique thing that happens to us there, the people we meet, or simply how we're feeling that day that leave the biggest impressions.
I am curious about this book and wonder how many I've been to…we shall see…I actually have a big travel book of the world. It showcases each country in a page or two with gorgeous pictures, of course.
I have a total fantasy of just letting the book open to wherever it may, and then that's the next place I visit…