The first thing we did before meeting Patricia Schultz for lunch was to see what she had to say about Seattle. As the author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, 2nd edition (Workman), she has the experience and the authority to stamp her imprimatur on a place. Score! We work in the area she wrote about--Pike Place Market--and we picked a restaurant she cited: Etta's. But, we wondered, does she really have the experience to be so definitive? We did some back-of-the-envelope calculations: 25 years as a travel journalist, 1,000 places, plus 200 more for the second edition (with no previous destinations deleted)....
The first 1,000 Places to See was about dreaming of perfection: exotic places, romantic places, lovely places. The second edition is more factual and specifically detailed without, hopefully, losing the magic, because, Schultz said, "travel is magic." She slashed and condensed, deconstructed the first book, added color photographs and the aforementioned 200 more places, and merged some single destinations together to form a larger travel experience. And then the fact-checking began. Not only is Schultz determined to find the best places in the world, she wants the information to be most accurate, too.
Schultz has indeed visited most of the destinations she writes about; for the 20% she hasn't seen, she's selected well-researched destinations that have been vetted and visited by trusted friends and colleagues.
Schultz generally doesn't visit the same place twice, but she is dogged about finding the finest of any site. She thoroughly researches a spot before she travels, and then talks to everyone she can collar there about what to see and do, from taxi drivers to waiters to people on the street. One place she returns to again and again is Italy; indeed, the book devotes 50 pages to that country (compared to France's 38). She quotes Robert Browning: "Open my heart and you will see, engraved inside of it, 'Italy.' " (She noted that some countries actually count the number of pages they get, and the tourism authorities will ask her why they only got two pages to their neighbor's three.)
But still. 1,000 places? That's quite a bucket list for anyone, even a travel writer. It seems daunting but, Schultz said, the guide is not meant to create performance anxiety; rather, she wants to encourage people to see the wealth available to them, or to discover a theme to travel, like author's homes or fresh bread comparisons or golf courses or gargoyles. Open the book randomly to find Elmina Castle in Ghana, Hua Hin resort in Thailand, Himeji Castle in Japan, Colca Canyon in Peru, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg. That will start you planning.
1000 Places to See Before You Die is a dream book with practicalities--a perfect mix, and Patricia Schultz is the perfect guide. She calls herself the Queen of Carpe Diem, with a joyous laugh. Perhaps this is the year we all need a little more of her carpe diem attitude. Perhaps the mystical, romantic Li River in Guilin, or the enchanting Portuguese town of Sintra, or jazz and BBQ in Kansas city? --Marilyn Dahl, book review editor, Shelf Awareness
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