1,000 Places To See with Wanderlust

Ian:                                             Author Patricia Schultz has taken her bestselling book, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, to new heights. In her new deluxe edition, 1000 Places to See Before You Die: The World As You’ve Never Seen It Before, the reader is immersed in gorgeous scenic photographs handpicked by Patricia.

Patricia S.:                             It’s a mix of photographers from all over the world who specialized in particular regions or cities.

Ian:                                             Avalon Travel’s new Moon travel book, Wanderlust, includes hundreds of pages of travel interests and destinations. Editor Grace Fujimoto tells us that Wanderlust’s eclectic list of travel ideas has something to offer for everyone.

Grace F.:                                  I feel like we hit a lot of different interests with these lists. Hopefully everyone will be able to find a list in there that really speaks to that.

Ian:                                             Join us for conversations with New York Times bestselling author Patricia Schultz, and Avalon Travel’s Grace Fujimoto, as we explore, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, with Wanderlust, on World Footprints with Ian.

Tonya:                                       And Tonya Fitzpatrick.

Tonya:                                       Author Patricia Schultz has transformed her New York Times bestselling book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, into an illustrated masterpiece featuring a thousand mesmerizing photos displaying the world as you’ve never seen it before. This deluxe edition has been reconceived for the photographic format and features a hundred percent new material.

Tonya:                                       I love your new coffee table deluxe edition of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Tell us how this book is different from all of the others in the 1,000 Places series.

Patricia S.:                             First of all, we call it photo driven because that’s simply what it is, versus the first book which was essentially as a soft covered book. It was quite a brick, quite a heavy, wordy text-driven book that was a lot more a background and history. I tried to give more of the backstory, and why you needed to visit, and when. The informational websites, and the how to’s, and when to’s, and all of that. This is solely with captions of course, but it’s far more visual I think, in this Instagram world. We’ve been reminded of what we’ve known all along, which is that a photo is worth a thousand words. So they’re big, lush, gorgeous, sometimes double page spreads of photos, that are the same 1000 places as the original. This time it’s all about, I think it’s much more dreamy and much more inspiring from a visual standpoint. Much more captivating because it’s really, it kind of grips your interest immediately. Whereas the other book is something that you kind of tuck into and you read for more basic, and factual, and practical information. This is just big and glorious and gorgeous, and our new baby. Our new addition to the line of 1,000 places.

Tonya:                                       Well it’s a six pound baby too, and just big, and beautiful.

Patricia S.:                             Yeah. You know, they don’t seem to call them coffee table books anymore, I don’t know why. I think maybe it’s kind of an old-timey expression that’s a throwback to the eighties and nineties when they were very popular. It is a perfect gift. It’s called the gift edition, or the deluxe edition. It’s all of that, and it’s just a perfect compliment I think. It’s great for people who already have the 1,000 Places book, as well as those that are newbies who are hearing about 1,000 Places for the first time. Hopefully that’s not too many people. It seems to be such a well known title, and it seems to be on everybody’s proverbial bedside table for inspiration. But this, I think, is inspiration of a different kind.

Tonya:                                       Indeed. One of the things that I really love about this book, first of all. Well there are many things I really love about this new deluxe edition. I love the emphasis on photography, because travel is visual. You have to… You can experience travel through…

Patricia S.:                             I know. The only, I’m happy to say only comments, if one might want to call it complaint, with the first book is that there are no visuals. There are just these postage stamp size visuals. Actually, not that small but in some cases, yes. In the first book, travel lends itself and travel demands something visual. How can… But at the same time we were very… It’s 1,000 places and we were very pressed for space. You can only make a book so big before it’s not bindable. The original book was almost a thousand pages. So we needed to make that compromise of one over the other, to reach a mix of both text and visuals. In this, we just gave ourselves totally over to photographs.

Patricia S.:                             It’s not one photographer, and I am not the photographer of these visuals. It’s a mix of photographers from all over the world who specialized in particular regions, or cities, or destinations, et cetera. People ask me all the time, is it my photography? And I thought, no, because sometimes photographers need to wait weeks or need to travel on a whim to the other side of the world. That wasn’t me. In my dreams, I would like to have done this kind of photography. It’s all I can do to find a decent photograph to put on Instagram. These are, I think, some of the finest out there. We’re very proud of the mix. It was fun actually, to wade through thousands of photographs to create this compilation.

Ian:                                             You’ve written 1,000 Places books for different countries. Your new deluxe edition includes destinations around the world. Did you select the best of the best destinations from your other 1,000 Places series?

Patricia S.:                             This in fact, they’re the same 1,000 Places as the original book, which came out in 2003. Which we’ve since updated and revised in our attempt to keep it relevant and up to date and everything. This book, as with the first, because it’s the world of which can be daunting to a lot of people. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this, but there’s a disappointing number of Americans who cannot find the U.S. or North America on a world map. Given that Americans, or travelers in general around the world, are challenged when it comes to geography.

Patricia S.:                             It follows the same sequence, this coffee table book, as the original. It makes it as user friendly. In other words, it’s not first all my favorite islands, and then my favorite big cities, and then my… But rather, it goes according to geographical regions.

Patricia S.:                             So it’s easy to use, whichever way you choose to use it. It’s a great conversation piece to grace your coffee table. I hope the book is as educational as well as it is inspiring because it’s just astonishing to me. Not just Americans by any means, but travelers wherever you go. I hate to say that the younger you are, the less you seem to know about world geography. There’s just so much to know and appreciate about the world.

Patricia S.:                             This is my humble effort to make people aware of the possibilities, and where they can be found. And how we should try to see them sooner rather than later, because there is no guarantee that we’re going to be here, let alone countries. You think, “Well, these monuments and these UNESCO sites have always been here. I’ll go when I retire.” Or, “I’ll go when the mortgage is paid off.” Or, “I’ll go when I’m an empty nester.” Or whatever.

Patricia S.:                             I just encourage people to go now, because there is really no guarantee, ever. I can’t tell you how many trips I put on credit cards that somehow always managed to be paid off, and never came back regretting anything. If at all, I came back realizing that, was that the most remarkable experience ever. Worth the interest rates I paid on my credit card.

Tonya:                                       I have a followup question regarding that, but I wanted to ask you. With so many places to see, and again you’ve outlined a thousand, what are a couple of places that we absolutely must see, in your opinion?

Patricia S.:                             Well, that’s such a good question. My long winded, I’ll keep it as short as possible, answer is that you really need, to your own self be true. Because like you said, that life is so short. If we have a conventional job, we’re lucky if we get two weeks a year. Many people are so overwhelmed by planning, that those two weeks, and sometimes not consecutively, they spend organizing their closets, or painting the deck, or cleaning out the garage. It’s a shame.

Patricia S.:                             You have to be true to yourself. Do you love all things French? Are you an Italophile? Have you always wanted to see Rome, Venice, and Florence? Is culture your thing? Are you an outdoors person? You want to be active, you want to see the national parks of the U.S. We have 61, and each one is more beautiful than the next.

Patricia S.:                             What is your budget? Can you go away for three nights and four days, or three weeks? Do you want… Are you not so mobile? Do you want to take a cruise? Do you want to take a river cruise in Europe, or do you want to take a cruise in the Mediterranean, an ocean cruise? So there’s all of that, because you don’t travel ever as much as you would like. You need to be, I think, really selective and very discerning. My favorites, if that’s what you’re asking for…

Tonya:                                       Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Patricia S.:                             My list is a thousand places long, but when asked for my favorite places, I usually give three favorite experiences, more than city specific or town specific choices. First most is Italy because that’s my heritage. My mother’s from Italy, we grew up thinking we were 500% Italian. Nobody has been to Italy who hasn’t enjoyed it. So that’s always my confirmation or my validation.

Patricia S.:                             Another is Southeast Asia, that I mentioned before. It’s an area of Asia which is a massive, that I’ve always loved. I’ve always loved India as well. But Southeast Asia, which is Thailand, and Burma, and Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. And then the Island countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, et cetera. Singapore is so exciting. We’ve all seen crazy Asia. What is the name of that film?

Tonya:                                       Crazy Rich Asians.

Patricia S.:                             Yeah, see, we all know it. So that kind of woke up America, as like, “Whoa, Singapore is not what I expected. Kind of like the Manhattan of Southeast Asia. That’s fascinating.” So that entire area, where the experience is not at all that similar, but yes, it is coming from a first time Western visitor. Then the African Safari, there may be a dozen countries, like Uganda, and Zambia, Kenya, South Africa. The experience is different, but again, the Safari experience in general is such a remarkable thing.

Patricia S.:                             I was kind of late to experience it because it’s not inexpensive, and you do need a chunk of time. Once I did experience it, I’ve been back, I don’t know how many times. And I’d go back in a nanosecond. So those three things are more comprehensive than city specific answers. It’s so impossible, it’s such a personal thing. I think I always wanted to see every place, so it didn’t matter much to me where I went. I’ve put a good dent in the overall picture, I’m still checking them off. I still had a great number of places I’d love to go to.

Ian:                                             What do you see and feel as you travel throughout the world?

Patricia S.:                             That’s such a lovely comment/question, because first and foremost and without any doubt, from my first trip ever to my most recent, and all those I have lined up ahead. If my head, if not on paper, is that it is so important for our growth. I think it just kicks open the door in a way that you can never shut it again. The earlier you can experience it, the more valuable it is to how we build our character, and what our view of the world is. Our world view, and how we see ourself in it. And ourself as in our individual self, but also how we see America in terms of the globe. Because if you never leave these shores, you’ll only know what you know from your little very comfortable bubble. It most often is just totally wrong. It’s very restricted and it’s very small.

Patricia S.:                             I think the travel just opens up everything. It opens up your head, and your eyes, and your heart. I think it makes us better people. I think our politicians should be forced to show their passport. In other words, it’s given that you even have one before you apply to run for, certainly national campaign. I don’t want to mention any names, because you know from the time George Washington sat in office on Pennsylvania Avenue, it is absolutely necessary. They say you’ll never bomb a country if you’ve broken bread with the people. If you’ve visited that country and there are faces behind just a speck on the map.

Patricia S.:                             Because you will have understood something about how we’re all the same, and we’re all related, and we all want the same things. The more you travel, the more you see that, and it warms my heart. Sometimes when I go to a place on the other side of the globe, and there’s a language barrier and a culture barrier, and those barriers are broken in a minute. In a nanosecond, because we all smile in the same way, we all want the same things. So it shrinks the world incredibly in that sense, while also having you understand that the world is so big.

Patricia S.:                             It offers so much, and to think that there are just a thousand places, is almost laughable. This really is just a teaser or mapping. If it’s not found in the book, does that mean you shouldn’t go? Oh, that’s just crazy. It just means that you need to create your own 1,000 places and make sure you see as many of them as you can.

Ian:                                             A link to the gift edition of, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, can be found on the show page, at worldfootprints.com.

Ian:                                             You’re listening to the award-winning World Footprints podcast with Ian and Tonya Fitzpatrick. World Footprints connects you to the world, one story at a time. We invite you to travel deeper by visiting our website, worldfootprints.com. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter and receive a special gift.

Tonya:                                       Wanderlust: A Traveler’s Guide to the Globe, is the newest Avalon Travel Moon book to hit the shelves. Unlike purse size guidebooks, Grace Fujimoto, Avalon’s Vice President of Acquisitions, tells us Wanderlust is a coffee table size book, filled with nearly 400 pages of an eclectic mix of natural wonders, festivals, ancient cities, epic trails, and more.

Tonya:                                       What was the inspiration for creating a travel book with this type of eclectic format?

Grace F.:                                  I think that what we were really trying to do was to get travelers at a really early stage of their travel planning, where they just are dreaming about the next trip that they’re going to take. These themes, and all of the lists that are in the book, are really meant to set your imagination on fire.

Ian:                                             Wanderlust has nearly 400 pages of attractions, destinations, and events. You didn’t scratch the surface of global wonders, so how did you make your selections for this book?

Grace F.:                                  That, I think, really emphasizes what we were trying to do with this book, is really showcase the world. I feel like so many times, there’s such a concentration for travelers to think of like, Europe. For us, we really wanted to make sure that this book had more than all of the great places in Europe, or the places that people think of just off the top of their head. But really have a broad diversity across the world, including here in the U.S.

Ian:                                             What do you say then, that Wanderlust was published for a broad spectrum of travelers?

Grace F.:                                  I think it does cut across the spectrum of travelers. I think that just the sheer number of lists in this book. I feel like from the adventure and outdoors, to flavors of the world, to the natural wonders. I feel like we hit a lot of different interests with these lists, so hopefully everyone will be able to find a list in here that really speaks to them.

Tonya:                                       Wanderlust is very organized. It even includes interest categories. I told Grace that I was excited to see the scuba diving section, and was intrigued to see that Thailand was included as a top scuba diving destination.

Grace F.:                                  Besides scuba diving, what are some of the things that jumped out to you?

Tonya:                                       Oh, well. Okay. Wine trails… It’s all research-based.

Grace F.:                                  Yeah, I love the wine section as well. Although I don’t know that I can go to all of these regions, one of the fun things that I’ve been trying to do is pick up wines. I’m going to my local wine shop and looking for wines from these areas.

Tonya:                                       What really jumped out to me as well were the volcanoes. You have a list of the 500 most beaut- oh, sorry. You have a list of the 50 most beautiful volcanoes.

Grace F.:                                  Yeah, that’s a really great section. It’s full of little bits of trivia as well. For example, the biggest volcano I guess, is Mauna Loa here in Hawaii, or here in the United States. Then, I didn’t realize that Kilimanjaro was actually made up of three volcanoes. So even if you come into it thinking, “I’m reading about all these volcanoes,” you’ll come away with a lot of interesting facts.

Tonya:                                       There’s also a list of favorite bucket list trips. What are some of your favorites?

Grace F.:                                  Oh my gosh. Yes, the book starts off with 50 wonders to see in your lifetime, and I’ve actually only done nine of them, so I have quite a few to go. Some of my favorites at the top of that list are Vietnam’s Pow Long Bay. Which is this beautiful bay in Northern Vietnam, where you sail through these islands that are rocky and green. And just sounds so peaceful where every moment is going to be stunning. Some of the other ones are the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, in Turkey, where you get on a hot air balloon and float above these magical looking rock formations. And then Patagonia has always been on my bucket list to see those glaciers. What about you, what’s on your bucket list?

Tonya:                                       Oh my gosh, Grace. I can just take a dart and throw it on a map. The Galapagos for sure, and Nepal. One of the things that we are getting ready to do next year, and I was happy to see it in the book, is we’re going to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. So I was really happy that that’s included in the section on trekking.

Grace F.:                                  Yeah. Machu Picchu is amazing. That is one of the Wonders that I’ve seen. I did that last year for my mother’s 75th birthday, and it was amazing. We didn’t hike the Inca Trail, but we did go up to Huayna Picchu, the mountain that you see in all those photos. She looked at the record of all the people who had gone that day and she’s like, I’m the oldest one.

Ian:                                             As a travel editor, Grace has seen a lot. I asked her if there was anything she found in Wanderlust that surprised her.

Grace F.:                                  So many things surprised me in this book, I really learned so much. One of the things that kind of stands out is, there’s this section on extraordinary natural phenomena. I just thought these were random things in different corners of the world. But it turns out things like salt lakes, basalt columns, geysers, they happen in different places all over the world. It just reminds me that we’re all on this one planet shaped by the same forces. While we have here in California, Devil’s Postpile, which is a great basalt formation. They also have them in Micronesia, so it just makes the world seem that much closer.

Tonya:                                       Mm-hmm (affirmative). Is there something you found in the book, Wanderlust, that you said, “Okay, this is my next adventure. For sure.”

Grace F.:                                  Yeah. Sometimes a photo really speaks to you. There’s this photo towards the end of the book of this woman making an offering in the Ganges. It just reminded me that my father had really wanted to go to India, and he never did. So looking at that photo just made me think about, “You know, I really should go to India and just try to experience it on his behalf.”

Tonya:                                       Now I want to ask you, we talk about travel as being very transformative. I know you have traveled a lot, you have to as an editor. So what, when you travel, what do you see through your heart’s eye?

Grace F.:                                  That is such an important question I think, because I think that travel does have such a power to be transformative. I really look for that connection to the world, this greater place than the narrow little life that I’m leading. I just remember being in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, and looking at those mountains and realizing, those mountains have been here a lot longer than I have and they’ll be around for a lot longer than I will be. Somehow that just made me feel so connected to the world, this beautiful world that we’re in.

Tonya:                                       Through your travels, what has been your most memorable and impactful memory?

Grace F.:                                  I… These days, I’ve been traveling a lot with my mother, because she has this long bucket list that she’s trying to get through. I just remember, I really wanted to go to Paris with her because she loves Monet. We went to the l’Orangerie, where they have the water lily paintings. I just remember sitting there watching her look at those, and just feeling very peaceful, and feeling like this is the kind of thing that travel can do. It can bring people together, it can really deepen a connection, and also have that dream fulfillment quality to it. I just loved that moment, and I was so in it that I didn’t even remember to take a photo of that. Luckily I just have this really great image in my head of that, from that trip.

Ian:                                             A link to Wanderlust can be found on the show page, at worldfootprints.com.

Tonya:                                       Going through these two coffee table size books, it’s very interesting to see that there is no overlap of destinations, and that just reminds us of how large this world is. I think there’s no overlap because Wanderlust focuses on travel interest versus destinations, and 1,000 Places identifies a smaller list of destinations in a world comprised of millions of unique places.

Ian:                                             As I think about these books, I’m just reminded of the fact that this world has so much stuff to see, that it’s going to be impossible to see it all in his lifetime. It’s almost nice to have a book like this. But then at the same time too, it just reminds us that we’re not going to be able to see at all.

Grace F.:                                  We’re trying though. Yeah, there is a lot to see. As the wise Confucius said, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” So those destinations that we’re able to see, that you’re able to see, go with all your heart.

Grace F.:                                  We are very grateful to you for spending time with us and we’re honored that you let us into your home. We ask you to invite your family and friends to join us on these journeys as well. We’re Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrick, and we thank you for allowing us to connect you to the world. One story at a time, on World Footprints.

Speaker 5:                              This World Footprints podcast with Ian and Tonya Fitzpatrick is a production of World Footprints, LLC, Silver Spring, Maryland. The multi award-winning podcast is available worldfootprints.com, and on audio platforms worldwide, including iHeart Radio, Public Radio Exchange, iTunes and Stitcher. Connect with the world one story at a time with World Footprints. Visit worldfootprints.com to enjoy more podcasts, and explore hundreds of articles from international travel writers. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter. World Footprints is a trademark of World Footprints LLC, which retains all rights to the World Footprints portfolio, including worldfootprints.com, and this podcast.