Meet Patricia Schultz, author of 1000 Places to See Before You Die
Credit to Author: Dave Pottinger| Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2019 12:11:20 +0000
“Our knees have expiration dates: do the difficult places first,” says Patricia Schultz, Trafalgar‘s global brand ambassador and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller 1000 Places to See Before You Die.
“I used to hate to fly. The very hint of turbulence still has me reaching for the hand of the stranger sitting next to me. I only think about the end point, the destination. It’s always far more important than a few butterflies in my stomach.
“Anyone who tells you that it’s a small world just hasn’t traveled.”
For 2019,1000 Places to See Before You Die has been reimagined as an oversize, photo-driven deluxe edition.
I am a major Italophile – it certainly helped that my mother came from Southern Italy and instilled a deep love for her heritage in her two daughters from early on. When my friends were worrying about what to do with their lives after university graduation, I grabbed my passport and moved to Florence to explore my ancestry and immerse myself in some serious dolce vita for a number of years. I visited every awe-inspiring nook and cranny of the country – and beyond. In many ways, the beginnings of my life of travel writing – and the seed for a book that would become 1000 Places – began then.
I had co-authored a book for Workman Publishing called Made in Italy about today’s artists, artisans and business people keeping the Italian arts and skills alive today. After writing travel guides for many years, this project was up my alley while also a fascinating education. Years later my publisher Peter Workman and I brainstormed about the idea of 1000 Places, a book that would showcase all my favorite destinations around the world – from the iconic to the little known.
It was quite a daunting undertaking but I rarely say no to anything – it never occurred to me that I might not be qualified! It has been 16 years since it was published, and the book continues to be revised and updated, and has spawned many offspring including a brand new oversize deluxe edition this year. If nothing else, I have learned that people everywhere love to travel and always have – whether in real life or from the comfort of their armchairs.
I recently decided to walk a segment of the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. It is an ancient pilgrimage route that once drew Christians from all over Europe and today its last 60-100 miles leading up to the medieval city of Santiago de Compostela are again being walked by people of all faiths and from all over the world.
Patricia on the Camino.
My intentions of training months in advance somehow never happened – but I made it! By the 4th day, walking 10 miles a day became no big deal (OK, I’m exaggerating just a little bit) and – to my surprise – it turned out to be one of the most rewarding, fulfilling and enjoyable physical and personal experiences I’ve ever attempted. Although I was with a small group, much of my time on the Camino was spent alone – in contemplation and surrounded by gorgeous scenery that has remained unchanged over time. The epiphany was that I needed more Caminos in my life.
Bernese Oberland in Switzerland.
I remember arriving at the airport in Morocco in Casablanca years ago for a very early morning flight to Fez, only to find out it had been canceled and the next one was 48 hours later. By sheer chance, my friend and I fell into the extreme good care of Mohammed, a gentle man wearing an impeccable white djellaba with yellow leather slippers that turned up at the end, who promised that his dilapidated Mercedes taxi would get us there in four hours.
But first – we were starving: could he bring us to the best place in Casablanca for couscous? After a very animated call on his cell phone, Mohammed drove for over an hour before pulling up in front of a modest home with no front door where his mother, wife, extended family and much of the neighborhood were waiting for us. His mother still sends me a Christmas card every year.
The lakes of Italy.
I am only fussy about cleanliness – that is paramount, and a warm and welcoming staff is a major plus. It helps if the neighborhood is central and safe. And amenities that cost the hotel next-to-nothing score big points with me – wifi, a coffee maker in the room, fresh flowers (a single bud counts) and a smile at the front desk.
Well, I’ve stayed in yurts in Mongolia (where they are called gers), under the Sahara stars, in a treehouse in Kenya (which I almost set on fire – but that’s a story for another time), and in cave hotels in Cappadocia (Turkey) and in Matera (Italy), the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi Sweden 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and I’ve slept on tatami mats in Japan and South Korea and in tents from Yellowstone NP to Kenya’s Massai Mara where the sounds of the night – both thrilling and terrifying – kept me awake (and zombie-like the next day). I don’t recall any of them being terribly comfortable – but they were part of a bigger experience and I smile when I recall those nights, and I guess that’s the point.
BADNBP Botswana, North-west district, Okavango delta, crossing the marshes in a mokoro.
It took me 8 years to write the original 1000 Places and in 2003 when it was finally finished, back from the printer and in the bookstores, I rewarded myself with a trip to a magical place I had always dreamed of: Machu Picchu.
I had arrived in Peru’s capital city of Lima and then connected to Cuzco at 11,000 ft above sea level. It is not an easy trip and I had a high-altitude headache the size of Texas when I met a lovely woman from the US in my hotel lobby.
She was as excited as a young girl – this was her first time out of the US and Peru was her first passport stamp. She had just turned 90 and for her birthday her children had given her a book called “1000 Places to See Before You Die,” and they would arrange an adventure to the destination of her choice inspired by the book.
She had chosen Machu Picchu she said, because “our knees have expiration dates, and I need to get the difficult places out of the way first!”
Balloon trip at Cappadocia.
Do your homework – you don’t want to travel to the other side of the world and miss the important stuff. Maximize your time but always leave time for serendipity – it often proves to be the best tour guide. We generally arrive in big cities and get caught up in all the urban attractions – but organize at least a half- or full-day trip outside of town for an entirely different perspective of day-to-day life. At some point in your trip, put down the map and GPS and wander. “If you don’t get lost, you’re not much of an explorer” someone once said – probably one of the world’s great navigators!
**All photos are “Excerpted from 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Artisan Books). Copyright (C) 2019.