Roma!

Where in the World: Rome, Italy

The Inspiration: You've already guessed it. Last night we made homemade pizza, and it was alright-- good, actually-- but in Italy it's heavenly. Gnocchi is one of my favorite foods, but since I had it in Rome nothing else has seemed nearly as good. Then there is gelato, which we have already established as one of my all time favorites...

There's more to Rome than the food, of course. In fact, the history is so thick you breathe it everywhere, and can quite literally stumble into something that is centuries old and being ignored for another object of more impressive origins right next to it. I only had three real days in Rome, and was overwhelmed by all there was to see. I realized that I could live there as a tourist for years and still not soak in half of it, but I would love to try.
This is one of the halls leading to the Sistine Chapel; the scope and detail are incredible.

Here I am with the Colosseum! We had to walk a block and a half to be able to get a photo in which we could show the whole building.

This is my brother, B, expressing his enthusiasm for our favorite dessert. The cone in this photo was actually his second one during that visit to the gelato shop. =)

"Once in a Lifetime Trips"

I want this book.

It's Once in a Lifetime Trips: The World's 50 Most Extraordinary and Memorable Travel Experiences by Chris Santella.

It looks gorgeous.






It's full of photos like this. Doesn't that ship in the Spice Islands look like it sailed out Arabian Nights? *Swoon*





I'd also love to write books like this one, although I think that wish is pretty obvious.

Timbuktu

Where in the World: Timbuktu, Mali

The Inspiration: Timbuktu! Seriously! First of all, it exists. For a good portion of my childhood, I thought Timbuktu was as real as Never Never Land. I've wanted to go since I thought I'd need to take the second star to the left to get there; my desire didn't decrease with actual accessibility of the place. The fact that it is a traditional center of learning, full of scrolls of hidden ancient knowledge, the pinnacle of an empire that was expansive, powerful, and largely unknown... well, as a person interested in books, archaeology, anthropology, and travel, what's not to love? (Okay, the average temperature in the winter is 85˚ which is less than ideal for me, but the dry arid climate has been kind to the ancient scrolls, so I can handle it.) Plus, it was an important city for the nomadic groups in western Africa, and I think nomads are absolutely fascinating.

Two more things about Timbuktu: It was an important part of the Songhai empire. I recently read "In Sorcery's Shadow" by Paul Stoller, about his anthropological apprenticeship to Songhai sorcerers in Niger. It's a pretty amazing book, and provides some great background about the region if not directly Timbuktu. The second thing is that I realized I need to mix up my wish list a little bit; Chicago and Seattle are both very nice, but they're not very exotic. If you have an suggestions of places to research and dream about, I'd love to know about them.