Jessie:
by the seaside in Maine
In my last post I mentioned deadlines and desperation. Today, I’m thinking about running away from it all. 
I find myself sneaking peeks at online travel sites and the deals they are running. I toy with the idea of taking the train from Boston to Pittsburg. I mull over the possibility of visiting Iceland or Newfoundland or even Maryland. But before long I come to my senses and remember my obligations. I content myself with armchair traveling, which in my case means reading books set in far-flung locales and eating foods from around the world.
This past week has been a cultural whirlwind. Here is my itinerary:
Dublin- via Faithful Place by Tana French
Sweden- via Masterpiece Theater’s version of Henning Mankell’s Wallander
France- via The Maine Crepe Factory, the Lemon and Sugar Crepe is delightful
Malaysia and India – via a tofu and noodle dish and tandoori chicken shared by a friend over the weekend
Pittsburg- via Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin
Quebec- via the delights of poutine purchased at a take out food stand
Where would you recommend visiting?
I love it! I actually traveled through actual Quebec and Ontario two weeks ago and had to have a plate of poutine in Quebec. I traveled to France recently with a platter of Salade Nicoise I took to my friends’ annual Bastille Day party. Last night I had fish tacos, but I was sitting by the Merrimac River, not the Gulf of Baja California as I was when I first ate them in
1974. I just read Laurie R. King’s The Art of Detection, which is set in San Francisco. And the Scotch Bonnet peppers in my garden are starting to fill out, which will remind me of the intense flavors of foronto (Bambara for Scotch Bonnet) that we ate in food in Mali.
I hadn’t even thought of fish tacos! I had those recently myself for the first time and really enjoyed them.
I love the way Barry Eisler captures Tokyo in his John Rain series. He gives a lot of rich detail without making it sound like a travel brochure. Or there’s Tony Hillerman, whose Leaphorn/Chee books (at least the earlier ones) conveyed a strong sense of the Southwest.
Oh, agree totally, Sheila, on Eisler’s Tokyo. I lived there for two years and he does a great job with it. Ditto for Hillerman!
I feel that way about Leighton Gage’s mysteries set in Brazil and also books by Arnaldur Indridason set in Iceland.
Right now I am visiting Key West and Hayley Snow, thanks to Lucy Burdette. And thankfully it is almost Thanksgiving so it is not so hot! Recently I was visiting an island off the coast of Maine, thanks to Elisabeth Ogilvie. I love those islands!
Love Burdette’s Key West. I hope to get there in person next year! And now I’ll have to check out Ogilvie. I just remembered that I also recently read Katherine Hall Page’s new book, Body in the Piazza, so I have visited a cooking school in Tuscany, too!
Unfortunately, Elisabeth Ogilvie’s books are getting harder to find. Our library system only has two available. I have read a lot of her books and have about 7 in my own library but I was disappointed that I could not find some that I do not have at the library. I have read most of her books at least once. But I can order them yet online if I need to. I just love the way she makes me feel like I am actually on a small island off the coast of Maine!
Last night we had dinner at a restaurant in Fairfax, VA called Coastal Flats, It looks like a restaurant you would find anywhere in Florida. But I too have been checking out vacation sites. I saw a seven day cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda for $347 — you can’t stay home for that price!
Wow! I had forgotten about checking bargain cruises. What a great idea! Maybe a Wicked Cozy Cruise would be a fun idea!
Oh please can we do the cruise? Think about those blog photos!
I’m in!!!! There is one that goes out of Boston to Bermuda!