1000 Places to See Before You Die

The Husband got this book as a Christmas gift and I was being nice and not opening it until he had a chance to look at it first. He's been busy since Christmas travelling to Michigan, Ohio, and then a whirlwind tour all through England for work this past week so he finally got to crack it open tonight.

I suspect this book could be very dangerous. It will give me too many ideas for travel which is always costly. It will also deter me from my studying when school starts next week. After reading each entry I like to look it up on the internet as well.

The Husband also wants to have a race about who can complete the list first. He's crazy if he thinks we can get anywhere near these 1000 places. Luckily we didn't like the first place listed in the book anyway so we're off to a start for crossing some places off our list. It's a hotel near where he stays in England but first of all it's $400/night. Secondly, it's so fancy and ornate it's just not our style at all. It looks like Buckingham Palace and we much prefer things with cleaner lines and that are more modern.

After a quick glance through the book I'm not sure how they came up with some of these things. Gorgeous places that I've been to in Europe weren't in there and neither was one of our favorite attractions in South America, Sugarloaf in Rio. Yet I saw a hotel that I basically read sucks on Trip Advisor and a restaurant in Chicago that I'd never even heard of!

One thing to keep in mind is the book was published in 2003 (and hasn't been updated). Which means the research was done even earlier. Prices for some things listed are probably double now and I'm sure there are things that might not even be open any longer.

I'm sure the book will provide many things to add to the must-see list. We're also going to hit up some local things on the list. For instance, can you believe The Husband has never been to the Art Institute here in Chicago?