As its cover proclaims, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die is a traveler’s life list—the ultimate bucket list of things you need to see in this world while you can (last week we used the book to track Matt Lauer around the world). Each destination is intended to amaze, inspire, and make you appreciate the richness of the world around you. I’m not nearly as well-traveled as intrepid author Patricia Schultz, but I learned a lot while working on the completely revised and thoroughly updated second edition of the book (out today!), and you can bet that my personal “See Before I Die” list grew and grew.
One of the book’s online bonus features is a set of special indexes, which break down the book’s destinations into categories: “Splendor in the Glass, for example, gathers up all the world’s best vineyards, wineries, breweries, and distilleries. These lists are a huge plus for working on your own must-see list, but as I got really familiar with the book, I found that I could compile my own even more specific lists. I’ll start with a slightly embarrassing one.
The Unpronounceables: Places in 1,000 Places I Totally Didn’t Know How to Say
- The Hebrides: Author Patricia Schultz recently returned from Scotland’s Hebrides Islands, home to rocky shores and scenic ferry rides. That’s “heb-ri-deez,” three syllables.
- Curaçao: The tricky part of saying the name for this Dutch-influenced Caribbean island is the cedilla on the second “c,” which makes it “koor-uh-sou.”
- Chichicastenango: This word looks intimidating, but it’s actually not so hard: “chee-chee-cast-en-an-go.” And luckily, the market in Quiché, Guatemala also goes by its nickname, “Chichi.”
- Krak Des Chevaliers: This one is mostly confusing because it’s a castle (that served as a fortress during the crusades) in Syria, but the name looks French. It turns out it’s pronounced that way too: “krak de shev-uhl-yay.”
- Old Tbililsi: Don’t be intimidated by the double consonants that lead off this city, an ancient river town and the capital of Georgia in Eastern Europe. Both the “t” and “b” get their own syllable, making it “tuh-buh-lee-see.”
And those are just a quick sampling—I didn’t even get to Scandinavia! Which brings us to another great thing about travel: you don’t have to be able to pronounce it to know you want to go there.
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