1 Year Blogoversary Day 11 Cidney Swanson Guest Post with GIVEAWAY

Dropping in today is the Fabulous Author of Rippler and Chameleon 

Cidney Swanson

Now I am going to give it over to Cidney's Guest Post...

FIVE PLACES I’D LOVE TO SEE

Earlier this year, I got to visit a place I’ve wanted to see since I was a small child: Madeira. (It’s a volcanic island off the coast of West Africa.) Like most of the places I want to see some day, Madeira first came alive for me as a word I liked to roll around in my mouth. Madeira, Madeira, Madeira . . . My grandmother traveled extensively as a tourist in the days of turquoise-blue-suited stewardesses. She would come home bringing names of far-away places, and I treasured the sounds of those place-names almost as much as the gifts she brought back. To this day, the places I most want to visit are still from the list of places she visited.

Kuala Lumpur

Seriously, how can you not want to visit a place with a name this yummy? My sister’s been as close as Singapore, and in spite of how long the flight would be, this definitely makes my list.

Machu Picchu

Another place my grandmother visited. And what kid wouldn’t want to walk around the house chanting “machu-peechu-machu-peechu-machu-peechu”? When I heard about the railroad tracks that take you there being buried under a load of mountain, I felt heartbroken. (January 2010.) Fortunately for my dreams, the area was re-opened April 2010.

Cuba

Since my grandparents lived here in the 1940’s, I’m especially eager to visit. My grandmother taught me to make several Cuban dishes, but I’m sure they taste much, much better in Cuba itself! I want to see the breadfruit trees, clouds piled miles high at sunset, and hear the rhythm of Cuban Spanish.

India

Wow. So. Big, big country. I can’t imagine visiting without seeing the Taj Mahal, which my grandmother said was the most beautiful building she’d seen in all the world. She also loved the people she met, from wealthy hotel-owners to women who ran orphanages. She called India the friendly nation. I’m already a curry fan, and I’d love to try foods from India’s rich and varied cuisine.

Budapest

As a kid, I was convinced this was in the country of Hungry. I felt very sad for the children who lived here, and I often wondered if I could mail food to them. As an adult, I met people from Hungary. When they told me their capital city was called Bu-duh-pesht, I added it to the places I needed to visit. I mean, how amazing-sounding is Budapeshhht? I could say it all day.

And of course, once I visit a place, it does tend to show up in the stories I write. So, if I’m fortunate enough to see some of the places listed above, you can count on my including them in future novels.

Thanks Cidney! Those all sound like great places! Although I have a totally bookish reason I want to go to Budapest... umm yeah Lords of The Underworld anyone??

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