Explore This!: Havana, Cuba

Today, I’m whisking you all off to Havana, Cuba. Personally speaking, Cuba has always been a place that I knew would have beautiful spots, but was also a country that invoked fear at the thought of visiting. The common knowledge (rumour?) that police walk around with machine guns and the fear of doing anything wrong (even by accident) just made it seem less than appealing as a vacation destination.

To be honest, my inspiration for today’s post, Peggy Blair’s The Beggar’s Opera (I believe it’s Canadian release only so far, but keep an eye out for it), doesn’t do much to allay my fears. It did make me curious, however, to check out the sites. If you all promise to hold my hand, when can begin our tour now:

Plaza de la Catedral

Chinatown in Havana

Playas del Este

Havana night life.

A British war ship in Havana Bay. It …

Explore This! Park City, Utah

To be honest, before reading Everneath by Brodi Ashton, I had never heard of Park City, Utah before, But, as I read through the pages, I discovered the connection with the Sundance Film Festival and realized I did know this place and its images, just not it’s actual name.

And though the Film Festival is running, even as we speak, Everneath is told from the perspective of someone that lives there year round. As Nikki, the main character, talks about her life, we see how important the snow is for this area but also a mix of city and rural living. Let’s check it out for ourselves:

The pristine white snow (with some track marks), make this look like the perfect winter wonderland.

This looks like a great blend of old time feel with modern amenities.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous, anyone?

The …

Explore This! Wilmington, North Carolina

Today, we’re heading back State-side to visit Wilmington, North Carolina. This lovely city, situated on the Cape Fear, has cropped up in several of Nicholas Spark’s books, including Message in a Bottle and Dear John. It was also the area in which Dawson’s Creek was filmed and is home to Screen Gems studios, which if you’re a movie fan (read: credit reader) like myself, you’ll know what that means.

Let’s take a look to see why its scenery has been such a popular location for filming…and writing about:

The map here shows Wilmington's location at Cape Fear, but also its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. As they say in real estate, it's all about "Location, Location, Location"

Wimington is listed as a "Coast Guard City", so it sees its share of boats docked here.

The architecture here is stunning, similar to southern Gothic, though …

Explore This! Malta

I seem to be in a vicious cycle of revisiting past locations in any of the books I’ve been reading lately, so I thought I would take a different route today. I’m currently reading I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley. The book takes place somewhere in the English country side, but I thought it would be much more interesting to see where the author lives.

In fact, Mr. Bradley grew up in a town not 20 minutes from where I live now, but he has since moved to the lovely island of Malta. I have to be honest here, I had no idea where Malta was and (forgive me, anyone who resides there) at times mistake it for Madagascar (it might be time for me to bone up on my geography lessons :p ).

Anyway, I hope you’ve packed your bathing suit, as I whisk you away to …

Explore This! Albuquerque, New Mexico

Today, we’re off to the south west part of the United States, visiting the city that Charley Davidson, of First Grave on the Right and Second Grave on the Left fame, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

When I think of this area, it is the blend of American culture with that of the area south of the border, in Mexico itself. Tex-mex food, mariachi music, and, of course, sombreros. How off base am I? Let’s look at some pics and see:

The Sandia Mountains

The wilds of nature seem not far at all from the city.

The Balloon Fiesta. What a view!

Well, no images of sombreros there, but anyone living in Albuquerque, I’d love to hear if it’s as festive as I imagine. Have any of you visited New Mexico? Can you vouch for it’s worthiness of being added to ‘must-see’ places? I hope …

Explore This! San Francisco (Past and Present)

 Today, we’re heading to San Francisco, California, but our route is a little different this time. We’re not only travelling the virtual distance to this lovely city, we’re also moving through time. Cool right?

I have to thank the awesome Stella for this idea. It was she who pointed me to When the Walls Fell by Monique Martin. From the Goodreads summary, this novel takes place during the time of the great earthquake that devastated the city. In searching for images of the time, there are many, but all show a dire state of the devastation. Rather than do an entire post of emotion inspiring pics, I decide we’d take a look at San Francisco through the years. So, put on your best time travelling outfit and let’s check it out:

This is the burgeoning …

Explore This! Belize

 I was drawing a blank on where we would tour this week. We’ve seen a lot of great places from all around the world, but my recent reads are starting to duplicate locations. And then came Carolyn Crane. Both Susi and Caro have been squeeing so much over Ms. Crane’s latest release (on audiobook, so far), Head Rush. I decided to see what all the commotion was about and have begun the series with book one, Mind Games.

Early in the book, Cubby tells Justine that he has been awarded a trip to Belize and he wants her to go with him (despite only dating for two months.) Guess what? We’re all going now too!   So, sit back and have a look at these stunning pics:

I’m not sure how things fair for Cubby and Justine …

Explore This! Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)

 Our destination today doesn’t come from a direct source in my reading materials. Vancouver, B.C., I’m sure has been mentioned in many novels, particularly Canadian ones, but what is interesting is that it’s used as a place for filming some pretty cool book-to-film or TV shows. The obvious one is Twilight. Many of the scenes in all of the movies have been filmed in and around Vancouver, though mostly in the wilder areas.

Recently, L.J. Smith’s The Secret Circle has hit the small screen. Despite it’s fictional setting of Chance Harbour, Washington, it is actually filmed in Vancouver.

For me this city represents the “cool” part of Canada. While Toronto has its merits as a “place to be”, Vancouver holds its own with a beautiful blend of culture and urban living with no small amount of wilderness just around the corner. Check …

Explore This! Swansea, Wales

 Today, we are heading to the south-west coast of the United Kingdom, visiting the city of Swansea, in Wales. I know we had taken a look at some Welsh castles in a previous post, but we get an in depth look at one of the more well known places in Wales.

I have been reading Joe Dunthorne’s Wild Abandon, which piqued my curiousity about the city. Swansea is known as the “City by the Sea”, and with these pictures, you can totally see why.

Looking quite tropical (and completely contrary to my imagining 
of all British areas), this beach looks like a great place to relax.

An artfully composed picture of living by the water.

I even found a …

Explore This! Halifax, Nova Scotia

Today, I’m whisking you all away to the east coast of Canada. This entire area has always seemed to me to be such a picturesque place (except when the snow matches height with the tops of houses), that I dream of a fantastic road trip, to see all the sites. More specifically, our stop on this Explore post is Halifax.

Halifax is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia. It was originally founded in 1749. A lot of early Canadian history can be discovered in this area, being a short stop from the ocean and a landing place for those coming from the old world. Though there was a former city named “Halifax”, the area is now an amalgamated muncipality. But the former name for its residents, under the previous incarnation, was “Haligonians”.

And, of course, I should mention the reason …