Top Ten Tuesday: I Want to Go There, and There and There...

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

The theme this week is Books that Give Off Summer Vibes (or winter if you live in the southern hemisphere) but it's only the second day of winter and I've had enough already of being cold. I am therefore adapting the topic a bit to books about places that I either have or want to visit.

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley - Broome and Central Australia are both areas that have long been on my list of places to visit and this book, the fourth book in the Seven Sisters series, visits both. We have a weekend away booked for September to Uluru so we are crossing everything in the hope that we will get to go still. As for Broome, it's a long way to go to get there, and it is expensive but we will get there!

The Lighthouse Girl by Dianne Wolfer - At the end of last year we visited Albany in Western Australia. We visited the National Anzac Museum (I posted about the museum here) and I couldn't help but think about the premise of this book while I was there. The title character was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper in Albany and was for many of our diggers headed to Gallipoli, the last link with Australia. I haven't read this yet, but just hearing about the girl has stayed in my head.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - A couple of years ago we visited South Africa. Our initial plan was to spend a weekend in Cape Town, but at the time they were very close to running  out of water. We therefore had a plan B which was to drive up to Gaborone in Botswana, and I was going to do a tour related to the books. In the end, we ended up in Cape Town, which is an amazing place, but next time we go to South Africa we will be visiting Botswana.

Old New York series by Beverly Swerling - I read Beverly Swerling's Old New York series a number of years ago now and thoroughly enjoyed them. The books follow the early days of the city, right from the original Dutch settlement. We visited New York just under three years ago. There is so much history and culture. You can read about these books here.

Queen of Swords by Sara Donati - I very nearly mentioned Sara Donati for New York, but ended up deciding to use her book for New Orleans. We visited New Orleans last year where we caught up with about half the members of a group that evolved over the years from Sara Donati's web forums (remember them?). She also had given us some information around some of the research she  did so we were able to visit some of the same places.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - I have long wanted to visit St Peterburg and this book is one of the reasons. I love the idea of visiting The Summer Garden and standing in the shadow of the statue of the bronze horseman, visiting The Hermitage and more.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I know that I am not alone in dreaming about visiting Scotland. I mean, even before the TV series there were travel companies who specialised in Outlander tours. I did go to Scotland years ago, but I would love to spend some time in the Highlands, in the islands and looking for Nessie.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley - I could have chosen a few Susanna Kearsley books and places, but I ended up going with this book which is set in Cornwall. I would love to spend some time in this area at some point.

The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden - Hawaii has been on my to visit list for a long time too, especially Pearl Harbor. The most recent book that I read that reminded me that I wanted to go is this one.

Virgin River series by Robyn Carr - I love the idea of the mountains and the forests that are in Oregon and I would be more than happy to do a driving holiday through this area (but not in winter!).

The eagle eyed among you may be wondering about the fact that there is not  as single book about Paris or France. I mean, I am normally pretty obsessed with all things French. Never fear! I have an entire Top Ten list ready to go for the end of July - yes already!