One question authors get often is “Where do you get your ideas from?” The answer is… everywhere. Everything we see, hear, and dream about is fair game. But some particular things can be especially inspiring. My upcoming book, for instance, was sparked in part by my love of quirky museums and somewhat offbeat tourist attractions. Not only do I adore these places, but I also like to think about the people who create or run them. Those people themselves must all have interesting stories, I think.
Since I’ve been able to mostly resume my pre-plague frequent travels, I thought I’d share with you some of the gems I’ve recently visited.
This is from Florence. And sure, you’ve seen a zillion photos of David, but have you seen his backside?
Grants Pass, in southern Oregon. A caveman and a bear. I’m sure there’s an explanation.
Another one from Florence. During the plagues of previous centuries, these were used for maintaining social distancing while selling wine.
Mazatlan, Mexico. Local boys dive off this rock (there are more rocks below) and hope for tourists’ tip money. One kid does a whole patter, telling tourists exactly when to be ready to snap photos or start video.
This is a fancy fruit stand place several miles east of Bakersfield, California. If I’m driving to Vegas, it makes a good stopping point because it’s about 200 miles from home and they have bathrooms. They also have hand pies, both savory and sweet, and dried fruit as well as fresh.
Super friendly place, way up at the top of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
This is in the crypt of a cool little church in Porto, Portugal. Yes, those bones are in the floor and you pretty much have to walk over them. The crypt also contains a mummified 18th century nun.
Lisbon, Portugal. This shop celebrates the Portuguese obsession with canned fish–and has a carnival theme for some reason.
In this place in the mountains in Northern California, you can spend the night in an old train caboose! We had a lot of fun there.
You probably know that in Paris you can do a dinner cruise on the Seine. But did you know that you can also have a gourmet multi course meal on a bus? You sit on the top deck, the chef cooks your food down below, and for 2 1/2 hours the bus drives you around Paris while you eat!
Zagreb, Croatia has a bunch of really fun little museums. And they also have this: a tunnel system that was built as a bomb shelter during WWII. The longest part is several blocks long, and there are several entrances tucked away, all at the city center. On a hot day, it’s literally a cool alternative.
What are some of your favorite quirky or offbeat places to visit?
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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.
After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her family and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.
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