I love travel and have been many places, but I don't have the image upload gizmo. In fact, my grandson took a picture of a picture with his phone to post it for me as my Facebook image.

One book I vividly remember reading, and that was in Vienna. My daughter and I had been to Prague for a few days with a daytrip to Cesky Krumlov and then went by train to Vienna where we had been sightseeing for a few more days. She wanted to go by train to Slovakia for a day, assisted by Rick Steves' travel guide. I had walked on cobblestones so much that I had muscles crying out in places I didn't even know there were muscles, so I stayed in our hotel room, taking Austrian double-strength ibuprofin without needing a prescription and only venturing out for meals (and a gelato), and reread Jane Eyre that I had downloaded onto my e-reader. It was a lovely, restful day, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book which I had read several times but many years ago.

You do have the upload gizmo, its right above your user name when you post a followup. You just need to have your pictures stored on your computer somewhere. Well that can be a project for your grandson, because it would be wonderful to see some of your pics!!

All right. First travel photo and book is:

Mistress Of Nothing by Kate Pullinger It's historical fiction based on the true story of Lady Duff Gordan from Victorian England who had to leave her family and country and go to a drier climate, in this case Egypt, in an attempt to cure her tuberculosis. She brings with her a maid, and the novel is based on letters she wrote about the experience. It did remind me of A Lady's Maid which I think was a discussion here on the RP. I seem to remember Sheri's name with that, either she chose it or was involved in the discussion. Anyway, I read this novel while going down the Nile to Luxor.
I was in Egypt in 2010, two months before everything went to hell. It is one of the few places I decided I never wanted to go back to, but I am glad I had the opportunity then.
Here is your pic as I am going down the Nile :)

In January 2011, Tom and I travled to New Zealand with another couple. All four of us had been there before, but we all loved it so much we wanted to go back again. I loaded my brand new Kindle with The Hobbit for a re-read. We took a detour from our friends to visit Matamata on the North Island, the site of movie set. Filming had not begun but most of the restoration work was complete. I was not allowed to post pictures until the first movie was released, and I have been waiting to share.

I've been to lots of places but I'll start with India. On my first trip there one of the places I visited was the Red Fort in Delhi. I had just bought and was reading a book about the Raj era, The Raj at Table by David Burton. As the title suggests, it was about food in Raj era India, what the English in India ate and how English cuisine and food culture has been influenced by Indian cuisine. Actually being in India while reading the book enhanced both the visit and the reading experience as the smells and some of the sights described in the book were all around me as I was reading it.

Rosefolly, that is the most amazing picture! I've always wanted to visit Australia and New Zealand, but that isn't going to happen for a while yet as the youngest just started high school and the oldest just started college. As a huge LoTR fan, I confess to squealing in delight over that photo.

Janalyn, we did discuss Lady's Maid way back when, I don't remember if I led the discussion, but I know I participated in it. I still can't imagine a Victorian Englishwoman dealing well with the heat and desert and general foreign-ness of Egypt, but so many of them did. Amelia Peabody was the first thing that popped into my head looking at that photo.

I did visit England twice some 20+ years ago, and that was an incredible experience, particularly after all the books set in England or written by British authors that I'd read over the years. I will have to see if I can find the photo album, all my England pictures pre-date digital cameras.

I loved the settings in the film LOTR. That must have been so exciting to see before the film was released. Were there actual interiors or was that all stage setting somewhere else?

Netla, my husband really wants to visit India but I have mixed feelings. Everything I have read, like Shantaram and others, have described the slums, the noise, the pollution, and the crowds. I think I would hate it. We normally try to avoid the group tour scenario but that is one country that I would visit ONLY with a tour guide etc. How did you do it?

Janalyn, I was travelling alone both times, the first time semi-independently (arrived there with a group I travelled with overland from Denmark and then we split up for several weeks, regrouping for the journey back). The second time I planned and travelled all by myself. I did take advantage of day tours offered by the state tourism bureaus in Jaipur and Mysore and saw some of the India that Indian tourists like to visit. On the second visit I had some Indian friends showing me around their home cities and that made a lot of difference.

I think group tours are a good idea for India, especially if you have limited time. Although they tend to cost more, they save you both time and trouble.

One of my colleagues recently went on a group tour to India and she did mention the crowds and dirt and poverty, but all in all she found it enjoyable. The group leader/guide made sure they weren't hassled too much and took good care of them. They covered the "Golden Triangle": Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, with Fatehpur Sikri and Varanasi, and also visited Nepal. That tour is a good introduction to northern India.

Netla, your mention of being hassled reminded me of the part I disliked most about visiting China and Bali.
Although I was accompanied by a Balinese friend, when I went to a restaurant in a country beauty spot there, I was grabbed by the arms by a crowd of hawkers and it was quite upsetting. My friend spoke to them and I was allowed to go inside when they let go.
I had never come across that kind of thing before and was quite shocked.
There was a more amusing run-in with a young girl holding a baby when we got to another tourist spot. She held the plump baby up and said dolefully "Baby hungry."
I tickled the baby's tummy and said firmly in the local language (which we had studied a little before we left to go on the trip) that the baby wasn't hungry and she and I both laughed at her attempt to con us!