Top Ten Tuesday

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is an interesting one that’s requiring just a little more thought. The topic: FREEBIE! Pick your own topic. So I’ve chosen the top ten literary related bucket list that I want to see/visit. Let me know what you think of these places if you’ve been to any of them. 🙂

10.Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, The Netherlands – Okay, so I’m cheating here. I  visited this awesome venue just over a year ago now, but it’s definitely a place I want to go back. Maastricht is a small, unassuming, very old city in the southern Netherlands. We stumbled upon this beautiful old cathedral converted into a 3 store book shop just by chance. The floors are all open so you can view the beautiful paintings on the ceiling. I did purchase a book here, I’m proud to say.

9. The Strand – Yes, I am one of the few booknerds who’s never visited The Strand in New York. It’s at the top of the list with New York not being insanely far away. I want to spend hours just looking at the books here, and of course get a stylish and awesome tote bag with their logo.

8. Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal – the building itself is just as beautiful as the books it holds. If the apocalypse were to come tomorrow, I’d hope to be trapped in a bookstore like this one.

7. Cook & Book in Brussels, Belgium – I wish I’d known about this one when we were in Brussles! This bookstore/restaurant would be the greatest place to sit down and have lunch after a morning of sightseeing. And who knows what literary treasure you’d find! The decor is pretty sweet, too. Books strung from the ceiling? I’m in!

6. The Bookworm in Beijing – Of course this bookstore is appealing to the world traveller in me who wants to traverse Asia. An English language library, bookstore, and restaurant, this will definitely be a place to visit when I make it to Beijing.

5. El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, Argentina – Photos of this place take my breath away. It’s absolutely stunning. The books are housed in a converted 1920s theatre and it’s alight with gold. The images are so inviting and I can see myself spending days exploring the nooks and crannies of this place.

4. Shakespeare and Company in Paris – As if their website isn’t cool enough, their shop looks even more awesome. It looks quaint and completely adorable from the street. It’s the perfect quirky place to park my butt for a day and find something to read!

3. Livraria da Vila in Sao Paulo, Brazil – While I’m touring through South America, I’m going to have to make sure to make a pit stop in this bookstore. From the street this place has (or at least looks like it has) revolving doors of bookshelves. I’m sold. Let’s go.

2. Cafebreria El Pendulo, Mexico City, Mexico – Gosh I wish I’d known about this one the last time we were in Mexico. This bookstore is the perfect romantic setting in my opinion. It just looks like the perfect setting for the perfect love story. It’s filled with beautiful greenery, gorgeous archways, and yes, it too has a cafe.

1. Bart’s Books in Ojai, California – The world’s largest OUTDOOR bookstore. Nothing beats that. Nothing, I tell you!