Rick Steves Postcards from Europe In Postcards from Europe, prolific guidebook author and
public television host Rick Steves relates a recent trip across the heart of Europe.
Departing from the guidebook format, Steves tells his story through Europe's people, often
comparing a Europe he first came to know two decades ago with the one he sees today, a
continent in flux.
This guide is an armchair tour of the author's favorite
European travel experiences. In a series of personal vignettes, Steves tells of the Swiss
schoolteacher who risked Steves's life to show him an edelweiss he couldn't pick, the
Seina native who still bears a medieval grudge against Florence, and the Parisian who took
a deep whiff of moldy cheese and sighed, "It smells like zee feet of angels."
Neither Here nor There Bill Bryson's famous wit strikes again in this hillarious description of
backpacking through Europe in the early 1970's--a must read for all backpackers past and
present.
Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.com:
"Anyone who has been to Europe or dreamed of going will recognize the engaging
blend of admiration and fascinated bewilderment that Bryson brings to this sharp and very
funny account of a trip around the continent. Blending hilarious anecdotes with droll and
worldly insights, he travels from Norway to Istanbul to Rome to Vienna."
Rite of Passage: Tales of Backpacking Around Europe Product Description:
Backpacking through Europe for the first time changes your life. New
friendships are forged over a bottle of cheap wine; old friends go their
separate ways; you fall in love in the first town and forget about it in the
second. You get bored with wearing the same clothes, tired of sleeping in
crowded dorms…yet you still have an unforgettable, fantastic time.
In Rite of Passage, backpackers taking their all-important first visit to
Europe tell it like it really is. They describe crossing the language
barrier in Corfu, meeting the locals in Prague, surviving hostel life in
London, finding love in Paris and overindulging in Greece.
Rite of Passage is the perfect companion for backpackers – the stories are
raw and fresh, inspirational and honest, and cut straight to the heart of
the European travel experience.
A Woman's Europe: True Stories Product Description:
A Woman's Europe is a collection of inspiring and entertaining true
stories by women about their travels throughout the Continent.
Europe has always drawn Americans in part because so many of their
ancestors emigrated from there. But Europe also has an irresistibly
romantic appeal. It's a place of old-world elegance, with centuries
of history, rich art and architecture. It is this romantic ideal
that pulls more travelers to Europe than Asia or elsewhere, and that
appeals to women in particular. These stories highlight women
discovering peculiarly European pleasures - the romantic realities
of a gondolier's life on a ride through the Venice canals; meeting a
comforting Swiss matron when a village visit becomes lonely and
confusing; the meaning behind rituals like picking olives or
learning flamenco; and more.
Notes from a Small Island This book details Mr. Bryson's return journey to
Britain compared to his first trip 20 or 30 years ago. I have read two other books
by Bryson (Mother
TongueandMade in America),
which I thoroughly enjoyed because of their humorous way of looking at
language. I'm happy to say that this book, too, has that delightful sense of humor
Bill Bryson is known for.
Europe from a Backpack:
Real Stories from Young Travelers Abroad Product Description:
Fifty-eight real stories from young travelers abroad offer the
budget, independent, and youth traveler vivid first-person accounts
of the countries and experiences of backpackers, students, and
sojourners. Offering more than just traveling facts, this guide
actually invites readers to see, taste, and experience European
adventures-from sneaking into Rome's Coliseum to running with the
bulls in Pamplona, Spain. These backpackers relate experiences that
people with suitcases and reservations wouldn't necessarily
experience, including sleeping in streets and hostels, 24 hours of
clubbing on the Spanish island of Ibiza, and train-travel debacles.
The stories offer dozens of glimpses of the most worthwhile
destinations in 11 of Europe's most well-traveled countries, not to
mention lesser-known lands revealed in the "Off the Beaten Path"
section. This collection of youthful adventures will keep aspiring
travelers laughing, wondering, and walking with the storytellers who
take them inside Europe's must-see places. Countries explored
include Amsterdam, Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United
Kingdom
Destinations:
A Travel Journal Product Description:
This portable and supple leather-bound journal features antique
color illustrations as well as indispensable travel facts and
modern-day information. Along with plenty of pages for recording
adventures abroad, there is a roomy pocket for mementos, making this
a beautifully distinctive keepsake book for travelers.
