4 comments about Michelin France: Provence/Alpes/Cote d'Azur (Michelin Maps).

1. As part of a $250.00 order, I ordered the Michelin France Provence map in English, and the Michelin 2006 Red Guide France: Hotels and Restaurants in English - both Items they sent me were written in French, which are of no value to me. I requested a shipping label to return the map and the book and asked they send me the English versions. The Amazon Outsourcing Desk in India refused both request. I requested an American Amazon Customer Service Manager contact me on this Issue. That has never happened. I am also being asked my Satisfaction on a 3d book - Markets Of Provence - which they never sent me. The remainder of my $250.00 order were the English Versions, as ordered. My Overall Satisfaction: Well below the 1 Star shown. Actual Satisfaction "F Minus" for all departments in Amazon and far less for their very poor Customer Service and lack of ethical follow-up for their mistake.



2. Michelin map played a critical part in ensuring successful vacation. Two friends and I rented a car in AVIGNON - right near new TVG just south of town. We drove thru most of Provence (Luberon and Vauclause) and Cote de Sur (St Tropez) taking many day trips from both St Remy and Crillon le Brave.
   
   NOT all small routes are indicated with rt #s - you will see the RT on the map just not assigned #. this proved to be an issue twice with novice map reader.
   
   SAFETY TIP if you plan to drive - many designated routes are really one lane - though not labeled as such in actual road signage. be prepared to be gracious about ceding "right of way".



3. Colorful, very useful road map. Little in the way of points of interest, but excellent for navigating the roads. Didn't seem to have any indications of toll vs freeways.



4. Our family recently spent a week touring Provence in a rental car. This map was absolutely invaluable to us - all roads from the large autoroutes to the more rural "departmental" roads are clearly indicated. The mileage/travel time chart was also extremely helpful in planning our day trips. We had several maps with us, but by the end of the second day this was the only one we used.

5 comments about Berlin (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. This book is completely unhelpful for anyone spending time in Berlin. I've lived in Berlin in the past but wanted a new travel book to help me see all of the newer sights. Even for someone who already knows her way around the city, this book was confusing and useless. The maps are all oversimplified to the point that they won't help you find anything, and the descriptions about where things are will get you completely lost or cause you to waste a ton of time. For example, the book's recommended ways to spend particular days are absolutely impossible to do. As someone who knows Berlin, I noticed that their sample schedules told people to go to places that are sometimes more than an hour and a half apart by public transportation and then travel back along the same route to get to another sight or activity. I felt like this was a waste of money, and I should have gotten the Lonely Planet or Let's Go guilde.



2. The pictures are wonderful, but the maps are inadequate and the information is inconsistent. This guide would benefit from the attention of a careful editor.
   
   MAPS: one of the most likely places you'll end up is the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) - there's even an special detail map for that area (map pages 15 & 16) - but crucial street names are missing. You can find the street signs but not where you are on the map! So, now you're lost, even with a map.
   
   INCONSISTENT INFORMATION: Is KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) the second biggest department store (page 11) or the largest one in Europe (p. 155)? And, out of curiosity, if the second, which one is first? The Oren Restaurant is mentioned on page 102 with a reference to page 238, where it does not appear. It should have been removed in both places, since it has been out of business for a few years. The Kadima Restaurant now occupies that space. Oren was vegetarian and kosher; Kadima is neither. The Borchardt Restaurant (page 236) is misspelled as Borchadt. On page 78 the Akademie der Künste has a reference to page 67 that should be to page 133. There must be many more such slips.
   
   So, if you're relying on this book to guide you around Berlin, be prepared for some frustration.



3. It's an astonished travel guide. Well printed book, excellent routes for walking, pictures full of color for informing what excactly are you going to see. As all the travel giudes of DK editions, this one is best choice for visiting a place, too.
   The pictures, the historical events, the places descriptions, they all are also souvenoirs to reminds you, your pleasant travel to a place.



4. I hate the thought of writing a bad review for a DK Travel Guide - they are by far the best travel guides available. But I feel I have to warn everyone about this one. There's always at least one bad apple in the barrel, and I've found the 'bad apple'.
   
   First up, the good things. The background, history and descriptions of all the buildings are typical DK - first class, and better than every other guide out there. You can get the background story to the city and its art and architecture before you arrive.
   
   I took the 2008 edition away with me to Berlin in April 2008. You'd expect up-to-date information, wouldn't you? I agree that some things do change; opening times change, museum regulations change etc. BUT - so many things change in a single city, in such a short time since this updated version was written?
   
   I ended up missing so many things due to this book's wrong opening times to so many museums. Here are just a few things that happened -
   
   - It states that all museums are closed on Mondays, and I arrived on a Monday at 9:30am. So I took my time spending the day wandering around the city. At 4pm I had a look at the Pergamon Museum, and saw its open on Mondays. I found that there are many museums open on Mondays. I could have spent a large chunk of my first day in one of the museums.
   
   - I missed the Picture Gallery at Sanssouci because this guide stated the wrong closing time, even though I had paid for entrance to it.
   
   - I lost a lot of time, in the first 2 days there, getting lost on Berlin's train system because the plan at the back of the book is wrong in so many places. Lines aren't shown, wrong line numbers are shown, several lines now go further than shown in the guide. Use the maps on the ticket machines.
   
   - I wasted 2 hours traveling to a combined bookshop/art gallery that is a massive department store at the stated address. After this, I stopped relying on the practical information giving about anything.
   
   - I nearly missed the magnificent Gemaldegallerie (Picture Gallery) in former West Berlin because the guide stated that photography isn't allowed inside. (One of my criteria for visiting a museum is to take photos.) I went there to visit the gallery's bookshop, and discovered that photography IS allowed, just without flash - and I should hope so! Luckily I went to the gallery's shop first things in the morning.
   
   As another reviewer has already said, the 'Four Great Days In Berlin' suggested intinaries on page 10 and 11 would be impossible to do. The writer of this small section obviously has never done their own itinary. How can anyone take a 1 hour train journey to Wannsee, then walk for an hour in the forest to an art gallery, then walk further on to a lake, then take a boat trip on the lake to an island, then walk around the island, then get back to the train station to take the train to Potsdam, to 'enjoy the lovely Park Sanssouci ...' All this in the morning before lunch! (I spent an entire day at Park Sanssouci.) If anyone follows their itinaries, they wouldn't see anything at all - their trip to Berlin would be a huge blur in their mind.
   
   Clearly DK have just reprinted the first edition of this guide, dating from 2000, and are passing it off as a newly revised edition for 2008. There is no way that entire buildings can be changed and train lines extended in the space of a few months since this newly revised guide was 'revised'. (Not even the efficent Germans could manage that feat). I have no idea what errors are in the restaurant and hotel areas of this guide as I didn't use them.
   
   I have always used DK Guides whenever I travel, and will continue to do so. They are the market-leaders in travel guides. But my experiences with this one will make me very cautious in future. I'll be double checking the practical information given in all their guides in future.
   
   * Just treat this guide as a book written in 2000 - don't trust any opening times or other practical information.



5. First of all, be warned that this book is a "2006" edition, which probably hasn't been updated since 2000 (see review by Marco). I got the book being aware of the issue, and treated it as a source of ideas of what to do and see around Berlin (it being my first time in the city). In this capacity, I enjoyed the book immensely. It gives great background on Berlin, and supplies plenty of ideas for what places to go to, and what to notice when there.
   
   You just cannot rely on the listed opening hours to build your itineraries, so if you have a place you *must* visit, double-check its hours on the web (example: nowadays Potsdam palaces are open from 10am-6pm April to October, and 10am-5pm Nov to March). However I never felt being "confused" or "misled" by directions and descriptions of where everything was. Except you HAVE to get an up-to-date map of the train system (or check the ones at ticket machines, as other people mentioned).
   
   Finally, (even though I'm being redundant) do not attempt the suggested itineraries on p10-11! The "culture" looks especially frustrating because it has you wandering back and forth three times between Unter Der Linden and Checkpoint Charlie Area for no good reason... Just sit down with a map, and in 5 minutes you'll have a better plan.

No comments about Michelin Red Guide 2008 Main Cities of Europe: 3000 Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guide: Europe, Main Cities).

5 comments about Portugal (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. I have just returned from a 10 day trip to Portugal during which this travel guide was a valuable companion. The layout of the book is easy to use and it is chocked full of extra information on wine regions, the making of port, cork and regional food. While I did not use the guide to select hotels, it was great for information at the various stops. Highly recommended!



2. This book looks impressive, but when I tried to get down to details of actually traveling in Portugal, they just weren't there.
   
   The maps are such high level they are worthless for actual navigation. There is no information on where to find the train stations, bus stations. The information about hotels and restaurants are laughable. In Oporto, the book says you can take river trips upstream, but gives no information about where they originate or where to find the boats.
   
   I suppose this book might be useful if you just like to look at pictures, and your travels are all organized by a tour bus operator.
   
   The old standby, Lonely Planet, is a much better choice.



3. With history, culture, regions outlined in this book, this is the way I want to see a new country



4. With too many pictures and graphics, and too little text, this guide wasn't much of a help when I visited the Algarve. For the Porto region it was better, although some more text would have been nice.



5. This travel book was great when traveling throughout Portugal. Had lots of information on what to do and see. The pictures are great.

5 comments about Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day® (10 Minutes a Day Series).

1. This text is either for the very beginning beginner or a good review for the person who has been away from Spanish for a time.
   It is done in a logical manner and in workbook form. It has stickers for nouns and cutouts for flashcards of the important beginning vocabulary in the book. It is fun to do and quick to finish.



2. I first checked this book out from the library. It is so good , I purchased a copy from Amazon. This book has the normal words used everyday. It is easy to follow and you do it at you own pace. You are learning how to speak in easy short sentences. It has flash cards that speed up the learning process. Of all the reference books I have, this is the one I pick up first. This book will be great if you are going on vacation and only need to know certain things :)



3. The seller misrepresented this workbook, and I was quite disappointed when I got it. It was advertised as being in excellent condition, and all of the flash cards were torn out of the back.



4. For those with basic but not great Spanish skills, this was a great book for refreshing your vocabulary for basic things you may need for travel. I'm sure my grammar is horrible and this book certainly did not focus of ensuring I spoke in the correct verb tense all the time, but it did enable me to communicate and transact basic needs , such as checking into a hotel, ordering at a restaurant, or getting directions. Hey, I'm just a gringo trying to show the decency and respect to speak a little bit of the language when traveling; for this purpose, this is an excellent resource.



5. This book got the "usted" verbs wrong starting on page 42. For example, "you speak" is supposed to be "usted hablas", not "usted habla". "el/ella habla" means "he/she speaks". Otherwise, this book is OK for tourists who hadn't studied Spanish before. For the "Spanish veteran" who wants a review, you might want to try Ultimate Spanish by Living Language, Rosetta Stone, or better yet, take a college Spanish class.

5 comments about Michelin the Green Guide Paris (Michelin Green Guides).

1. "Les Guides Mich" as the French refer to this series, is a series of tour books for different regions of France. Some are available only in French; the most popular are in English.
   A trip to Paris DEMANDS this guide -- far superior to Rick Steve's series.
   Walking tours, wonderful maps, and enough information for even the persons who have often visited Paris. I also suggest, for the photography, National Geographic's "PARIS"
   
   The Michelin RED guides are for lodging and restaurants, by the way.



2. Michelin the Green Guide Paris (Michelin Green Guides)
   The main issue is the way the guide is constructed: neighborhoods by alphabetical order... I was walking from one area to another and had to try to find out which page to go. each area has a good detailed map but the maps are not linked and when moving one won't know where the map continues.
   Also, there are very few hotels/restaurants listed and minor attractions, like small museums, are hardly reported.
   I would not buy again



3. A splendid pocket book to take with you as you walk or ride through Paris, notes on most buildings, good restaurants and handy cafes to stop by as you travel and a thorough historic background to this lovely City.



4. I have used the Michelin green guides for years and am now in the travel business, specifically doing business in France. I find this current edition a bit lacking, though it is generally a good guide. Unfortunately, there seems to be a "dumbing-down" of the guides in English (are we Americans not sophisticated travelers?); the same guide written is French is much more complete and detailed; I would opt for it if you read French...if not, for a more detailed cultural guide try Blue Guide Paris



5. Recommended by my French professor, I leaned heavily upon the expertise of the Michelin Green Guide during my first trip to Paris. The guide proved its worth over and over again. Despite the abundance of tourist guides for Europe and the vast expanse known as the Internet, this particular guide deserves a special place in your travel bag because:
   
   It is thorough. Every detail you wanted to know - and some you could not imagine - can be found in this Guide. Architecture? History? The nearest bus stop? It's all there. Unlike most tourist books, the Green Guide covers ALL OF PARIS. You will find every big and little neighborhood arranged in alphabetical order.
   
   It provides decent walking tours, and not just for touristy neighborhoods, either. These are essential for the renegade explorer who craves something other than a cookie-cutter experience abroad.
   
   Maps maps maps! Maps of the gardens of Versailles, map of the Métro, maps of the cemeteries... The floor plans of museums (Le Grand Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, etc.) help as well.
   
   One of my favorite parts of the book is the front flap. It contains a list of unusual métro stations - a list that becomes enormously valuable when the weather doesn't allow traditional sight-seeing. If for no other reason, choose this guide for the flap: it starts out strong, and only illuminates your mind from there.

5 comments about Bringing Tuscany Home: Sensuous Style From the Heart of Italy.

1. This a wonderful exploration into Italian design. Loved it. Highly recommended for the designer or homeowner.



2. Francis Mayes does such an incredible job of bringing Tuscany to the rest of the world. This book includes fun recipes and beautiful photos...a joy to read!
   --Vicki Landes, author of "Europe for the Senses - A Photographic Journal"



3. I read this book first, as I have all Frances Mayes books, from the library. Wanting the great ideas and recipes at close-hand, I purchased this as well as her others. I used many suggestions on my trip last Fall to Italy.



4. Mayes's poetic assemblage of words, captures your attention from the moment you open this book. Accompanied with luscious visualization, her words even further embrace the art of Italian living. The colors and textures of the country melt upon the pages of this book, as Frances's emotional connection with the folks of the sun drenched terrain and their joyful heritage and love for family and food, are celebrated in this work.
   
   I purchased this book along with another Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint and was amazed at the similarities of these two books. Though completely different writing styles, Mayes's book "descibes the essence" of Italian lifestyle, while Heuser's actually "captures the rich color and artistic spirit" of the Tuscan home. Both authors suggests unique ways to recreate the warmth and beauty of the Tuscan country home into your personal life - Heuser's "Your Home..." is an actual how to book, giving the reader over 30 step by step, well illustrated projects on how to easily achieve the timeless old-world atmosphere. Like the Italian inspired murals painted in Mayes's home, Heuser shares the secrets to creating "period" styled finishes and mural detailing throughout every room in your home. Both lovely books are accompanied with unbelivable art photography, with Heuser's packed with unimaginable before during and after shots illustrating the transformation of a 1890's historic home into an Italian paradise. I highly reccomend both of these titles, "especially "if you are seeking interior inspiration for creating the authentic Tuscan look and feel in your home decorating!



5. Gives me a glimse of the kind of life in Italy, I have always have wanted to experience.

5 comments about Madrid (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I like these Eyewittness Travel Gides and byu them when I plan to travel. However this time the delivery was delayed.



2. Not as good as some of the other guides I used. The page numbers mentioned next to sights in the intro sections are often incorrect. Lots of pretty pictures though.



3. This was a nice guide for a 2 day trip to madrid -- the monument descriptions & photos were enjoyable & the walking tours were fun. It was very nice to have pictures of each key sight next to it's description so we could be sure were were looking at the right place.
   However, we also used this book to navigate to our hotel. Big, big mistake. In this guide, hotels are not marked on the map, they are located by quadrant (e.g. Map5 D-3). But our hotel was very far from where the book said it was; it was 3-4 map-quadrants away, which we found only by using the address & after a 30 minute walk with our luggage. FYI: unlike in the US, addresses do not go up by 100 per block. Going from 85 Gran Via in the old quarter to 15 Gran Via is about a 2 mile walk.



4. I enjoy Rick Steves' guides, but often I want to know more, both in-depth and in-breadth about a destination. This is a typical Eyewitness Travel Guide, almost a small encyclopedia about one place, its history, and its many attractions. I enjoy buying such books months in advance of a trip, reading & re-reading it, hoping that when I arrive at the destination it will seem familiar. I would heartily recommend any Eyewitness Guide to anyone who similarly want to know more. This little volume on Madrid packs a lot of information into one book.



5. I use this guide for a 4 days Madrid visit. Ive found it most useful in preparation of what to visit and what to eat once I get there. It also give me a lot of background in terms of what to expect for the dining hour, culture, and how to spend my evening.
   
   What I really like about this guide is the map (both the city map and street by street map) attached. I also like how the guide divided Madrid into 4 major areas and how it pinpointed major attraction which ease your pressure if you have little time in your hand (2-2 days). The guide also covers the most basic historical background and interesting fact that you need to know as a tourist.
   
   The guide is without its flaws however. First disturbing flaw is that - it happen that the a restaurant I want to pay a visit has been renamed and that the Metro network map isnt updated so It puzzles me a little bit.
   
   More disturbing part is that -- the guide for out of town place like El Escorial, Segovia and Toledo is very lacking. By lacking, I mean, if you do not do your research in advance I can assure you 100% that you will get lost. The map is so much incomplete that if regardless if you travel by train or bus -- you will not see yourself anywhere within the Map (lesson learned, research where the station is located and research by what mean of transport you can get there).
   
   The restaurant listing is also subpar at best. It failed to mention even the existence of Botin restaurant which is the oldest restaurant recognized in the world by Guinness world record. In the end I was being generous and tried two of the restaurants recommended. I was dissapointed by one of them. My hotel which I think was an awesome find isnt also listed there. Lesson learned, do your own research for restaurant and hotel
   
   Overall, would I recommend this guide? of course but a forewarning that you need to do your homework too. :) These days its so easy for you to do more an indepth research online as a supplement to your guide. I saved many pages I found online in my cellphone

5 comments about A Year in the Merde.

1. This is loads of fun, I'll grant you. I happen to love British wit, so what could beat an English author griping about his time among the frogs? The French do not come off well. Curiously, I had never seen this side of them. Clarke essentially captures a petty, almost tribal narrowness which I had never before associated with the French, but rings absolutely right. Especially when the French girlfriend calls things off over politics - this is so American radicals of the 60s, and it is totally believable as a French pose of self-importance. The nonsense over the tea shops is silly but very revealing, too. Anyway, the memoir is amusing if finally a bit tiresome. Actually, the entire premise of his stay seemed weird and somehow bogus. The graphic romance seems a little adolescent to me - maybe the author has something to prove. Although the French gals do come across as totally lacking in Anglo-American primness. His shock is fun, but so is his unabashed joy in finding such easy women. This is a real case of so close but so far. Highly recommended.



2. I love every one of Stephen Clarke's books. I have never laughed so hard reading. Looking forward to getting his newest. I wish these books would also go to the big screen. Hugh Grant?



3. A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke is an uproarious roman à clef following a year in the life of Clarke's alter ego, Paul West. Paul West is a Brit who has been transplanted to the City of Light to help a French businessman open English tea shops throughout Paris. Paul's struggles to understand and master all things French, including the French work ethic of his colleagues (which places more importance on vacation planning than on anything truly work related); the confusing manner in which the real estate market operates; and the most perplexing thing about France - French women, will have you laughing throughout the entire book.
   
   Besides being a humorous account of French assimilation, A Year in the Merde is also an insightful look at how the French view British and American citizens. Clarke is especially discerning when recounting the start of the American led Iraq war.
   
   As the inside flap of the book says, "This book is for everyone who can never quite decide whether they love - or love to hate - the French".



4. Not a page turner by any means, but laugh out loud funny! I really enjoyed this book, took my time reading it, and am rather sad it's over... :)



5. Sadly, this is a book that falls victim to misleading advertising. The title and book description would lead one to assume this to be a travel memoir about our hero's experiences trying to get a chain of British tea rooms off the ground in France.
   If you buy, or as I (fortunately) did, borrow the book from your library it won't take you long to come to the conclusion that in an attempt to make the book saleable and "real" the thing is written less as a travel memoir and more as a sexual misadventure. For, in truth the main recurring theme of this book is the narrator's failed attempts to bed women...any women...women he barely knows and for whom he doesn't care.
   
   Now that's fine and I'm sure the hero of A Year In The Merde is not the first, nor will he be the last fella to go to France with getting laid as his main goal in life.
   
   This goal is, however, not universally endearing, and is in fact quite off putting for a large number of the reading public...like the female reading public---quite a lot of those out there actually.
   
   His constant attempts to prey upon people for sex are not endearing, not charming, and worst of all...not entertaining.
   Last time I looked guys in their teens and early twenties weren't the major audience stampeding to buy stories about life for expats living in France.
   Yes, there are insights into the French, but they are incidental and largely overshadowed by nearly continuous comments about women and their undergarments, lack of undergarments, attractiveness, and willingness to bed the narrator.
   Casting a humorous light on the French people or the French culture is secondary.
   Since my interest in France is NOT primarily focused on scoring with chicks...I was disappointed. Depending upon your interest, your mileage may vary.

5 comments about Czech: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. Although the version of this phrase book that I used was a 2004, assuming that they have not changed it much, I would certainly recommend this book. I used it extensively when I was in Prague and the Czech Republic for three months, and most of the time it proved to be just what I required. It is very portable -- fits well in a back pocket -- and was easy to use on the whole.



2. This book is really handy for traveling to Prague - It gives good advice that you might not think of otherwise. Definitely worth the money!!



3. Of all the Czech language aids I have, this phrasebook is the best organized and the easiest to understand. This is an excellant book for the beginner in the language, but also very useful for someone with a bit of familiarity with the language. It will be my pocket companion on my next trip to Prague.



4. I used this book for a week in Prague. I found this book to be very well organized and useful. It is also small enough to through in your bag or purse for the day. It is definately helpful to learn a few greetings and such as the people seemed much more helpful when you were putting an effort into trying their language.



5. It's true what they say; the natives are more friendly when you make an effort!
   
   I have purchased a variety of language guides for a number of languages (Czech, Italian, French, German), and I have always found the LonelyPlanet phrasebooks to be the best. Their size makes them very portable and discrete, they are very well organized, and have good, easy to use 2-way dictionaries for when you're in a pinch. They also don't take themselves too seriously, and include sometimes laughable - though potentially very useful - sections on things like clubbing, and "intimate" times. The guides claim to be "more essential than socks (and lighter on the nose)." I think this sums them up nicely.
   
   In particular, I found that the Czech language guide did a fantastic job hand-holding the reader through the admittedly arduous task of learning to pronounce all the different consonant- and vowel sounds with their plethora of accents. Be sure to start there.
   
   In short, this is an indispensable guide, and an absolute MUST for anyone traveling to the Czech Republic.
   
   Five stars.
   
   
   
   P.S. One word of warning: no book can really teach English speakers the infamous [r-with-upside-down-^] or "rzh" sound - as in the composer Dvo[rzh]ak - since the sound does not exist in our language. You'll see what I mean, no doubt. I suggest searching online for an audio clip of this consonant. The word [rzh]eka, for river, is an excellent example, if you can find it. Happy traveling!