3 comments about Streetwise Munich Map - Laminated City Street Map of Munich, Germany - with integrated metro map including S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines and stations.

1. I travel to Munich and a few other European capitals a few times a year -- I recently bought a bunch of the Streetwise Maps. The Munich one is rather weak -- it contains just the city center and leaves one in the dark about the suberbs, airport, and surrounding towns. Also it fails to include much the business areas and Olympic Stadium.

   The small U-bahn and S-bahn map is also cropped in a way that excludes many important places, this map would be good only for the day tourist to the city center.




2. I was extremely disappointed in this map, which is incomplete, inadequate and even inaccurate in spots. If you're a casual tourist who is only spending a day in the Bavarian capital, then this map would probably fit your basic needs. But if you're planning on spending a week or more in the city, or if you want to see more than the city center, then avoid the map at all costs.

   The map shows only the inner city, with few streets shown beyond Briennerstrasse or the Isar. This is simply not acceptable, especially if you want to see anything of the city beyond Marienplatz. There is also some outdated information on the reverse, giving U Bahn stations on the wrong cross streets. This could present clear problems for travelers. I do not recommend this map to anyone unless you're restricting yourself to a small area in the pedestrian-only zone.




3. The people at Streetwise should be embarassed to even sell this map. Its poor design is EXTREME. I was so shocked at its terrible quality because OTHER Streetwise maps have always been so useful. Not this one. Streetwise Munich is missing a majority of Munich, it doesn't include an U-Bahn or S-Bahn plan, and is so difficult to read that you'll be more confused than aided by it. It is a total failure.
   
   This map does not live up to the Streetwise name. I don't recommend this product at all.

4 comments about Blue Guide Sicily, Seventh Edition (Blue Guide Sicily).

1. A lot of interesting info you do not get from the other sources. Although you have to get an additional guidebook with all the "practicalities", like Rough Guide.



2. I envision using this book more after arriving home and revisiting places we saw during our vacation. This blue guide explains the history and political situation of all Sicily, including pointing to pictures of museums and churches we visited. I will enjoy perusing this book to remember our trip.



3. We spent 2 weeks in Sicily in Oct 2007. After looking through all the major guides at a local book store, we purchased the Lonely Planet Sicily (3rd Edition) and the Blue Guide Sicily (7th Edition). Lonely Planet covers the all the major sites, cities, and towns. Its city maps, with the locations of restaurant, hotels, etc. are extremely helpful. However, it is missing some of the smaller towns and sites, and offers sparse coverage of the east coast of Sicily. The Blue Guide is far, far superior in terms of its comprehensive detail, and quality of information. Indeed the Blue Guide is one of the best guide books I have ever seen on any region: its intelligence and depth are extraordinary. On the other hand, the Blue Guide city maps, while graphically excellent, are lacking the markers for restaurant and hotels that Lonely Planet has. And there were days when we did not feel like lugging the Blue Guide's 512 pages around. So ultimately, we were glad to have both.



4. Superb guide to history, culture, geography, cuisine of Sicily with interesting sidebar vignettes, detailed maps and good photography. A bit heavy to travel with, however, but excellent reference to prepare for trip. This, combined with the more portable Frommer's, are a good bet.

2 comments about Italian Riviera (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. We never go on holiday without buying an Eye Witness guide for the area we are visiting. This one was invaluable for our recent holiday in Santa Margherita Ligure from finding a restaurant to getting on a bus.



2. I was a little disappointed by this book, for there are less maps and photos than I expected. It is unlikely for "Eyewitness Travel Guides." I usually believe maps will be greatly appreciated especially for small towns which don't have the tourist information center. However, I appreciate the concept that this publisher makes this regional guidebook, so I give one start for it. Another star is for the reasonable price at Amazon.com: $13.60 (regular $20) as of 11/3/2006.

5 comments about Acquired Tastes.

1. all of peter mayles books are great - and this is no exception!



2. I used to think as a big disadvantage to live in a small and poor country as Chile. However, Mr. Mayle's book demonstrated me that living in a "third world country" has some advantages. First of all, if you can afford some of the pleasures described on this book, meaning you're lucky enough to be within the 5 or 3 per cent of chilean population, maybe you're not a tycoon, but al least you're quite wealthy. That takes us to the second point... few riches enjoying pleasures means everyone else want to be like you, have the things you have, admire you and that makes you exclusive. In Chile if you earn 1.000 US$ a month you're middle class... imagine what happens when you make that 5.000 or 10.000 US$!!! Third point is vernacular. You can buy vineyards for a decent price (in many cases you have acquired it by inheritance), have 5 or 6 servants for 1.200 US$ a month, buy a very nice vacation home for 150.000 US$ and have a drink on a limo for 100 US$ the whole day. Caviar, cigars and truffles have the same high price worldwide, althought they are scarce and difficult to find in every corner grocery shop.



3. Leaving his haunts in the South of France, Peter explores the tastes of the rich and famous. Custom shoes, shirts, suits, second homes, stretch limos and all. A good read but not his best!



4. In his undying wit, Mayle shares with us some of his field research on the finer things in life. Although really geared toward the gentleman reader, it is enjoyable for women to read as well. You'll learn some interesting facts on caviar, truffles, cashmere, and cigars as well as pick up on the potential pitfalls of overindulgence and gluttony. A quick and enjoyable read for anyone who is curious about the life of luxury!



5. I love all things "Peter Mayle!" He's just so fun to read! Aquired Tastes is witty and even a little wild!

1 comments about Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece (New York Review Books Classics).

1. I first encountered Fermor in his riveting accounts of his walk across Europe as World War II began descending. I was fascinated by his encyclopedic and poetic narrative. He made you feel you were walking alongside him. Now, his travels take us to Roumeli, the old name for northern Greece and Macedonia. Again, Fermor takes us on a poetic and detailed odyssey through villages and rugged Greek countryside, meeting interesting people and telling their tales. He has an uncanny ear (and eye) for the temperament and culture of the Greeks and one can sense his affection for the people he helped defend while a British commando on Crete during WWII. This is a travelogue of the old sort: careful attention to detail, wanderings off the well-trod tourist paths, and vivid description of the sounds, smells and history of this fabled land.

No comments about The Dordogne, Lot & Bordeaux, 6th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

No comments about Michelin the Green Guide Greece (Michelin Green Guides).

5 comments about Time Out Cheap Eats in London (Time Out Guides).

1. I recently visited London for the first time and beforehand I went through half a dozen London guides. This one, Lonely Planet's England Guide, and London for Dummies are the ones I recommend.
   
   London is an expensive city, including food, and "Time Out Cheap Eats in London" will provide you with great leads on lower-priced restaurants listed neighborhood by neighborhood. It's useful to remember that central London is relatively small and very walkable so be sure to check out the sections on neighborhoods outside of the one where you are staying. The book has longer reviews of recommended restaurants and short notes about recommended chain restaurants (no, not American chains!) in the neighborhood. Also take a look at Time Out's website for updates.



2. I bought this book in planning for a trip to London. With today's exchange rate, I really need to get the most for my money and this book is a great help. The reviews are clear, well-organized and have been invaluable in helping me plan my trip!



3. We took this book on a trip to London (obviously), and went to several of the restaurants in the guide. All of the restaurants that we visited were fabulous. We would look up a restaurant and then go to that part of town to eat, which really helped in getting us out to other parts of London that we might not have normally visited. Highly recommended. Also went to eat a couple of times at "Wasabi", a Japanese fast food chain. It wasn't in the book, but I really enjoyed it. The sushi was very fresh and super reasonably priced.



4. Cheap eats is a complete waste of money, the places listed tended to be fast food knock offs and the info un-updated. Yet, the most frustrating thing was that the vast majority of food choices in this book tended to be very non-British. If your going to London, England you want to eat foods that are English, yet page after page of Time Out consists of pizza, chinese, thai, indian, chinese, russian, middle eastern, chinese again. And the page listing a few pie and mash shops or Fish and Chip shops could have been updated it is very frustrating making a trek to a location only to find it has been closed down for some time. And the final complaint here is the huge number of pages that are dedicated to advertisements for surprise surprise places they chose as a Cheap eat.
   This book was so frustrating and worthless that after, three different closures I tossed it out with the rest of the garabage. No if you wish to find Cheap Eats that are truly worth eating save your money talk to a bus driver, cabbie or my favorite a policeman who'll walk you to the location and introduce you to his buddies at the pub and maybe buy you a pint.



5. Although, originally we felt that its origanization into different areas would be helpful, we ended up paging around the book a lot to figure out where we wanted to eat. I'm not sure exactly how to fix the problem, but it seemed like there might be a better way to group the maps and the reviews closer together.
   
   Being Americans traveling in London with the weak dollar these days, we were always looking for just the cheapest places. It would have been very helpful to have lists like the Top 50 Single Pound Sign Restaurants rather than having to page around looking for them.
   
   In the end, it saved us money and had us eating at a few interesting places, but it was just a bit harder to use than we initially thought.

1 comments about Frommer's Florence, Tuscany & Umbria (Frommer's Complete).

1. While we found the guidebooks useful in some ways, the restaurant recommendations were extremely disappointing. We ate at two of the recommended restaurants (one recommended by the Frommer Tuscany guidebook, the other by the Frommer Rome guidebook) during a week long stay in Italy. They were the most average meals we had - certainly they were not worth the stars they were given by Frommer. The Rome guidebook also recommended a restaurant (Insalata Ricca) near Piazza Navona without mentioning it was part of a chain. We walked several blocks to this location with family who wanted a light meal before catching the train (we didn't eat there ourselves) and later discovered that there was another one right around the corner from our hotel. I do not plan on buying a Frommer's guidebook again, because I can't trust their recommendations. The facts and history are available in other guidebooks too.
   
   I should also mention that the guidebook claimed that parking in Siena was exorbitantly expensive. Perhaps that is true if one parks the car and stays in a hotel in the city for several days. We visited the city for about 8 hours and paid about $15 which didn't seem too bad.

5 comments about The Wee Mad Road: A midlife escape to the Scottish Highlands.

1. I have found with the books that I really love that I stop reading them with 30 or so pages left. I just don't want to finish them beause I don't want them to end. Then I laugh at myself for being silly and finally read the last pages. This was one of those books. I really didn't want it to end. Once I finished it I couldn't decide whether I should start reading it again or just book my ticket to Scotland. I honestly laughed and cried while I read this and feel as though I now know the whole village of Achiltibuie.



2. Wow! I felt like I was there. I have been to Scotland before, but not quite that far northwest. Now I see what I missed. The Frieda chapter was priceless! It was nice to read both authors' comments. It gave a well rounded picture of the people and terrain of the area. I felt as though I were there. The writing is so vivid, that I felt the wind and cold rain. The life the authors had is quickly dying, and it was wonderful that they were able to take that time in their life, to live a somewhat slower pace, where you had time to "smell the flowers" and appreciate their neighbors. The pictures were excellent as well, and easily showed Scottish life and scenery.



3. I read about this book in the St. Paul(MN)Pioneer Press
   
   We have a Scottish daughter-in-law. We went to visit her parents on the Isle of Skye after she married our son. I fell in love with Scotland, especially the Highlands.
   
   I ordered this book for my daughter-in-law for her birthday and she was delighted with it. She knew the location of Coicagh, had been there and knew how to pronounce it. I picked the book up at our library and am enjoying it immensely. Anyone born in Scotland or it was their birthplace, can't help but identify with these Highland Scots: Warm, generous, patient with Americans, especially. To me Scotland could be heaven and I would be satisfied.



4. Fun read if you are into Scotland!...and I certainly am! So I'm really enjoying it. If you are looking for an instruction manual on how to move to a foreign land I don't believe this book will give you all the information that you need, but I don't think the writers intended that. It's just a short journal/story of their experience. I am finding it very entertaining. And Mrs. Maloney's sketches are such a bonus! I believe if you have a love for Scotland you will enjoy this book. And I believe if you are contemplating taking a big step in your life this couples story will be an inspiration to you to just go for it! (...and don't forget to journal your journey so that others can enjoy your experiences too!)



5. Plainly written but very true to the scottish people, countryside, and a wonderful view of what their life was making this dramatic change to living. Really enjoyed due to the insight into the scottish village life and way of interaction.