3 comments about Frommer's Amalfi Coast with Naples, Capri & Pompeii (Frommer's Complete).

1. I prefer more "fun" reading than the lifeless drumming in Frommer Travel books. I would like to see more travel books on the Amalfi area, but as choices are very slim, this may be the best available, at least to date.



2. We have already been to Italy but with this great book we are going to see another aspect of it. Not the kind of trip most tourists do, but the way this great traveler invites us to.



3. The Frommer's Amalfi Coast with Naples, Capri and Pompeii was fun to read and provided us with some useful information prior to our travels. In addition to our time spent in Naples, Capri and Pompeii, we also spent 5 days in Rome which we had purchased a Rick Steven's book on Rome. Rick Steven's is far superior to Frommer's in providing useful and practical information that is the most accurate. In addition, most of the necessary information for our Naples trip was in the Rome book-in the day trip section. I would therefore only recommend buying the Frommer's book as supplementary material to a Rick Steven's travel book if desired.

No comments about Karen Brown's Italy Hotels, Revised Edition: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries 2008 (Karen Brown's Italy Hotels).

No comments about Moleskine City Notebook Roma (Rome) (Moleskine City Notebook).

2 comments about The Italian Wine Guide: The Definitive Guide to Touring, Sourcing, and Tasting (Dolce Vita).

1. Tbis book gives all the information needed to actually visit Italian wine regions and the wineries themselves.
   
   Wineries in Italy are generally not set up to receive tourists as in Napa. Prior arrangements usually need to be made just to visit, not to mention an actual tour and on-site tasting.
   
   The book is organized by region with specific address and contact information for some (but not all) wineries. You might not be able to find the exact winery that produced an obscure bottle that you found at Trader Joe's but you can find one near it and probably just like it.
   
   The book is a heavy softcover octavo with glossy pages and many pictures. There are also paid advertisements for wineries and vinotecas grouped with the editorial content. This is not a drawback but is helpful to know which places actually welcome visitors (some don't). The famous Sassicaia winery at Tenuta San Guido in Toscana for example, does not. I found that the binding is poor and pages have a tendency to fall out but I may have gotten a bad example. The book is somewhat heavy (about two pounds) but on balance I would say worth actually carrying with you on your trip to Italy.
   
   The Touring Club of Italy is an organization similar to AAA which publishes maps and guidebooks in addition to offering other travel services. They have a useful website (in English and Italian) at touringclubdotcom.



2. If you are serious about Italian wine and/or food this is great book to have in your library.
   
   The book does a nice job of explaining the wine varietals from particular regions of Italy. They also tell you which years are outstanding, very good, fairly good and unsatisfactory by wine. This book is very helpful for a trip to your favorite wine store.
   
   If you are interested in wine tours while in Italy the book gives descriptions of wineries and which one offer tours and whether you need to make reservations or not. I also appreciated the wine store names, addresses and phone numbers that are listed by region. My husband appreciated the similar listings of golf courses. Their listings of antique fairs were also useful.
   
   When I was booking our last vacation, I compared the hotel and restaurant suggestions with other guides and found that they were similar. It is always nice to have multiple sources for information.
   
   I think that this book has something for everyone. If you never plan to visit Italy this book is very useful with its general information about Italian varietals and which years to purchase.

1 comments about Italy by Bike: 105 Tours from the Alps to Sicily (Dolce Vita).

1. Good route descriptions for the touring cyclist. The routes are a bit short and unchallenging for the expereinced cyclist or the cyclist seeking challenging training terrain. This is a good guide, and I have not found anything better. Recommend.

3 comments about Fodor's Florence's 25 Best, 6th Edition (25 Best).

1. I will be studying abroad in Florence in the upcoming fall semester and have been looking for books to take with me to Italy. I decided I wanted a smaller book on Florence to take with me when I'm out in the city, and I decided on this book. I am a fan of the Eyewitness Books because of the pictures and information they have, and I got the Florence version of that but it was still bigger than what I was looking for to carry on an everyday basis. I have gotten the Eyewitness Top Ten guides in the past and have been happy with those, but this book has one advantage that the Top 10 guides do not have; a waterproof map of the city in a small pouch in the back of the book. The information it provides is really useful, and as the title suggests lists the top 25 of what to see, where to go, and what to do. It also divides Florence into different sections, so you can easily access the best sights and things to do in your area. There is also another section in the back that lists good overall information about things to know when traveling to the city. Overall, I think this is the best choice for a book on a specific city to carry around when walking through a city; I am planning on picking up the Rome and Venice ones for when I travel to those cities as well.



2. Recently, my husband and I visited Florence and during our stay in this capital of the Tuscany Region of Italy we used this guide. Fodor's products generally are very good and this guide was no exception. Full of color pictures, descriptions of the highlights, and tips regarding visiting the sites (and to which sites you need to book early for)as well as when the sites are open and if they are handicapped accessible are all there. It was obvious from looking at this "Top 25" book that even with a five day stay that we would not see it all, so a guide like this was essential. If you are a visual person and need the pictures, like I do, this guide gives you a real sense of what the sites are like so that you can choose those sites wisely and according to your tastes.
   
   What I have found in using any guide, is ignore what everyone tells you is a "must see" as "must sees" can vary widely depending on taste. I personally love art, so for me visiting Accademia to see Michelangelo's "David" was a "must see", as was the Uffizi, which houses Boticelli's "Birth of Venus" and many pieces of Renaissance art. The book also outlines many of the churches, including the parish church of the Medici Family, which also has works commissioned by them, including the pulpit by Donatello and Staircase by Michelangelo. There is a section also of the Duomo as well as one of our favorite stops to Santa Croce and the beautiful tomb of Michelangelo. Also entombed there is Galileo & Machiavelli. Many of the Piazzas are also listed in the book, including my favorite, Piazza della Signoria, with it's beautiful sculptures, including Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women.
   
   There is a section on hotels as well as restaurants but we basically already had decided on a hotel and restaurants are fun to choose as you walk the city in the evening strolling down little alleyways following that fabulous smell. If you like to plan ahead on the food though, it is here.
   
   The "need to know" section was very useful, including when to go, average temperatures, what festivals are happening, useful websites to help you plan your trip, internet cafes sites, information about electricity voltage, how much it costs to use the restroom facilities (not ample-use a cafe restroom) and a short section on useful phrases.
   
   At the end of the book, cleverly hidden in a plastic pouch is your own pull out map of the city.
   
   The book is small enough to fit into an ample purse if you need it.
   
   This was our first trip to Florence and we found this guide to be one of the best for our trip to this area of Italy.
   
   I would most definitely look at more of Fodor's Top 25 Series books when the need arises again. They are well put together, with all the essentials you need.
   
   One thing that I did find out my own that I did not see in the book was a tour company that took you to the Tuscan Countryside for the day. The company was called Artviva. Though not a frugal day, it was one of the highlights of our trip and we visited Siena, San Gimignano and visited a wine estate and had lunch in the vineyard. Would have loved to seen this added (you can however read about these areas in the book). If you have a chance to go to this area, that is definitely a worthwhile trip as well-and you can do an internet search for more specifics on more tours that they offer.
   
   All and all a great book and highly recommended!



3. My husband and I used the the Fodor's 25 Best for Rome, Venice, and Florence on a recent trip to Italy, and we found them extremely valuable. The compact size makes them light and easy to stick in a purse or pocket, and yet they have all of the information that a traveler needs, from tips on beating the crowds to recommendations for excellent restaurants. Also contains a pull-out map. Features like a two-day itinerary and suggestions for certain types of of activities are very helpful.

5 comments about Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Italy: The Ultimate Guide for Traveler's Who Love to Shop (Born To Shop).

1. Suzy Gershman needs to retire already. All of her books, including this one, are full of inaccuracies. Each edition is barely updated, so there's no need to buy the new version if you have an old one. It's time Frommers dropped Gershman and hired someone under the age of 70 to update these books that shops NOW and knows what they're talking about. These Born To Shop books are an amusing read but a complete waste of money if you're looking for current information.



2. Don't bother buying this book. First, none of the Born To Shop books get updated much between editions, so lots of information is out of date. Second, Suzy Gershman is totally out of touch with reality. I took a shopping tour to Italy with a company called Shop Around Tours and obviously a lot of us had this book. The tour leader warned us not to pay too much attention to it and she was right. BUT we went to Mantero, which is one of the places mentioned in the book, and it was great. Otherwise, the people that went off on their own following Suzy's wild goose chases were very disappointed. So the shopping in Italy was great, but this book was a waste of money.



3. Since I'm planning another trip to Italy this year, I got the current edition on a whim. I had bought an old version several years ago on a discount rack when I first started traveling to Europe and I found a fair bit of the information helpful, but this one is a disappointment in several ways. As others have pointed out, much of the information is quite obviously inaccurate or out of date. Furthermore, this is not much good as a shopping guide unless you have money to burn since it is heavily skewed toward the high-end designer market. The author throws in a few snippets from her younger associates about more affordable places to shop but that's not enough. Admittedly, Italy hasn't been a bargain hunter's paradise for many years, even before the currency conversion that has almost ruined shopping in Europe for us Americans, but there really are many affordable options for the average traveler. Just take a look on Virtual Tourist or some fo the other travel forums & you'll find a wealth of advice. From that & my own searches, I've found a pile of good shopping information. Now if I can do that on my own, surely Gershman and her team could have done a better job of research, especially if they have the nerve to charge money for it.
   
   However, my real problem is with Gershman's attitude, which has clearly worsened between the date of my old edition and the present one. The woman is a snob, plain and simple. If you don't catch this from her over-emphasis on designer goods, you'll figure it out from all of her complaining about Italy being overrun with tourists (obviously forgetting that she is one herself)and the Italian merchants taking advantage of this by offering more & more junk. When I read her review of Francesco Rogani, a handbag shop in Rome, I truly wondered if I had been to the same place: she claims that there is a discrepancy between the selling price & the actual retail, the latter of which she claims is too much for sub-standard goods, but what is even more puzzling is her complaint that the clerks have a "less than customer-oriented" attitude. I have been there several times & have never been told of this mysterious difference between prices. Also, I have always found them to be courteous and polite; in fact, on my last visit, they found out it was my birthday & offered to get me a reservation at a special restaurant that I never would have found on my own (it was wonderful and they treated me to the appetizer, dessert, and a glass of liqueur). Now if that isn't "customer-oriented" service, I don't know what is.
   
   Anyone who's traveled abroad even a few times will tell you the same thing: if you act like a typical snotty, demanding tourist, you won't be treated well. The Golden Rule is especially important these days for us Americans, and I assure you that if you are polite, well-mannered and friendly to the Italians or anyone else, you'll have a wonderful time shopping. Talk to the concierge at the hotel and the waiters & shop owners if you want to find out the real bargains - they may not be big-name designer baubles screaming their status, but they will be special, something that a real Italian would own, and more than likely something that you wouldn't find back home.



4. The book is good, but it depends on what type of shopping you are looking for. If you are interested in designer clothing and where to find the outlets, then this is the book for you. I was more interested in finding information on the local crafts for each part of Italy I traveled to. While the book did touch upon this, the emphasis was more on designer clothes, bags, shoes, etc. Note that the book also covers hotel info, and it is already a small book to begin with.



5. Just returned from a fab trip to Rome, and it was all the better for having Suzy's book with me. She was accurate about many of the stores (Francesco Rogani did lock the door while I was there), and having the addresses handy was helpful, as I don't speak Italian and sometimes have trouble reading the handwriting. From now on all I need to travel is one of Suzy's books, and a MapEasy's Guidemap!

5 comments about Desiring Italy: Women Writers Celebrate the Passions of a Country and Culture.

1. Why are all 30 of the entries written by women? What's the point of that? Is this some kind of womens studies book, or what's up with that!



2. I love Italy and I love this book. It is arranged in regional sections, but that is not entirely relevant because the pieces range over time and subject. For example, in the section on The Veneto there is an excerpt from Marcella Hazan's 'Classic Italian Cookbook' (incidentally, one of the very finest cookbooks - a lovely literary work, and the recipes work too!) - on Italian Cooking: where does it come from? The Italian art of eating, restaurants The bacaro experience, gelati. Simply scrumptious.

   The other contributors are the very best of literature: Edith Wharton, Francine Prose, Maty Shelley, Jan Morris, Muriel Spark (one of my favourite evocations and lived experiences: Venice in Fall and Winter), Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Elizabeth von Arnim, Francesca Alexander, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, Mary McCarthy, Kate Simon, Iris Origo, Lisa St Aubin de teran, Patricia Hampl, Florence Nightingale, Margaret Fuller, Eleanor Clark, Elizabeth Bowen, Elizabeth Spencer, Rose Macaulay, Shirley Hazzard, Ann Cornelisen, Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Mary Taylor Simeti.

   Each contribution is preceded by some brief contextual information on the author's piece. It is not 'biographical' in the sense of being a recitation of dates and places and events, more a little about the author's motivations or expressed thoughts about Italy or the subject at hand. After the excerpt is a guide for the traveller - a little more about the places, people or events mentioned in the passage.

   This is the sort of book that inspires a lust for travel, or becomes a treasured travel companion. It is one of the most 'lovingly' edited books I have ever read.

   Many anthologies contain an imbalance of male to female writers, and more men are travel writers, so this volume is particularly delightful. The editor elaborates on aspects of places that are particularly concerned with the cultural history of women. One of the reasons to produce a book using women writers is expressed by Susan Cahill (editor): " The women writers who love Italy take a different tone from what we hear in the travel notebooks of Dickens, Hawthorne or henry james. The women's narratives come across with a down-to-earth concreteness. They're irreverent, critical and anecdotal but never brittle, mean-spirited or smug at the Italians' expense....No narrator observes safely from a cool, aesthetic all-knowing distance. Rather, their affection for the place and people moves the current of the prose."

   I love this book. Maybe you will too.




3. I ordered Desiring Italy to read while my husband and I travelled in Italy this year. I had hoped that it would be as interesting as The Italians by Luigi Barzini or Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the book; it did not meet my expectations or hold my interest so I abandoned it in our hotel room.



4. This a great book. I read it in a short time. It was like being there. I loved every moment of the book. Of course, I like to cook and I garden The recipes are worth a try. I felt like I was there, part of the book. A great read!



5. This book is a treasure chest, a real find! Susan Cahill gives us here a fabulously artistic collection of woman's writings, all of which are centered around Italy and Italian experiences. The result is a resplendent patchwork of thoughts, ideas, articles, recipes, facts, stories... great writings, which explore various aspects of that paradise on earth and its inhabitants that we all know as Italy and the Italians. This book makes a great travel companion, whether you are traveling or not, or a great souvenir, in case you read it only once you are back. I highly recommend it not only for its literary side but because it very astutely portrays the multi-faceted, highly aesthetic "dolce vita" from numerous angles...

1 comments about Frommer's Northern Italy's Best-Loved Driving Tours (Best Loved Driving Tours).

1. This Driving Tours book is a great resource, but only used as a companion to the Frommer's Northern Italy book. Shouldn't take the two books together to get the whole scoop, but it does if you are an independent traveler. This book shows the relative relationship each small town has to another - helpful if you like to explore on your own. Other benefit is that it shows a number of "off the beaten path" small towns and attractions not referenced in the general Northern Italy book. Still prefer Frommer's to any other resource - every day of the week!

No comments about La Bella Vita: Daily Inspiration from Italy.