1 comments about Let's Go 2008 Italy (Let's Go Italy).

1. Excellent resource with lots of information that you should have like embassy, restaurants, attractions, and accommodations. Fast shipping, good condition

5 comments about Blue Guide Rome, Ninth Edition (Blue Guide Rome).

1. Unlike the usual guidebook, the blue guide provides an incredibly indepth look at each place in Rome you might visit. This is not a "visual" guide like the DK series, but a text with pages of description. Some excellent maps of the interior of sites and some beautiful pictures. I used this book along with a more traditional guidebook. Armchair travelers would appreciate this book because of the depth of the descriptions.
   
   One disadvantage is how heavy the book is. Another potential disadvantage is the lack of "practical" info. If you want to know what the airport is like in Rome, how to travel with children, or much about hotels or restaurants, this guide is not for you. There is a brief "visitor information" section at the back, but it is very brief.



2. Given that the product showed as shipped but it never arrived, and I had to buy another one needed for.... a trip to Rome.... I have asked for and been granted a refund.



3. On his website, travel guru Rick Steves says that Blue Guides take "a dry and scholarly approach to the countries of Europe. They're ideal if you want to learn as much about history, art, architecture, and culture as you possibly can." This is basically true, though I much prefer a "dry and scholarly" tone to Rick's "nerdy and precious" style. He's great when it comes to practical tips, but he can't touch the historical, artistic and architectural content of the Blue Guides.
   
   Blue Guides pack a tremendous amount of information into their pages, much more than any other guide I've used. They're wonderful for reading before and after your trip, but they're probably too dense to pack and take along for most people. Before leaving on my honeymoon to Italy, I photocopied the relevant pages of the Northern Italy book to avoid having to pack it because I knew I wouldn't be visiting most of the cities it covers. On that trip I field-tested three guides: Rick Steves, Eyewitness, and Blue Guide.
   
   Blue Guides are not good to use as your main guide. They're far too light on practical matters such as maps, directions, hotels and restaurants, and they're not updated every year. I used Eyewitness to plan and get around and then pulled out the Blue Guide once I reached a major site. I used Rick Steves so little and found him so unhelpful that I left his books behind in hotels along the way.
   
   Blue Guides have come a long way over the years. I was given an older edition of the Rome guide many years ago, and I couldn't believe how small the print was; it had a lot of detail but would have been very difficult to use while traveling. The publishers have learned their lesson: the current edition of the Rome guide is far easier to use and much more attractive, with colorful maps and an easier-to-read format. They've improved on the practical aspects as well, but you'll probably be in trouble if you rely on this book to get around in Rome. I recommend packing a more comprehensive one-volume guide such as Eyewitness and using Blue Guide to learn about specific sites once the other guide gets you to them. Keep Blue Guide on your shelf as an attractive reference and let it inspire you to return to Rome in the future!



4. The Blue Guides are all stellar tools and this one was a gem this Summer.



5. The Blue Guides, while excellent, are not usually my go-to guides for travel. They usually tell me more than I want or need to know, and their lack of practical information means you can only use it in conjunction with another guide. Rome was an exception. There's simply so much there, and sites are often so poorly labelled and have so little information, that I found I actually needed to carry it around with me. In fact, my original Blue Guide was in a bag that BA lost, and after attempting to see the Roman Forum without it, I found an English-language store and paid 29 for a new copy. It's that essential.

5 comments about Italy For Dummies (Dummies Travel).

1. This book is great for planning, because it's packed with useful information so you know what to expect, especially if this is your first trip to Italy. I'm used to giving travel planning seminars on Italy all the time, and this book is a staple!! I like to recommend it to students who are going on an exchange program, as well as adults going on a family trip. I wouldn't say it's something you want to actually take with you on your trip, because it's big and a bit heavy. You don't want to compromise valuable suitcase space, when you know Italy is known for shopping!!!



2. ITALY FOR DUMMIES is so helpful. It's arranged so you can easily find famous sites, art, night spots, restaurants, discos and pubs, shopping, as well as practical how-to-get-where information for all the major tourist destinations and maps of many of the major cities. There are even sections to help you negotiate an upscale Italian menu as well as a pizza menu, which, believe me, is very useful to those of us who don't speak Italian. The excellent sidebar on Italian ice cream (which is probably the best ice cream in the world) recommends some of the most popular flavors, including my favorites bacio (hazelnut chocolate) and stracciatella (chocolate chip)! Try a dip of two or three flavors on your cone-that's the Italian way. Believe me, you'll walk it off. The book even tells you how to toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain Italian style. I highly recommend ITALY FOR DUMMIES, whether you are a first time traveler to Italy, or you've been there a half dozen times as I have. The book is great at telling you where all the great art is (some of the major works at each museum), how to get tickets and how long the lines will probably be. The book's weakness is that it doesn't help you understand the art--it's 5-word to 1-sentence descriptions of paintings and sculptures don't really do the job. It would be great if they offered a book called Italian Art for Dummies. They don't, so I got the next best thing, ART HISTORY FOR DUMMIES. I highly recommend the chapter on Ancient Rome, which is great for helping you understand the whole span of Roman art, architecture and history (and really fun and interesting to read!) and of course the Early and High Renaissance chapter, which is magnificent, the Mannerism chapter (which tells about one of the truly great off the beaten-path art sites, Palazzo Te in Mantova, aka Mantua, which isn't mentioned at all in Italy for Dummies), the Italian Baroque, and the really lively section on the Italian Futurists (who were around during the early 20th century). I packed both ART HISTORY FOR DUMMIES and ITALY FOR DUMMIES in my suitcase when I went to Venice, Florence, Rome and Mantua for ten days over the Christmas Holidays. Both of these books made my trip so much richer and more interesting than my previous five Italian adventures. I never saw so much of Italy in so short a time--I don't mean in terms of quantity but quality. These books help you to get inside the Italian experience much more deeply.



3. We found Italy for Dummies to be invaluable to our trip planning and in use on the trip. It was full of useful advice generally, and specifically, the maps and hotel and restaurant recommendations were apt and accurate. The Amazon online access was especially valuable, both because I was able to cut and paste (and print) custom maps specific to our plans before our trip, AND ON the trip because my fiance left the book on the kitchen table when we left. A best buy all round!



4. What I liked...super concise review of Italian history, nice "top 10" lists at the end; good basic information.
   
   What I didn't like...this particular book was kind of a disappointment in comparison to other "Dummies" travel books I have used. I found the London and Paris "Dummies" books absolutely invaluable. Perhaps because this book covers an entire country, rather than an individual city, did I find it to be much too general. I also found the English/Italian dictionary at the end to be really lacking. I did not expect it to be by any means extensive; however, the 2-page listing in a "Time Out" guide that I bought was much more meaningful in the choice of helpful words.
   
   Perhaps it is because I have done a bit more traveling, much of the basic information just seemed to be that...much too basic. What might be nice is if the "Dummies" series had just a book on "travel tips for Dummies," and then omitted a lot of that very basic content from these location guides. It would allow room to make the location guide much more comprehensive and meaningful.
   
   If this is your first trip to Europe, then by all means, this is a great book. But if you have been to Europe before and are comfortable with your basic travel know-how, you might want to look elsewhere.



5. What a great book! I have tabbed sections, highlighted information, and written notes in the margins. If you are looking for any information about the history of this great culture to where to eat in Rome, this is the book for you.

5 comments about Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World.

1. In "Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World," Anthony Doerr accepted a fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters in Rome, Italy and together with his wife, Shauna, and their newborn twins, they moved to Rome. The author wrote about his experience in Rome, trying to adjust to the way of life there as well as having to manage two babies. He also spent some time talking about Rome in a more unconventional sense (different from a travelogue) focusing on the history and literature.
   
   This was an okay read for me as I had hoped the author would focus more about the culture and people in Rome. It almost felt like he was writing about his own experience as a new father having to deal with both work and that Rome was just the backdrop of all that was happening. He spent a considerable time talking about authors and literatures which were not very interesting for me. The most fascinating part of "Four Seasons in Rome" was his coverage of the Pope's funeral and his observation of the people who adored and loved the Pope. It was just an average read for me - if you are looking for a travelogue type read, this would definitely not be in. This is more of a part memoir, part travel type book.



2. As an American who moved to Rome to have a baby, I can relate to this book. My experience is different. I live with an Italian and all my friends are Roman, but I still found Doerr's observations lyrical and prescient. As a new father, I actually enjoyed how he was learning the city as he became a parent, an experience I know and grok completely. It was useful to see how someone had to endure a lot of the same difficulties that I have experience. How often do you get to read something parallel to your own life? I also enjoyed his descriptions. For me they came quite close to my own observations, as distant as they may be (a fact that he acknowledges). I read the book on a the train from Rome to Turin, so it's something that is quite fast and easy on the mind. Additionally I enjoyed his sense of impermanence and how that is a character of Rome. Bravo!



3. 4 Season's in Rome, is essentially a story within a story. Doerr struggles day in and day out with trying to write his next novel, while living in a foreign land, and raising his first TWO children (they're fraternal twins). Throw in the death of one of the greatest religious figures of the 20th century and it makes for a very interesting time spent abroad. In the end, his next novel, becomes this story about trying to to write his next novel.
   I think if you've been to Rome and lived there, this book will invoke those memories of a magnificent place. You can sympathize with what he has gone through.



4. I thought it would be a tale of The Great Man writing about being the father of twins whilst the drudgery of actually caring for the babies is in the background. But, being a tragic Italophile, I knew I had to read it eventually. Am so glad I did. The author is a truly devoted parent, yet still possesses a sweet innocence himself towards this beautiful, new-to-him world of Rome. Just as one of the boys is wide-eyed over a taste of chocolate, the author seems reborn at the sight of the glorious skies Rome (apparently) has, the food, the poetry of the language. The writing is gorgeous but not in the artificial MFA manner (maybe he has one, I don't know)--it's genuine and vivid and...tangible. It reawakened in me a desire to not just read more American fiction, but to pull my old drafts off the shelves and see if I, too, could conjure up some similar magic. In one sense my prejudice was correct, though--with his love of family and openness and sense of humor about the world and himself, Four Seasons in Rome did turn out to be the tale of what seems to be a [lower case] great man. (One commentator "denounced" the author as "liberal"; what Doerr seems to be, of course, is humane.)



5. If you know next to nothing about Italy, are never planning to visit, and are perfectly content to allow your impressions of the country to be informed by *Under the Tuscan Sun*-like romanticism and shameless, treacly sentimentality, then *Four Seasons in Rome* is the travel book for you. Otherwise, Doerr's constant doses of high-sugar, low-fiber commentary about his and his family's year in Rome are only going to have you reaching for your insulin pen. Are we really (I mean, are we REALLY??) still at the stage where someone can publish a book about Italy in which his entire contribution to the genre is to rehearse postcard stereotypes and Merchant-Ivory clichés? Call me simple, but I'd truly have thought the market was completely glutted with sixteenth-of-an-inch thick observations on how "wonderful" and "beautiful" Italy is--made by people who don't speak the language, who never stop being tourists, and whose apparently unlimited financial and other resources insulate them entirely from the realities of Italian life. Being a casual visitor is a fine and respectable pastime, but it doesn't qualify you to write a book. Doerr, however, is undaunted, awhirl in whimsy and wide-eyed wonder. From his innocent astonishment that tomatoes actually taste good (he does live in Boise, Idaho, after all) to his tired (and tiring) insistence that he and his wife never saw a badly dressed Italian--or a fat one--to his second-rate tour-guide rhapsodies over the Pantheon, Doerr never lets a bromide or a platitude get away from him. When a Roman waiter makes him and his wife wait 90 minutes for their dinner check, Doerr's only reaction is to go all dewy-eyed over how "relaxed" and "laid back" people are in Italy. Please, Anthony. The waiter was rude. There's no great mystery to it. It happens all the time in Italy, especially to tourists, especially in Rome, and especially to people who are willing, as the Italians say, to fare il fesso--that is, let someone else make an a** of them. Gird your loins as well, Gentle Reader, for page after darling, cooing page about the marvel of Doerr's one-year-old twins and for detailed descriptions of just how darn difficult it was to try to wheel them around Rome in a double-stroller that I can only imagine was a special treat for all the people who had to contend with it on buses, down sidewalks, and in museums. But let's give credit where credit is due: Doerr's prose is pretty, even poetic. The trouble is, that's often all it is: a Fabergé egg, a festoon, the rich-and-creamy icing on a cardboard cake. In his 220-plus pages on Rome, there's almost no there there. (Don't be misled, either, by the subtitle's promise of information about "the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World"; Doerr didn't actually attend, and most of what he knows about it he saw on television.) In more than a few passages, he gets so carried away making perfect little netsuke sentences that he forgets he's supposed to be transmitting actual meaning in the process. Yes; I admit it. I have a bone to pick: Doerr has nothing particularly interesting, profound, insightful, or new to say about Italy. That sure didn't keep him from getting a book contract, however, which suggests that attending the right cocktail parties is a sure shot to success. Merit, while appreciated, is not required. And *Four Seasons in Rome* is yet more evidence that, when it comes to anything with the word "Italy" stamped on it, the American public is all too willing to fare il fesso.

3 comments about Michelin the Green Guide Italy (Michelin Green Guides).

1. I ordered the book to plan my trip to Italy. Unforunately, delivery took 150 days, thus I already traveled over North Italy and saw all major sites. But, when I recently received this Guide, I noticed that there are a lot what I missed. So, this book brought new bright ideas for the new travel!



2. I bought this because I had had the Michelin Red Book of Germany (all Red books are in the language of the country) and needed an English version for Italy. This is not the English version of the Red Book Where I found the Red Book to be invaluable in Germany (in 1996), the green book is less so.
   
   The pictures, illustrations, and maps are an improvement over the Red book but the hotel ratings are limited by comparison and the English is apparently translated by the French from Italian and is not exactly idiomatic -- whether your persuasion is British or American English.
   
   If you're from the USA you'll probably get more of what you want from Frommer or Steves.



3. The Michelin Green Guide is still the best. It will turn you into your own expert guide. The star system lets you select the best spots to fit into your time frame. It will fit into your pocket, but it is not a light weight guide. Durable and easy to use, it is a classic.

4 comments about Come, reza, ama / Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

1. Con humor y realismo Elizabeth Gilbert explora su esencia espiritual llevando al lector a encontrarse con ella cara a cara en su camino. Cada mujer que lee este libro puede identificarse con muchas de las experiencias de crecimiento personal y espiritual. Esta es una comedia divina que todas vivimos y pocas podemos articular.



2. Este libro es para cualquier mujer, de cualquier edad y condición, porque todas encontrarán en él algo con lo que identificarse.
   Gilbert aborda con cierto humor y con inteligencia temas como el amor y el desamor, la vida, el éxito, el fracaso, la espiritualidad, el auto-conocimiento y mucho más.



3. El relato de Elizabeth, permite no solo acompañarla en su viaje a través de Europa, Africa e Indonesia por un año, sino ser además testigo de lo que suele acontecer dentro de la cabeza y en el espiritu de mujeres de este tiempo. Nos vamos formando para ser exitosas, para vivir vidas emocionantes. La falta de propósitos más profundos nos llevan a decisiones cortoplacistas y descentradas. Sublevarnos entonces contra nosotras mismas y decidirnos a cambiar nuestro rumbo se convierte en una travesía como la de Elizabeth, dolorosa y larga, en la que el verdadero propósito es alejarnos de la persona que nos fuímos convirtiendo y dejar que aflore un ser, con un centro mejor establecido que nos permita empezar de nuevo y ser capaces de tomar decisiones y caminos diferentes.



4. This book is amazing. I bought it cause one person in my family is going through something similar and it has really helped me to give her advice. I haven't finish the book but i can't stop reading it. Definitely something that happens to many women.

4 comments about Pocket Map and Guide Rome (EYEWITNESS POCKET MAP & GUIDE).

1. We will be going to Rome soon, but we will not carry this item in our luggage. Why? It looks like good data but we could not read the tiny print. We had to pull out a magnifying glass to read anything. I am dissappointed.



2. Lots of pictures. Great concise descriptions. Maps. Small glossary of Italian. Organizes everything in a clear way. Perfect! Thought I was going to get another larger version of a travel guide for Rome but not anymore. It's all I need. If I do find something that it's missing I can look it up on the internet. The only thing that might be hard for some people is the small type. I have 20/20 vision and can read it perfectly. No problem whatsoever. But if you have vision problems you might find it somewhat hard to read. Its about the size of a Hershey Bar and jammed packed with information if that gives you an idea. I love it though!



3. We'll be cruising to Rome and only spending one day there. This guide is the perfect size for what we need - info on all the main sites, maps, travel information...without having to pay for a more expensive / comprehensive guide designed for longer visits. It's still packed with information...it even has a small phrasebook in the back. It's smaller than I expected, which is a good thing. They've really packed a lot of information into a totally portable guide...dining, street maps - it's really adorable, actually! I was hesitant to order because of the previous review that the text was too tiny to read. For me it's fine; I don't find the text size all that different from the regular Eyewitness guides. And you can't beat the price! Since we are going to several cities in Europe, I was even able to combine 4 books for the price of 3 with Amazon's promotion.



4. I went to Rome on very short notice, not having the luxury of doing much planning prior to my flight. I used this guide every day; I found it to be very handy for getting around and seeing the most popular sights.

4 comments about Sicily (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. We've used these Eyewitness Travel books before and love them. They are great if you prefer a lot of pictures and illustrations instead of pages and pages of raw text.



2. I have several Eyewitness Travel Guides. This guide has useful Tourist sections, wonderful photos and divides the island into sections for easy reference.



3. Having traveled to Sicily, and researching more than 7 different travel guides, DK is far and away the best one. My second choice would be the National Geographic guide of Sicily, which I own, but it is clearly second to DK. The color and detailed diagrams of buildings are simply beautiful. There is so much info packed into each page, yet the information is well presented.



4. This book is the right size for taking it with you, and all the information you'll need for a successful visit. Lots of great photographs.

5 comments about Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide.

1. "Rome With Kids" is just as important for your trip to Rome as obtaining your passport. This book is written for PEOPLE going to visit Rome. Children are people, too. This book will enhance the visit with the author's expert advice and insight on history, culture, food, shopping,and above all where to buy the best ice cream.
   "Rome with Kids" has everything you need to discover the delights of Rome at your own pace and the pace of the children.
   I have lived in Italy , on and off, for over 30 years. As I read this excellent book I found new and interesting things to see and to do.
   I give it 10 stars.



2. This is truly an amazing book. Very unique, not only informational but enjoyable at the same time. I have followed the author's advice throughout Rome and had a fantastic trip. I wouldn't go to Rome without this book.



3. I was amazed at this book! If you are planning a trip to Rome this book is for you! I think it is great for Kids of all ages, that includes Moms Dads and Grandparents, I loved the format. Rome can be a little daunting at times, And this book can help in keeping everyone happy intertained and well fed! Just a great book!



4. Rome With Kids is a guide to making the most of one's visit to Rome, the great seat of Western civilization, written especially for parents with children in tow. Color photographs and maps enhance the step-by-step itineraries, recommendations for kid-friendly activities, advice on viewing the finest museum collections before the kids burn out, tips on where to shop or rent bikes, and much more. Written by mother and former Rome resident J.M. Pasquesi, Rome with Kids is enthusiastically recommended to parents for its attention to detail and ease of use.



5. My daughter (11) and I loved planning our trip to Rome with this book! It ended up being the only book we carried with us as we toured the Eternal City. The information was great with wonderful tidbits to keep the interest level high. There are terrific pictures throughout although without a frame of reference for size, we were always surprised to find out something was MUCH bigger than we thought it was going to be! That was always good for a laugh.
   Since we were staying nearby, the recomended gelato stand between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona became our regular nightcap and it is the best in the city! Great tip! We even sent another family there.
   We homeschool so this was our field trip and this book was invaluable for our needs. Our copy has been our notebook and is full of written notes, highlighting, post-it notes, and drawings. Thank goodness the printing is such great quality. We wouldn't part with it for anything!
   Ciao!

2 comments about Top 10 Rome (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I've read numerous travel guides, most of which I've dragged with me throughout the duration of my trips (often times, two or three books and various website printouts and lists). These have included the Lonely Planet, Fodor's and Rough Guide books. All are decent, but tend to be long and tedious to thumb through quickly.
   
   But when you factor in size, weight, cost, and coverage, I don't think you can beat the Top 10 series. They are ideal for a few days' stay, but might be a bit lacking if you're in a particular city for a week or more. It has been all we've needed for the basis of our Rome and Venice trip planning. The hotel recommendations are a bit outdated and bare-bones, but there's always TripAdvisor and Venere for more up-to-date and detailed info. The maps are also outstanding--they've made my StreetWise maps basically obsolete (for comparison, StreetWise maps cost almost as much as this book).
   
   Detractors may quickly scoff at the whole idea of boiling everything down to "just a top 10", but keep in mind that there are numerous "top 10 lists" throughout the book, covering many categories. The idea here is to give tourists--especially first-timers--an overview of the major sights and to provide them a basis for which to explore further, based on specific interests. Used as such, I don't think you'll find a better travel guide.



2. Great book for on the go - Not for in-depth history or background. Recommend planning your trip with other books but once you hit the ground, use this!