No comments about Welcome to Ancient Rome (Passport Books).

No comments about Villa Fortuna: An Italian Interlude.

4 comments about European Menu Translator.

1. This is a terrific little book! EUROPEAN MENU TRANSLATOR has four languages in one small volume: French, German, Italian and Spanish. Menu items are easy to look up--it's in a dictionary style. The size is just right--I keep it in my moneybelt for quick access and full-time availability. I have food allergies and just plain avoid certain foods (eggplant--ick!). I also discovered some pleasant surprises that got me to try new things (did you know that Spanish moles are all based on chocolate?). This book allows me to enjoy the foods of the country without any unpleasant surprises! I highly recommend EUROPEAN MENU TRANSLATOR for any traveler.



2. This is an excellent travel book. Because it is small, it's easy to tuck in your purse, back pack or whatever. It's so thorough it makes the most of each meal on the road. It can bring a great new dimension to eating in countries with French, German, Spanish or Italian menus!

   It's so inexpensive, it's a great bon voyage gift for a friend or for yourself.
   We love ours!
   Julie & Peter Dawson.




3. Collaboratively written by Whitney and Anne Galbraith, European Menu Translator is a "user friendly" pocket-sized dictionary specifically designed for tourists and travelers seeking to understand the specialized cuisine terminology of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. A brief introduction to the fine dining basics of each nation supplements the lists of alphabetically arranged terms, subdivided by language. European Menu Translator is an excellent and very highly recommended reference whether when dining abroad or simply eating at a European-style restaurant here at home.



4. I often travel to Europe. Hop the trains with my Eurail Pass and hit as many countries as I can in less than 10 days.

   On one trip I took about 6 different phrase books with me and wrapped them all up with a rubber band. Too bulky!

   What's better for European travelers are phrase books with multiple languages. The European Menu Translator fits perfectly in a backpack and even in your back pocket.

   Great reference for eating out all over Western Europe.

   If I had one criticism, it would be that they might want to include a couple more languages. Maybe expand it a bit and include some other important Euro languages, like Dutch, Czech, or even Russian. Certainly Greek should be added.

   But otherwise great job Galbraiths!

2 comments about Frommer's Walking Tours: Venice (Frommer's Memorable Walks Venice).

1. I found Frommer's walking tours of Paris invaluable, and the same proved to be true for this Venice book. I was there for eight days, and followed one of these walking tours every day. There was a superb sense of ambling around, seeing Venice in its everyday aspect, usually away from crowds of tourists. The book provided a focus for my walks, eliminating the feeling of wandering around and not knowing exactly where to go, and for me there were many wonderful moments -- lingering by canals, coming upon cats sunning themselves on unbusy walkways, seeing the whole of Venice from the top of the bell tower of San Giorgio. The point became not seeing the sights but soaking up the atmosphere. Using Frommer's (and other) walk books have made a huge difference in the pleasure I take in travel, and I urge all travelers to use them.



2. Venice is the perfect city for walking tours, with a myriad of twisting streets and alleys. This guide provides a series of great walking tours, allowing you to wander at your own pace accompanied by a "paper tour guide". Skip tour packages or local guides, and head out on your own with this guide in hand. My wife and I spent two days in Venice on our own, and basically followed almost every tour in the book. We spoke no Italian, had never been to Venice before, and yet we found our way around the city and discovered quaint squares and tiny cathedrals that most visitors never find. If you like to learn about a city as you explore, but hate following some tour guide leading a herd of fellow travelers, get this book and head out on your own.

3 comments about iSync Italian: Learn in Your Car for the Igeneration (Ilearn Anywhere).

1. I bought this and installed it on my 60GB video ipod. The sound played, but no words appeared on the screen. I called Pentonoverseas and found out that it only works on some later model ipods--contrary to what the advertising claims.



2. If your iPod is a more recent model, this device works fine. It's easy and fun to use for a rudimentary knowledge of the language, and while a more in depth approach is required for a more sophisticated understanding, this is an easy way to get enough comprehension for the casual tourist.



3. I used the Italian lessons with my iPhone. The install was very easy, drag the CD into iTunes for import, then sync with the iPhone and you'll see the content under "Audiobooks".
   
   I have used other language learning products before, and the biggest problem I had was that I'm a visual learner and I need to see the words written down to learn more effectively. With the other products, you have to take your iPod or iPhone *and* the text binder with you everywhere which is inconvenient.
   
   With this new product, you see the words first in english and then in the language of choice written in a big font on the iPhone screen, while the native speaker recites the word which is a great audio-visual interaction.
   
   I was looking for something like this for some time, and I'm really glad to see it in the market. I was also surprised with the amount of content, which is a good value. In addition to the 40 lessons, there are 5 specific lessons on verbs, another 5 on nouns and another 5 on adjectives.

2 comments about Venice: Tales of the City.

1. Venice has a lot of history behind it, and any traveler to the city is bound to want to know more - and in a more exciting presentation than the usual travel guide or history can offer. Enter the literary Venice: Tales Of The City: an anthology of both international and native Venice folk who discuss the city's history, culture, and unique travel adventures. First-person encounters present warm and exciting tales which are both fun and informational.



2. This is my first encounter with Michelle Lovric, and it is probably unfair of me to comment on her writing, since this volume is an anthology of other writers on the city (but see below). The blurb on the back states, "Elusive and fantastical, Venice is a multi-layered confection of history. The writers here have captured what is most important to them in pieces ranging from the foundation of the city up to the present time. The voices, entirely diverse, are both international and native." That's as maybe, but to hope to meet a reader's expectations in this way is never likely to prove successful, for any city's charm is bound to be too personal for an anthology to cater in a meaningful way to the tastes of the denizen or visitor. The anthologist can only ever skim the surface in her own chosen part of the lagoon and hope that her tastes match those of the reader.
   
   Now it is quite clear that Michelle Lovric has drunk deeply from the well of writings of both visitors and Venetians alike. The breadth of her reading is also clearly on show, not only in the choice of entries and in her informative and insightful introductions, but it is also clear in the eight pages of her select bibliography at the book's end. We are told that she lives in both London and Venice and has written three novels based in the latter. To her I can only bow in wonder at the extent of her knowledge and be envious of the time she has spent devouring books from such a diverse range of writers, from such a diverse range of times. But, alas, I felt, once I reached the end of her presentation, that her choice would not have been mine, and that the length of her choices were so fleeting as to convey little more than a mere indication of the riches that might be found by digging deeper into its context; in short, I could smell the food but could not taste it. In a sense, this can count as a success, since, armed with the bibliography, I can now - and I will - explore further into the depths offered by certain chosen writers, the range of which is indeed wide.
   
   It did not bode well that the introduction to the very first set piece by Francesco Morosini gives his dates as 1619-94 and then proceeds to refer to his surrender of Candia in 1469. But this is, as far as I can tell, one of only two errors I came across. (The other is in the bibliography where Bernard Berenson's four-volume history is of the 'Italian (i.e. not the Venetian) Painters of the Renaissance'; the Venetian volume is but the first of the four.)
   
   She divides her book into topical chapters so that we have writings about gondolas and gondoliers grouped together, and one on artists, and one on Carnevale, etc etc. Each chapter is preceded by a short collection of Venetian proverbs ("First Venetians, then Christians" being for me the cardinal one of all) and some short extracts that act as an antipasto to the main course. Many of these are amusing. I particularly enjoyed Horatio Brown's sardonic riposte to a Venetian doctor's treatise on the art of sitting in a gondola - "The art is all too easy to learn; it consists in yielding yourself to the cushions and the boat." Mark Twain is equally amusing in his attempts to identify the saints appearing in the artistic treasures of the city - "We do this because we humbly wish to learn. We have seen thirteen thousand St Jeromes, and twenty-two thousand St Marks, and sixteen thousand St Matthews, and sixty thousand St Sebastians, and four millions of assorted monks undesignated."
   
   There are clearly some writers on Venice that cannot be omitted - Goldoni, Byron, Casanova, Whistler, James (Venice, "being the most beautiful of tombs"). They are all here, but I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to others, of whom I did not know had connections with the city: William Dean Howells, Benjamin Disraeli, Joshua Reynolds. But where this anthology might rise above the claims of others, is that perhaps half of the book consists of the words of Venetians - or, at least, Italians - themselves. Michelle Lovric has clearly done us a service in translating and introducing us to the voices of the natives, from the traitor Doge Marino Faliero to the modern-day Doge Paolo Barbaro.
   
   Some may raise eyebrows that Michelle Lovric has included an extract of her own, from her first novel 'Carnevale', but, actually, the writing is quite good, and I hope to explore her novels in the not-too-distant future. One of the strengths of her anthology is that she can point us in the direction towards other literary works about the city that are not so well-known as, say the novels of Henry James. These little-known gems include novels by Hans Habe, L.P. Hartley and George Sand. One other benefit of this book is that she tells how it is possible to adopt a Venetian cat long-distance.
   
   So, in conclusion, whilst there are gems to be had within this volume, overall I cannot claim to have been inspired by the choice of voices, but this negative reaction is due largely perhaps to the brevity of the choice cuts on display. A lesser number of entries, with those that remain being treated at greater length, would have been, for this reviewer, more satisfying.
   
   But as an example of some of the wonders within this anthology, I'll finish this review with an extract from my favourite poem presented therein, one whose words of charm and promise immediately attracted my playful soul. In his poem 'Blindfold', Gregory Warren Wilson teases his lover thus: -
   
   "If you ever take me for granted, I'll take you by the hand, confound you this way and that in a maze of Gothic passageways I memorised year by year, nameplate by shutter by headstone, to a place where the scent of a crushed geranium mingles with the sour lagoon - a blind alley that comes to an end in three scooped steps down to a green canal; there I'll unfasten the muslin binding your eyes and say `Venice all Venice is lapping your feet and darling you'd be lost without me'."
   
   You won't be lost without this book, but you will find some places where some crushed geraniums mingle with the sour lagoon.

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

1. I purchased this book a little while before going to Paris and read it cover to cover, made maps, reference marks on my maps (basically went over board) believing I had invested money in a guide that was somewhat acurate. Sadly, I was mistaken - many of the stores mentioned were either no longer in business or were at another address. Most of the advice was off the cuff and not honest enough to be taken seriously by anyone. It is a fun read, don't get me wrong, but more as fiction than fact. Paris is a living, breathing animal of a city, always changing - i realize now that advice, not military precision shopping, is what I am looking for, and this is not it.



2. I've been traveling to Paris for 35 years (lived there for one) and so, know the city fairly well.... A friend lent me this book, and I tried to use it during the 3 weeks I spent in Sept-Oct of last year (2006), and was very disappointed. I mapped out the locations of several of the shops Suzy raves about, and arrived, only to find that the store was no longer (was it ever?) at the address she gave. If you know Paris, you know that there are tons of little, hard-to-find-rues, so it was VERY frustrating to spend so much time looking....and finding nothing. I would suggest she do her homework before she publishes another guide.



3. I always eagerly await Suzy's latest Born To Shop Editions from all over the world and this one didn't disappoint. Since she has lived there for over 5 years this edition has been stream lined to perfect. Even with the transportation strike while visiting this past 2 weeks.............Thanks!!



4. When this series started 20+ years ago, it was interesting and fresh. Now it merely looks old,out-of-date and worthless. Suzy's editorial style is intensely irritating. She's a fashionista who couldn't be less interested in anything you can't wear. And I agree with the other reviewers - most of it is years out of date.



5. I have previous editions of this book which I found initially helpful but this " updated" one is hardly that. It still lists stores that closed 6 years ago!!!!! The author has not done her research recently and it is reflected by inaccurate data causing shopping angst!

5 comments about Frommer's Tuscany & Umbria.

1. I found this book practical and usefull from the beginning - We havn't gone yet but the car rental information alone saved us $100 on a 4 day rental. It's a little heavy compaired to our other book but it looks like it covers Tuscany and Umbria thoroughly.



2. This book was extremly usefull and accurate. As an example we could visit the Brolio Castle because we read that you have to find a rope, hang to it and wait until somebody opens the door. Two tourist who arrived before us this not entered...they did not carried the frommers.... All the directions, tips, locations of hotels, rating of resturants, where hundred percent accurate. I will never travel without my frommers. Congratulations.



3. This was a wonderful guide with witty, opinionated, (accurate in my estimation) comprehensive comment on the many sights and scenes that Tuscany has to offer. We used this guide constantly and exhaustively in the one week we recently spent there. The restaurant and hotel recommendations were uniformly splendid and we were fortunate to discover a new town and a new pasta shape when we ate pici in the hilltop town of Montepulciano, where we would never have considered staying but for this guide. Although I would also have liked to have had a guide with pictures of the attractions, the attraction of this guide makes it well worth that slight quibble. I would highly recommend it to anyone going to the region and I will certainly use it, or a newer edition, upon my hopefully soon return.



4. If you're going on the whirlwind "Rome-Florence-Venice" tour, don't bother with this book. It isn't for you.

   If you have a week or 2 to spend in central Italy, buy and read the whole book before you leave, and carry it with you everywhere.

   My wife and I spent a month in Italy, and 2 weeks in Tuscany and Umbria. We had Rick Steeve's, Eyewitness, and Frommers with us. In large towns with good tourist infrastructure (Assisi, Sienna, etc) we found most of the books comparable. In the smaller towns where we usually spent our nights (Spoleto, Montepulciano, Sovana), only Frommers was worth looking at. We consistently found their hotel rooms most closely matched up with the written descriptions in the book, and their recommended restaraunts, while not as cheap as Rick Steve's, were very good.

   Particularly if driving (which is really the only way to see this region), the maps and directions far surpassed the other 2 books. Great maps of almost every town, no matter how small. The only deficiency was the lack of marking of the inbound and outbound roads on the map. Once I figured out where I was entering the town from though, the maps in this book could take me anywhere.

   In the final analysis, all 3 books were useful, but we used each differently. We looked at Rick Steves and Eyewitness each morning, but carried only Frommers with us during the day. When we go back, this will be the only book we take.




5. Warning to readers! We bought this book in March 2004. A more recent edition (called Florence, Tuscany & Umbria) came out in January 2004. This edition was written in 2001 and still quotes prices in lire! We're returning the book and swapping it for the other one.

No comments about Little Black Book of Rome: The Timeless Guide to the Eternal City (Little Black Book Series).

No comments about Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples: A Wonderful Journey Through History and Art of the Four Pearls of Italy.