5 comments about Roads to Santiago.

1. Very interesting view of selected Spanish history and culture. Superbly written. I have been reading lots of books from Spain and about Spain in the last 10 years, but this is certainly one of the best.



2. Spain becomes grist for the cracked mill wheel of Cees Nooteboom's mind. The book isn't really about Spain, it's about the author and his obsessive fixation with certain Spanish topics. He does this with painfully long rambling descriptions of various Spanish cultural icons that have caught his attention, drilling down to the time when they first caught his attention and the many times since then that he has pondered them. The topics themselves are interesting but almost irrelevant to the self indulgent dredging of the author's own mind. You would learn more hard facts about these topics from a museum brochure. The twin pillars of this tortuously slow moving narrative are the painter Zurban and Romanesque architecture. He drops and picks up these topics at random, throughout the book, and prattles on about them as if he is possessed with a reoccurring fever. He also slathers his book with an impressive amount of trite clichés about Spain, Spain the land of contrasts, Castille La Mancha the land of desolate panoramas, etc. He goes on ad nauseum. He also plays a little fast and loose with the few historical facts he deigns to use. He states that the aqueduct in Segovia was used until 1974; according to Segovia's municipal web site it is still in use. He states that Pizzaro left from Extremadura with an invasion force for Peru; Pizzaro left from Central America where he had been established for some years. Obviously no fact checker touched this book before publication. There are many wonderful books about Spain. This isn't one of them.



3. Am still trying to finish this book! Compared to some of the others on the subject, it's a hard read. I'll probably sell it.



4. first of all, cees nooteboom is a shining oasis in the arid intellectual desert of contemporary travel writing, and secondly, you should let go of everything that makes you unhappy, and set sail tomorrow.

   the sheer profundity and wit of nooteboom's observations left me, for one, in like total dumbstruck awe, and his seemingly divine ability to translate the most visceral of emotions into words (a medium of communication i had always, up till now, considered inferior) made me feel a little bit the same way i felt the first time i went skydiving. folks, this here is a man who knows how to travel, as well as being a freakin miracle of a writer--and anyone who is capable of firing a sincere philosophic-type synapse will LOVE HIM. also read "the following story," all you existential types out there--he's like a dreamy, colorful Camus, and his prose will make your eyes feel clean for the first time in years.




5. This is a spectacular book, written by the best kind of travel writer. Mr. Nooteboom's passion for Spain, Spanish art, and Spanish architecture is infectious. I did the pilgrimage to Santiago in September of 2003, and understanding the Camino in the larger context of Spanish history (which Mr. Nooteboom limns so admirably) was invaluable. I don't believe I would have looked for, much less appreciated the Romanesque architecture I saw along the way. Coincidentally, his love of the great Spanish painters Zurbaran and Velazquez inspired me to visit New York for the Velazquez to Manet exhibit. I consider this one of the essential books to read before you set out for Santiago de Compostela. Guide books will get you from A to B. This book will help you understand the importance of A, B, and all the points in between.

3 comments about The Rough Guide to Portugal 11 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. I have been to Portugal countless times and just like the country itself, the Rough Guide to Portugal never ceases to amaze me. This book is the perfect guide - light enough to carry around in a purse and yet absolutely comprehensive. All regions of Portugal are covered, even small villages are described if they have something of interest. And the way places are described is what makes this book so good - the writing is so witty, so apt, that I find myself rereading sections just for the chuckle. The guide includes tons of maps, precise directions, prices for museums, transportation, hotels, restaurants. The directions are oriented towards non drivers - that is, if you are relying on public transportation or your own two feet to get you around Portugal, then this book is excellent. The recommendations are always right on target and I have always found the information to be accurate. There are no color photographs in my edition which doesn't detract at all from the book. However, the new edition does have some nice pictures.

   So, my advice to you dear reader is: Visit Portugal - and take your Rough Guide with you!




2. This review compares the Rough Guides Portugal (9th ed.) with Lonely Planet Portugal (2nd ed.).

   We just returned from 2.5 weeks in Portugal. This was our first trip to Portugal and we took and used extensively the Portugal books from Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. We didn't visit the Algarve or Alentejo, concentrating on Lisbon and north.

   Both books were good, but overall we preferred the Rough Guide book. It was better organized and more up to date. It's writing was more incisive, lively, and witty.

   Here are some details as I saw them:

   LP maps often covered a wider area and had more detail than the RG maps, but they were in smaller type and often difficult to read. On more than one occassion a cab driver pulled out his spectacles to read the LP map.

   Rough Guide had more up to date phone numbers. LP did not have the up to date area codes (the leading 0 has been changed to a 2). In addition, for many properties in the north they had a 5 digit phone number, when now they are all six. More disturbingly, they have no update on their website for either the corrected area code or phone numbers. In fact, there was no Portugal update to the guide at all. (I'm not talking of the 'unverified travelers' reports.)

   LP provided more detailed information about the nitty-gritty details of traveling, e.g., money, trains, internet access, etc.

   RG presented the towns around Aveiro better. It was through it that we learned of Sao Jacinto, Torreira, and so on. These were not indexed in LP. We didn't discover that LP had some information on them until much later because it was more hidden in the Aveiro section. Since we had already decided to not stay in Aveiro we didn't think to look there. Although they were also in the Aveiro section of RG, they had their own headings and were also indexed.

   Similarly, RG highlighted Belmonte in the mountains. This town was interesting in itself and also in that it now holds one of Portugal's largest remaining Jewish communities and its new synogogue. Jews had previously worshipped secretly in a town house until 1974, now replaced by the new building. (I'm writing this using a mouse pad I purchased at the Belmonte castle for $1.50 with images of columns from the Mosteiro da Batalha!)

   I also preferred RG's treatment of Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela and of Parque Natural de Montesinho.

   We used several recommendations for restaurants and accommodations from the books. Their batting averages were about the same: good but not great. One African dance club listed in both books was now a female stip place, as my wife discovered when seeing if the cab had taken us to the right address. (I was waiting in the cab.) I felt they were generally too generous in their evaluation of hotels and restaurants.

   Both books had several failings common to them and to other guide books that we've used.

   Nearly all the accommodations and restaurants are in tourist areas. We were fortunate to stay in Lisbon in a residential district. It was comforting to leave in the morning and not be surrounded by hordes of fellow tourists. Similarly, we were the only obvious tourists in the local restaurants, some of which were excellent. Nor were we out in the sticks where a car was required. We were right off the #28 tram line, recommended as the best tram to ride simply for riding it in both books.

   Several other times during the trip we stayed and ate outside the centro area. In some cases a car would have been needed, but we were only several km out of center. In any case, I think both books should offer more 'out of centro' possibilities, especially when transportation is available.

   LP is out front in saying that its reviewers do not stay at all the hotels or eat at all the restaurants they list. I would like it if the reviews would be initialized with the reviewers initials for the ones that they personally tried. This would also allow us to see and evaluate each reviewer's tastes and standards as our trip progressed, not to mention to see which places they really tried. One LP writer (not an author of this book) in discussing restaurants wrote: "As one of those LP writers I can tell you that it is not physically possible to eat even a 'little bit of a meal' in each of those restaurants :-) What we all tend to do is eat at a broad cross-section within the norms of natural eating times and visit the other restaurants and talk to the owner or even the diners if it can be done discretely. In the same vein we don't sleep at every hotel!"

   Talk to the owners! Now there's something for an unbiased, disinterested evaluation!

   Both books are oriented to train travelers, but they should have some more info on driving too, which is not expensive. For example, neither had a mileage chart between major cities and, more importantly, neither had a chart of expected driving times. Using the 'N' roads which look like major highways can take quite a bit of time because they are mostly two lane roads, often twisty and hilly, and can have a lot of SLOW truck traffic. You'd probably be better off driving on the back roads, both for time and scenery, and for that small village, local feel. But you'd never know it from these books. This complaint isn't restricted to just LP and RG, of course.

   In addition, both books were quite short on history, culture and demographics. How religious are the Portuguese? (We were asked on several occassions whether we were 'religioso'.) What is the median and mean income of each of the areas (even of Portugal as a whole) and how does this compare to the rest of western Europe. What are contemporary middle-class Portuguese characteristics?

   It wouldn't have taken more than an additional 10 or 15 pages for such information, and it would have made our trip more meaningful.

   In sum, again, both guides were good with room for improvement, with our preferring the Rough Guide overall.




3. Although I usually stick with Lonely Planet when backpacking Europe, Amazon.com reviews of Lonely Planet Portugal were mixed and I found Rick Steves' Portugal to have quite incomplete coverage of the whole country (just look at the table of contents for proof), so I decided to try Rough Guides. Unfortunately, this was a mistake. Note that unlike the other reviewer, I am not comparing Rough Guide to Lonely Planet; I have not had a chance to use Lonely Planet Portugal.
   
   On the positive side, unlike Rick Steves', the book is quite comprehensive and covers many different cities across Portugal, including my favorite hilltop town of Marvao. The maps are generally good and accurate as to where streets, accommodations, restaurants, tourist information, and bars are located. I also really enjoy the "40 things not to miss" in the front of the book, complete with pictures. Good history section on Portugal as well.
   
   However, my negative experiences with this book on the road outweigh these positives. Here are some examples:
   
   I was in Evora with an hour to go before my bus left and while on the town, I needed to know (1) where I could exchange my traveler's cheques without paying an arm and a leg and if I couldn't do this, (2) does my pensao take credit cards? This book was not able to provide either information! There was zero exchange or bank information either written on Evora or on the map, and no credit card information provided for any of the accommodations. I would point out that Evora is one of the more frequented cities in Portugal, and certainly the hub of the Alentejo region. I walked back to my pensao without exchanging, only to find they did not accept credit cards. I made my bus but had to do a lot more walking.
   
   I also arrived in Fatima in the evening and the book provided no map of the town. While it is not a gigantic town, Fatima is a very important site for Catholics and also receives tens of thousands of visitors in both May and October. I feel a map is essential. Tourist office was closed. We spent an extra half hour trying to find a recommended hotel and had to ask directions several times.
   
   I also didn't care for the organization of the Lisbon section and found it very frustrating. Here's why: Accommodation options for all sections of town are listed first. Then, for each section of the town, the guide provides the map of the section with accommodations and restaurants on the map, then goes into the sights for that section. Finally, restaurant options for all sections of town are listed last. I constantly had to flip back and forth 20-30 pages to find the map of the right section of town (see where it is), and then find the listing for the restaurant or accommodation (see if I want to eat or stay there). Better organization is clearly needed, and the restaurants and accommodations for a single section needed to be in the same section where the map is given.
   
   The other thing I was not happy with is putting "travel details" such as travel times between city A and city B at the very end of a section of the country. Lonely Planet usually includes this in the "Getting to and from" for each city, and it is clearly better.
   
   One more road tested problem: Portuguese-English translations are in the back of the book but I couldn't find how to say "coffee with milk" when I really needed to in a café. I later discover the translation is in the "guide to coffee" section in a different part of the book. Not helpful, needs to be in both. Same problem with ordering red wine, white wine, beer, in a restaurant.
   
   I can't speak whether these organization problems are consistent across Rough Guides, but they were very troublesome during my time in Portugal. It just seems like they didn't actually test it out themselves on the road. I would recommend another option over this book, or at least have another book as your primary guide and this as secondary for additional restaurant or accommodation options.
   
   I would also always recommend that you see if a DK Eyewitness Guide is available, as is the case for Portugal. I love DK Eyewitness Guides for the pictures, history, information about sights, and also the restaurant and accommodation options when you want to splurge a little more.
   
   Now a couple of other quick tips if you are considering a trip to Portugal: the pousadas are lovely places to stay and the staff is unbelievably helpful. The Barrio Alto region of Lisbon is an amazing place for all kinds of different ethnic restaurants, packed in a tight little area. I come from the world of trains across the rest of Europe, but the buses are always faster and more frequent in Portugal. Sintra, Obidos, and Marvao are must sees, the latter being somewhat hard to get to.

3 comments about The Rough Guide to Northern Spain Country Map (Rough Guide Country/Region Map).

1. Good map. Nice and detailed. Unfortunately the area I am most interested in is just south of the southern cut off. Don't buy this map if you are planning to visit Castille y Leon or Catalonia.



2. I had the Michelin maps of Spain/Portugal and the big Michelin map of Galicia and the next area..........but the Rough Guide map was my #1 choice by far for our 10 days in Galicia and the one I used as family navigator. The map has a plastic coating, so it won't break as with paper maps when you try to fold it over into the section that you need.
   
   The symbol for scenic overlooks or miradors was great........I managed to get our family to a bunch of obscure but beautiful sites, some of them on those narrow "white roads."
   
   I found the printing and colors much easier to follow than the Michelin maps.
   
   One caution about all the maps other than the one that we got from the Galician tourist bureau........the road numbers on the maps do not always match the road numbers on the roads!



3. The map is easy to ready with great information, but it has already tore at one of the crease lines...

1 comments about Mediterranean Handbook: Ferry Routes, Islands and Ports.

1. I found this book quite by luck, hoping the title would truly indicate its contents. I have been wanting to plan a trip of travel across the Mediterranean from port to port, and this book is a splendid start for such a venture. Also, it is sufficiently rigorous and detailed-- probably because the author is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.

1 comments about Time Out Shortlist Barcelona 2008 (Time Out Shortlist).

1. The Shortlist series are merely a physically smaller, more concise, version of the incredibly useful and informative TimeOut series. It has many of the same references for lodging, bars/clubs, getting around and the like just in a more truncated package. I would not buy both, as most listings are the same word-for-word.
   
   I would make the assessment of how much time you have in a particular city and get the short version based on a more limited amount of time. As with all Shortlists, it has key info on addresses, websites, whether credit cards are allowed, hours of operation, and costs. I would like to see better and easier to follow maps, however.
   
   TimeOut travel guides are still the most comprehensive, helpful, colorful and informative guides out there. They FAR surpass Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Berlitz, or Wallpaper guides.
   
   If you find yourself making a quick trip through an unexpected city, get a Shortlist. If you are planning in advance and want a single guide that can assist your entire trip, get a regular TimeOut.

2 comments about Art/Shop/Eat Barcelona.

1. This is a great book ! I have been to barcelona several times, but thanks to this guide I've been able to discover new things. If you're into art and culture, this is the barcelona's guide you'll need.



2. Was no one paying attention? The editor for this book should be fired. With the format of detailing the artistic/architectural sites of interest, with reviews of stores and restaurants/eateries, this was a specialist type travel book that had potential. But where it fails horrible is in it's usability: There is no way to FIND the places the book is reviewing. When the book tells you there is a great restaurant on such-and-such a street, you can't find the street or the location. There are a few pages of maps in the back, but no street index, no little numbers cross referencing locations, nothing. Very frustrating. Most of the information about the museums or cultural sights can be found in other books. You will need a different book or map with street index to find the places reviewed.
   The book is compact and easy to carry. This is a very good reference for anyone interested in vegetarian restaurants or commercial art galleries, although you won't be able to find them using this book.
   Since this is the first edition one hopes that in the next edition these severe problems are corrected. .

1 comments about Pocket Menu Reader Portugal (Langenscheidt's Pocket Menu Reader).

1. This book was useful, but could have been much more useful. The problem is that it tries to be much more than it should be. What I would like, is to be able to go into a Portuguese restaurant, get a menu in Portuguese, and be able to quickly look up words and phrases so that I can order something that I want. But of this book's 191 pages, only 25 are the Portuguese to English dictionary. Another 34 pages are an English to Portuguese dictionary.
   
   So what is the rest of the book? Well, there is a recipe section. There is a large section about regional dishes. There is general information on Portuguese and Brazilian food (things like types of wine, etc.). And there is a 47 page section of general phrases plus grammer. Even that section could be better: it had phrases like "Is there any show suitable for children?", yet I couldn't find the phrase for "Thank you."
   
   I really wish this book had stuck to what it claimed to be, a "Menu Reader." If I had wanted a recipe book, I would have bought one! There were too many times that I couldn't find the items on a menu in the dictionary. And I didn't want to spend 10 minutes looking through all the lists of regional dishes, seeing if I could find items that were on the menu.
   
   So, should you buy this book? Well, maybe. Two big pluses are that it is cheap, and it really is pocket-sized. It's just too bad, because it could have been so much more useful than it is.

No comments about Karen Brown's Spain: Charming Inns & Itineraries 2005 (Karen Brown Guides/Distro Line).

2 comments about Knopf CityMap Guide: Madrid (Knopf Citymap Guides).

1. This guide made a 4-day visit to Madrid one of the most enjoyable sightseeing trips I've ever done. It is especially useful for people who like to do sightseeing on their own. Many of Madrid's sights, museums, and treasures are packed into an area that is walking distance from the City center and this innovative travel book made getting from one place to another on foot a breeze.

   It divides the city into sections with a single fold-out page for each section. Each page has an easy-to-use map that can be read without a magnifying glass; brief highlights of the museums with hours and admission information; points of interest; architecture features; history notes as well as a few well-chosen bar, restaurant, and entertainment recommendations. The pages are printed on a heavy card stock so they stand up when you fold them out and the size is perfect for navigating your way as you walk. When closed, it's only a little bigger than a passport and fits in a pocket or small purse.

   We easily walked from our hotel to the Prado, the royal palace, plaza mayor, crystal palace, Atocha train station, and dozens of other sights and museums in just 4 days. The restaurant recommendations were consistently outstanding. In each case, the restaurants were small, beautifully decorated, offered deliciously unique foods at reasonable prices. We would never have found these great restaurants if it were not for the book. They were close to major points of interest, but off the main roads, hidden in alleys and neighborhoods with little signage.

   I've used maps for sightseeing in other cities - Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam-- but this is the first time I was never lost, never had to ask directions, and enjoyed so many delightful dining experiences. I will definitely look for Knopf's city guide the next time I plan an urban sightseeing trip.




2. I have used many different guidebooks around Europe: Let's Go, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Eyewitness Guides, and Frommer's and this Knopf CityMap Guide to Madrid was excellent for my trip. I went to Madrid for 8 days for a conference. So I had to be at the conference for 5 days all day except for dinner. This book made it very easy to hit the essentials and find places to eat within the short time I had to explore. The maps are THE BEST MAPS OF ANY GUIDEBOOK! Separated by area of Madrid, they are easy to read, are on stiff pages that don't blow around and get mangled like most do, and are easy to find quickly while walking down the street. The only thing I'd say bad about the maps is that they don't show all of the side streets, but if they did they'd get too busy. It has metro maps too. I found vegetarian food with this guidebook.

No comments about Laminated Lisbon City Streets Map by Borch.