No comments about Barcelona, Madrid & Seville (American Express Travel Guides).

1 comments about Insight Guide Madeira (Insight Guides Madeira).

1. I bought my first copy of the Insight Guide to Madeira in 1993. More than a tourist guide it actually tipped the scales toward what could be classified as an illustrated guide to the history, culture, and industry of Madeira. The book touches upon the most important fields of Madeira today: the wine, the embroidery, the folklore, the fishing, and is the very publication that spurred me on to visit and then stay on the beautiful Island of Madeira. Yes, the book actually did that. Now, 5 years down the road I look back at what I read in the guide and see what I know today. Madeira has changed so much in that short space of time that I recommend you make sure you get the latest copy.

2 comments about Footprint Barcelona Handbook.

1. This is an excellent guidebook - packed with information, beautifully phrased, and obviously written by someone with a great knowledge and love of the city. The author's enthusiasm is infectious and you feel as though you are strolling the streets in the company of a knowledgeable and delightful friend.



2. I just got back from my first trip ever to Barcelona . I went armed with the following:
   1.) Footprint Barcelona Handbook 1st Edition 2002
   2.) Lonely Planet Guide 2nd Edition 2001
   3.) Lonely Planet Guide 3rd Edition 2003
   4.) Eating Out in Barcelona and Catalunya : by (Craig Allen)

   I'll try and center this review around the :

   (A.) The FootPrint Barcelona Handbook (FBH)
   (B.) The Lonely Planet Guides (LPG)

   Basically, if i had to choose between the Footprint Barcelona Handbook (FBH) and the Lonely planet guide (LPG), the (FBH) would remain my main reference .

   I carried it with me every day and planned a whole lot of my itenary out using it.

   apart from the great many sites for hotel reservations on the internet and the ones provided by (FBH) , (FBH) had a greater listing of hostals,hotels and information about their services.

   I was going on holiday to Barcelona for an entire week.
   ie: from the end of July to the end of the first week in August -( Peak season ).

   I booked late ie : 3 days before leaving, so after exhausting all the budget hotels in the (LPG) looking for one to fit my hotel budget at the time ie: no more than 100 Euros p/night, i found that the extra hotels listed in (FBH) saved the day.

   The FBH has many handy maps of the city , its metro system and an overall map of some of the neighbouring towns & cities in the region.

   As a quick break down:

   I spent the first 3 days in Barcelona getting to know the area via the Touristic bus -(Bus Turistic), metro, taxi & bus.
   sampling the local catlan cuisine , the highly recommended eating spots, bubbly -(wines) etc.. you name it.

   I then took a south-bound day trip to explore the cities outside of Barcelona ie: to Reus & Tarragona via a guided coach trip organised by the Tourist Information office at Place de Catalunya. (Not to be missed)

   The rest of my time was spent around the Coastal line, visting relics from the roman era, shopping et cetera. loved it all.

   These are the key points between the 2 guides:

   ie:
   (Strengths,Interesting features,Missing bits of info b/w the two)

   (LPG) strengths:
   ---------------
   (LPG) is strong on walking tours, it features some colorful, glossy pictures to whet the guide buyers appetite for the experience ahead. it also provides you with info on the museums, a bit on the festivals, touches on a few places to eat, where to get entertained et cetera.
   it was also good on information about Tarragona ie: planning a quick itenary of places to see when you have but a limited window of time to carry out your visit. the eating spot in Tarragona recommended in LPG 2nd edition ie: (L'Ancora) served up a great seafood barbecue. (Not to be missed)
   

   (FBH) strengths:
   ---------------
   (FBH) is strong on maps by any quarter you find yourself in, including things to do or see while in that quarter, recommended places to eat in the neighborhood, the night life, places to have breakfast, opening and closing times for all restaurants featured -(so you know which ones are open on sundays and those that stay open till late w/out your needing to call first). it even gives you a listing of Barcelona by cusine ie: if you fancy french cuisine one night and mediterranean or catalan cuisine another afternoon; it even includes a locations index and price ranges for these eat-out spots in the appendix.

   It features a useful plan of the metro which i found rather nifty for planning & finding my way via metro w/out having to get to a local station first. It was like one of those mini London metro/tube maps you get as a tourist, only this one's featured at the back of the guide already.

   (FBH) is also strong on Entertainment,nightlife & History. I saw many interesting sights in Barcelona and the brief history section here gave me an idea of the forces that moulded & shaped the city into what it looks like today.

   Both guides feature information on some of the places and sights outside Barcelona ie: Costa Brava,Montserrat,Sitges,Figueres,Port Aventura and bits about how to get there and things to see or do.

   With the guide i was able to plan my itenary to focus on enjoying the many scenes -(tapas bars,museums,nightclubs) , eating well ,swimming in the sea , enjoying the many beaches , exploring the surrounding region, shopping and visiting relics.

   Equally, although both guides provide you with some very useful phrases in castilian spanish and catalan, English is spoken by many although not entirely so . French is also very well entertained, though you'll find any attempts at communicating in Spanish rewarded with a smile and some appreciation.

   Enjoy your visit!

   Cheers.

5 comments about Mediterranean Color: Italy, France , Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece.

1. Jeffrey's migration from architecht to painter now photographer has imbued his work with a unique sensibility. As a Becom collector Ihave come to appreciate the quality of his eye and the intensity of the Cibrachrome process of printing. I was quite delighted with Jeffrey's ability to write as well; though readers should know that this is primarily a photography book written by a photographer and his wife. He has several galleries around the world that show his work, and though expensive, his work is worth the price! I expectantly await his next book on similar topic, but location of South America. Long Live Jeffrey Becom



2. This book is about Architecture, Color, and how we see the world. It's not about how to be a tourist in the Mediterranean. Unless, of course, you would like to be a tourist who really "sees" what is in front of your eyes when you walk down that picturesque village street. Jeffrey Becom has a killer eye. His camera isolates a detail from our normal panoramic vision of a building or a street scene. When we contemplate this detail our sense of beauty, aesthetic organization, and how the world works is expanded. His capability to see these details while wandering the countries bordering the Mediterranean allows us normal humans a greater appreciation of the sensibilities of work-a-day Mediterannean peoples. The contemplation of Jeffrey Becom's work also inevitably causes us to look at our own world differently. I see things now when I walk down the street that I didn't see before I looked at Becom's work.



3. Wonderful book and great writing. Beautiful images of architecture, color and life. I highly reccomend. A must have for anyone who has traveled there or for anyone who dreams of doing so. Jeffrey Becom's photographs are a feast for the eyes and his tales are engrossing. One must also look at his other book Maya Color - stunning as well!



4. I bought this book looking for a lush picture book of inspiring photos of mediterranean homes. It is not. Although the photography is nice, it is primarily of colourful buildings abroad.



5. I was expecting a beautiful book of photos full of inspiring mediterranean colours. This book had a lot of text and wasn't what I expected. Might be interesting but haven't got the time to read it.

5 comments about Pocket Map and Guide Barcelona (EYEWITNESS POCKET MAP & GUIDE).

1. We'll be cruising to Barcelona 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...metro maps, dining, street maps - it's really adorable, actually!



2. Tiny and easy to put in purse or pocket. I used it as a supplement and to review top rated sites in the city.



3. Hard to hold and use due to tiny size - but will fit nicely in a pocket and contains a lot of information and visuals (photos and diagrams)



4. I am very pleased with this little Eyewitness guide book. It is the perfect size to carry along when sight-seeing in the city, but the print is actually large enough that you don't need a magnifying glass to read it. When we travel in Europe our goal is to pack very light, and this little map and guide puts the important info into a small space. We'll only be in Barcelona for a couple of days before a Mediterranean cruise, so this is all we'll need to see highlights of the city.



5. I knew it was going to be pocketsized, but this guide book was really small and hard to open because of the binding. The map of the city and metro system on the inside of the back cover proved very usefull when getting around Barcelona. I did like the picture or diagrams of the recommended visits with a little of the history added into the picture. Decent; you get what you pay for on this product.

1 comments about Karen Brown's Portugal, 2007: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries (Karen Brown's Portugal Charming Inns & Itineraries).

1. As a frequest visitor to Portugl I was seeking a great travel book for a gift. This one had wonderful information and the recipients found it a great help when planning their trip.

No comments about Viajes por Europa, África y América 1845-1847 (Viajes).

No comments about Madeira & Porto Santo, 3rd (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

No comments about Puro Border: Dispatches, Snapshots, & Graffiti from the US/Mexico Border.

No comments about Harpercollins Language Survival Guide: Portugal: The Visual Phrase Book and Dictionary.