No comments about Frommer's The Algarve With Your Family: The Best of Portugals Southern Coast (Frommer's With Kids).

3 comments about Knopf Guide: Seville And Andalusia (Knopf Guides Seville and Andalusia).

1. This Knopf guide provides the type of information a devoted reader of National Geographic would appreciate - Andalucia is discussed in a historical, political, anthropological, linguistic, and psycho-social context. Beautiful pictures, maps, and illustrations. It also includes a glossary, hotel & restaurant guide, museum schedules, train/airplane schedules and other tips. In short, this is the definitive travel guide and it doesn't compromise on a single point. Someone with some real intelligence pieced together a masterpiece .



2. If you like a travel guide that provides interesting and practical information in an attractive, clear and concise manner, then look no further. Information may contain historical, anthropological, political, cultural, and linguistic references. Indices contain hotel, restaurant, and transportation guides by city. No detail has been missed. Overall a real gem of a book.



3. A gorgeous book. Lots of pictures/drawings/photos, all good quality and interesting. This book is for looking at as much as reading, and it is very well done.

   If you are going to Seville take the Eyewitness Travel Guide and this Knopf guide. Both books are very good, both colourful and easy to carrry. The Eyewitness guide has better maps, more organized information on hotels and restaurants. The Knopf guide is better on background, culture, architecture, flora and fauna, traditions and way of life. The Knopf guide also has a section, "Seville as seen by painters", and a section "Seville as seen by writers".

   I would say the Eyewitness guide is more practical, the Knopf guide more romantic, both very important. You will not be disappointed that you got this book. If you are an armchair traveler, this is definitely a good book.

1 comments about Travellers Madeira, 3rd: Guides to destinations worldwide (Travellers - Thomas Cook).

1. Though there are many travel guides of many destinations, finding a good one about Madeira has been a challenge. Too often the island is relegated to, at most, a chapter or a page or two in a guide to Portugal. Having exchanged a week's time-share in Mexico for a week in Madeira, I was eager to find a more in-depth, up-to-date guide. This seems to fill the bill! I was delighted to find it.

No comments about Barcelona Complete Residents' Guide.

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.

No comments about Insight Guide Spain (Spain, 7th ed.).

5 comments about A Sabbatical in Madrid: A Diary of Spain.

1. I found "A Sabbatical in Madrid" to be a delightful combination of anecdotal descriptions and interesting factual tidbits. Although I myself have lived in Madrid I still learned a few new bits of trivia which further added to my enjoyment of the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Spain. Those who have already had the pleasure of visiting there will nostalgically smile upon reading of favorite places in Madrid and the side-trips to Segovia, Toledo and elsewhere. People who have not yet traveled to this wonderful country will get a sense of life in Madrid which will likely increase their interest in planning a journey there to experience it first-hand.



2. Excellent book: useful and very instructive and entertaining. A must read for anybody planning a visit to Spain of one day, one week, or one year. The longer the planned visit the more necessary it will become to read the book for learning about Madrid as part of Spain, and about Spain as part of Europe. This is one of the book's most remarkable strengths: it teaches us about the city and the country in a way that helps us to understand them, their peoples, and also Europe and Europeans. The book is a cornucopia of practical tips as well as insights on many things (from the Euro currency to favorite sports, and politics, and bullfights) a traveler must know when visiting a European country, Spain in this case. I think entertaining and instructive are the best words to describe this book. For example, the visit to the Museum of Queen Sofia in Madrid and the description of El Guernica (the famous painting by Picasso) and the author's reaction to it are extremely powerful and helpful for those who want to see the picture for the first or the nth time. The same can be said about his visit to El Prado and his comments about Las Meninas and Dali's paintings. In addition, the book contains innumerable passages useful for visitors who want to see the essentials in several other cities beyond Madrid. The book should be of particular interest to first-time travelers since it addresses their typical needs, affinities, and fears while providing clues on how to deal with them. The book is also a unique resource for those who have children and plan to stay for a while.



3. Written in diary form, Macario's book is a great read! I have only spent limited time in Madrid but have toured large sections of the country. As a result, I found it difficult to put the book down as I found myself reading about places I had been and things that I had done. I too shopped at Corte Inglés and brought home Mephisto shoes. I too became curious about bull-fighting and its lore. Nevertheless, the potential reader should not look at this as an insider's book. On the contrary, once one gets over the intimacy of experiencing this family's daily life and experiences, with which everyone can identify, there is a cornucopia of information written in a very easy-to-read format. There are so many varied glimpses of the author's reactions to things that they experienced and places they went, as well as a compelling description of daily life as albeit temporary transplants in Madrid. The details are what make it fascinating. It is a travelogue as well as a fascinating story of family life. Who would not be anxious and then gratified to learn that the small children's initial antagonism to a strange place and strange school, with people saying things they did not understand, would gradually give way to relative fluency and enjoyment of the madrileño way of life? I highly recommend this to anyone about to spend time abroad with their family, and to anyone thinking of visiting Spain for more than a day or two. ¡Vale la pena!



4. I have read many travel books about short visits to Spain, and I have seen books for individuals planning to move permanently to Spain, but this book is the only one I have found that addresses the needs of individuals traveling to Spain for 4 months to a year.
   
   This interesting and easy to read book is the true story of an American family which relocates temporarily to Spain. The chapters include useful information about Spanish customs, culture and history, punctuated by charming stories of the family members' adjustment to life in Madrid.
   
   A Sabbatical in Madrid: A Diary of Spain will help the temporary resident "hit the ground running," with enough basic information that he can establish himself quickly and make the most of his experience in Spain. I recommend it to students who will be studying in Spain (and to their parents) and to teachers and business people who will be living and working temporarily in Spain.



5. I would recommend this book to anyone who has lived or is contemplating on moving to Europe. Alex's highlights of his family adaptation to a new country and culture provide a great sense of the emotional and operational adjustments that anyone new to a country will likely experience.
   
   I was an ex-pat from the US to Germany and found it quite amusing how similar his experiences were with my own. Everyday is a wonderful new experience- some frustrating some very amusing- overall a must do if you have an opportunity to live somewhere else in the world for a period of time.
   
   It is a very quick read- I read it on a flight from West to East Coast.
   
   ENJOY!!

No comments about Lisbon Berlitz Pocket MapGuide.

No comments about Granada Seville Cordoba, 4th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

1 comments about Insight City Guide Barcelona (Insight City Guides (Book & Restaruant Guide)).

1. I consider this one of the best around. After going thru 5 or 6 different guides, I find the structure is good with loads of information and makes easy reading.