No comments about Sandra Gustafson's Cheap Sleeps in Spain: A Traveler's Guide to the Best-Kept Secrets (Cheap Sleeps).

No comments about The Companion Guide to the South of Spain (Companion Guides).

No comments about Barcelonas.

No comments about Spain: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford Archaeological Guides).

1 comments about Spain Spiral Guide (Aaa Spiral Guides).

1. For an upcoming trip, I had already purchased two other books before
   I came across this AAA book. Wish I had started here. Whereas
   other books are just full of information overload, this guide
   has just the right amount of info and guidance to help you
   choose where to go, what to see, and how long it will take.
   
   The book is filled with plenty of excellent photos,
   as well as maps, transportation info, etc etc.
   
   If you're on a short stay like we will be,
   this is the only book you really need
   to plan your trip.

1 comments about The Rough Guide to Lisbon 3 (Rough Guide Mini Guides).

1. I used this book for a recent 3-day trip to Lisbon. The maps in the back are really helpful, but the info in here wasn't as good as other books in this series. It made it difficult to really get a coherent sense of the area before arriving. Still, it makes a good reference for a short trip and the small size makes it great for carrying around.

No comments about Special Places to Stay in Spain (Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay).

5 comments about Fodor's Spanish for Travelers (Audio Set) (Fodor's Languages/Travelers).

1. I picked this up before a trip to Guadalajara, and it really came in handy. It was simple to use and full of exactly the words I was looking for. I practiced with the cassettes on the plane, and then I brought the phrasebook everywhere - shopping, sightseeing, eating out, and (unfortunately) to the pharmacy for, um, an emergency. It even helped me there, although I wish the situation to test that particular area of usefulness hadn't come up. Really a great buy and a fantastic way to stretch those two years of high school Spanish I barely remember.



2. The audio with this book has useful phrases that would be great to learn before your trip, however the phrases are spoken to quickly for a beginner to learn. Also, the format is inconsistent. In the beginning they start off first giving you the word/phrases in english followed by spanish. Then, without any warning, it changes to giving you the spanish word first and then the english. This makes learning even more difficult. This is not a good program for beginners. Maybe if you have taken spanish classes and know some basic spanish vocabulary, grammer, and phonics then this would be a helpful review. If you are a beginner like me with one semester in college completed years ago this program is not for you.



3. I'll get straight to the point: Do NOT buy this unless you have a basic, solid knowledge of Spanish already.
   This CD set is comprised of phrases, first said in Enlish, then repeated in Spanish. The Spanish pronunciation is difficult to understand without the book in front of you- which is confusing to follow.
   This CD set does not teach grammar, pronouns, tenses, etc. It only teaches phrases- complete sentences.
   In order to benefit from this set, you will need to already understand some basic verbs and pronouns (gender and formalities) or you will become lost very quickly.

   This CD set is only good if you need to quickly memorize phrases for traveling- but remember, you will also need to UNDERSTAND what people say to you. It's better to learn the basic language skills than to memorize, "Where is the bus station?" and realize you have no idea what the response means!

   I recommend starting with a "Teach Yourself Spanish" course first. That will give you a good foundation.




4. I have this book and several other Spanish language books. This is the best of the lot. It has a dictionary of most common words, a useful phase section with pronunciation and useful information about Spain and Latin America. It is worth every bit of the price. Es muy bueno.



5. My husband and I travelled to Spain for our honeymoon knowing very little Spanish (cerveza, por favor and gracias were basically it). This book helped us to communicate with ease. The book is organized by situation to allow you to find stuff quickly, and also includes a small dictionary. Its small size made it easy to carry with us everywhere. We also carried the Living Language Spanish-English dictionary to help us translate specific words, but to put them in phrases that actually made sense we used this book. We will definitely buy other phrasebooks by Fodor's for our next trip.

1 comments about Barcelona, 2nd (City Guides - Cadogan).

1. Easy to use format, many useful maps. Information is broken down by neighborhood. The writing is very fresh and incisive. Judgmental, too, which is what I want in a guide book -- it gives you an opinion (sometimes) as to whether or not a museum or other site is worth visiting. Hotel listings are a bit skimpy and, in my edition, out of date, but I have other books for that.

2 comments about Spain: Interiors * Gardens * Architecture * Landscape.

1. I have found this book of very little help for those who want to get an idea of how Spain looks like. It seems it was written in the 19th century instead of in the 21st. The authors present (represent) Spain the same way it was pictured in many European and North American books of the 1800's and early 1900's: focusing mostly in the moorish buildings (which are not the majority in Spain)and the drafty rural houses. It seems that mostly shows, except for some pictures of Galicia, the misleading stereotype of Spain as a land of matadors, flamenco and moorish influence.
   I can't believe there aren't any pictures of Madrid, the capital of the country and with an enormous cultural heritage, Salamanca, with one of the oldest Universities in Europe, all the incredible cathedrals in Castile, the Renaissance buildings in Andalusia, the Cathedral of Santiago the Compostela and the Pilgrim's Path in Northern Spain (with a tremendous importance in Europe's Middle Age cristianity).
   The book omits the legacy of the Roman Empire, the palaces built during the Habsbourgs and the Bourbons, resulting in a very partial way to show the reader a general idea of Spain. It also surprises me that, in a book titled "Spain: Architecture,Interiors, Landscape, Gardens" there are the authors' political references to Spanish history, like when they say "...the infame Pizarro", refering to the conqueror of Peru, Francisco Pizarro.
   The conclusion is that most Spaniards will be offended reading this book, the foreign readers that have already visited Spain will think they visited a different country and, if they haven't been here yet, when they first visit, they will most likely have the feeling they arrived to a very different place .
   I planned this book to be a present for my girlfriend's family in the US, but I decided to return it because it would have not met my expectations: to show them an objective perspective of Spain's Architecture, Interiors, Landscape and Gardens.



2. I agree with the other reviewer, this book has concentrated on the areas exactly as he stated, however I still think this is a very nice book, and the pictures / places in it are very good. Spain is a beautiful place and this book is a bit one-sided, although to be honest I didn't even notice that until I read the other review.
   
   If you are interested in the things it does concentrate on, it is a very nice book. If you are looking for the things it has stayed away from, or you are looking for an overview of Spain, well it might not be the book you are looking for.
   
   Please note I have travelled all over Spain.