5 comments about Seville & Andalusia (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. As always, Eyewitness has the best maps. The coverage of Seville makes it the best guide for that city, period. The coverage of the outlying major areas, such as Granada and Cordoba, should be supplemented with the Cadogan book on Seville, Granada, Cordoba, but the Eyewitness has the best information on eating, shopping, getting around, hotels, and culture survival for Seville. If you are staying in Seville, take this book with you into the streets when you go.



2. I love these books. They give brief informative descriptions along with tantalizing photos in all areas. I like very much the historiccal timeline in the beginning of each book. Although brief, it gives a great sense of what was going on throughout time in the particular location. This book starts with all history from 1000 BC. I love the pictures and cross sections as well as the brief and concise snippets on many interesting towns, sights etc. It gives a very strong visual and overview of many places so you can decide where you may actually want to visit. Of course there areth erequisite reccomendations for restaurants, hotels and travel options. These are also brief and you may want a different book or travel agaent for more suggestions in this area.



3. As is true of DK's Eyewitness books, this book is full of fantastic pictures. It's great to wet one's appetite, but doesn't really have enough meaty information to help one prepare to visit Andalusia. It's one saving grace: great maps. I recommend this book, but not alone. This is a great companion to The Rough Guide to Andalucia.



4. Eyewitness Guides are beautiful, gorgeously illustrated books on glossy paper that are perfect for planning a trip but not so good for carrying along with you. But they don't need to be! I used the guide to Andalusia to plan my 5-city itinerary, including a stop in Ronda which I'd never heard of but ended up being one of the highlights of our travels. This guide gives you a general view of the sights to see, with many photos and maps. But especially in a country like Spain, the wise traveler makes his or her first stop the tourist office--there's one in every city and many towns. That's where you get your map, the info on walking tours, a schedule of museum openings and closings, etc.
   
   I can't resist giving two tips: the tourist office in Seville near Plaza Nueva has FREE internet. And be sure to go to the Alcazar--I thought it outshone the more famous Alhambra, with far less hassle and far fewer people.
   
   I agree with the reviewer who says the hotel info is not good, and the author of this guide could probably eliminate it with no loss except excess weight. These days the internet is by far your best source. And as for restaurants, just wander!
   
   I loved this guide, but no one source is going to have it all for the independent traveler--and in any guide, info on hotels and restaurants is usually out-of-date before it's printed. But use this guide to dream--it's great



5. The Eyewitness travel guides are always a must when you travel. I added this one to my growing collection and was not disappointed!

5 comments about Stories from Spain / Historias de España (Side by Side Bilingual Books).

1. Genevieve Barlow's Stories from Spain is part of a series of bilingual books containing legends from Spanish-speaking countries. (See my anonymous review of Barlow's Stories from Latin America, 15 April 2000). This is a good book for anyone learning intermediate Spanish. It contains eighteen legends from Spain, and through these stories, some of which date back to the Moors' conquest of Spain, one can get a sense of Spanish history and culture.

   Although I enjoyed the tales, I don't think the book is as good as Stories from Latin America. In that collection, the stories are roughly four pages in length; in this book, they are only two pages long (two pages each of English and Spanish). The writing seems a bit simplified and at times I felt that I was reading summaries of more intricate, and richer, legends. Also, an English-Spanish vocabulary section at the end takes up nearly one-third of the book, leaving only 113 pages for the stories themselves (as opposed to Stories from Latin America, whose sixteen tales total some 149 pages).

   I'm glad I have both books in my collection, as this type of book is hard to come by. If you can afford to buy both, read Stories from Spain first, as the writing is a little bit simpler. If you can only afford to buy one, I'd go with Stories from Latin America.




2. I have read both this Book and also "Stories from Puerto Rico",both of which I thoroughly enjoyed,and found very educational from a grammatical and vocabulary point of view. As a student of the language I appreciate the Authors's efforts. Both books would certainly have received 5\5 but for the dictionary at the end of each book.This I feel is uneccessary,and in each case accounts for almost 1\3 of each book.That space could surely have been taken up with more stories.In any event one has the translation,on both sides, so why the need for the dictionary.



3. This is a true bilingual book in Spanish and English. I love the format of presenting the Spanish on one page and the English equivalent on the facing page. You can easily go from one to the other. Because the stories are short and pretty basic, if you are trying to learn Spanish it is a great tutoring tool. You should already know some basic Spanish before reading the book, but for the intermediate or advanced beginner it is a great way to increase your vocabulary and practice correct sentence structure. In addition, the stories are from Spain and so teach some of the history and legends to help you get a feel for the country. Finally, there is a small dictionary at the back of the book that contains most of the words that you might encounter in the text.

   Whether you use it for a review, to learn Spanish, to increase your Spanish vocabulary or just like the stories, it is a great little book and this style of dual translation books is highly recommended as an adjunct to a Spanish course of any type to recommend to speed your learning of a foreign language.




4. I graduated with a BA degree in Spanish more than 30 years ago, and although I am quite fluent, I am currently reviewing and brushing up on my skills. Stories from Spain is not only a good book for intermediate Spanish students, but also for those of us who need to "get up to speed" once again. The bilingual format does it's job, which is to allow the reader to gain fluency without getting discouraged by having to constantly look up words in the dictionary. It is also a great way for the student to get immediate feedback on his/her reading comprehension.
   The legends are clever, heartwarming, and many contain a moral lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed each story.



5. I speak Spanish fairly well and can read technical manuals in Spanish without a problem, but I haven't read many novels in Spanish. I bought this book to advance my Spanish reading ability hoping it would help me to progress to more advanced works. I'm still in that transitioning phase, but I enjoyed this book enough to purchase two more from the same collection. Each page of Spanish text is accompanied by the corresponding page of English text on the opposite side. If the reader has trouble with an idiomatic expression or an unfamiliar word, the translation is readily available.
   
   My wife is in a similar situation, but her first language is Spanish and her second is English. She too has found this book useful as a tool. If you're learning Spanish or English and wish to polish off your language skills, try this book.

5 comments about Portugal (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. I have just returned from a 10 day trip to Portugal during which this travel guide was a valuable companion. The layout of the book is easy to use and it is chocked full of extra information on wine regions, the making of port, cork and regional food. While I did not use the guide to select hotels, it was great for information at the various stops. Highly recommended!



2. This book looks impressive, but when I tried to get down to details of actually traveling in Portugal, they just weren't there.
   
   The maps are such high level they are worthless for actual navigation. There is no information on where to find the train stations, bus stations. The information about hotels and restaurants are laughable. In Oporto, the book says you can take river trips upstream, but gives no information about where they originate or where to find the boats.
   
   I suppose this book might be useful if you just like to look at pictures, and your travels are all organized by a tour bus operator.
   
   The old standby, Lonely Planet, is a much better choice.



3. With history, culture, regions outlined in this book, this is the way I want to see a new country



4. With too many pictures and graphics, and too little text, this guide wasn't much of a help when I visited the Algarve. For the Porto region it was better, although some more text would have been nice.



5. This travel book was great when traveling throughout Portugal. Had lots of information on what to do and see. The pictures are great.

1 comments about Streetwise Madrid Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Madrid, Spain - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map including lines & stations (Streetwise).

1. I got this for a recent trip to Madrid. It's an excellent map if you are interested in central Madrid, showing plenty of detail, and the laminated format makes it easy to carry around and fold/unfold. But if you are looking for something outside of the central area (e.g. the University of Madrid, which I as visiting, and which was tantalizingly just off this map.), it would be better to get a map of the entire city.

5 comments about Cabeza de Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America (Zia Book).

1. I asked myself that question after I finished re-reading this book recently. Part of the answer may be that it has something to embarass Christians of every stripe.

   For Catholics, we have a group of laymen doing miracle healings through prayer, and more to the point, they did so even though they had no contact with a priest for 6+ years.

   For Protestants who believe that signs and wonders ceased with the Apostles, the miracle healings are again an embarassment. For Pentacostals, we have them being done by Catholics, at a time (circa 1530) when Catholicism was probably at its absolute rottenest.

   And most disturbingly, for those who assure others that God will bail us out materially when we enter into hard times, we have the spectacle of a distinguised nobleman soldier who ends up becoming the naked slave of the poorest Indians on the Texas coast, from whom he escapes only by undertaking a journey on which he is constantly on the verge of dying from cold, starvation, and thirst.

   As a Protestant missionary, this last aspect is the most instructive. As much as we like to tell people that God will indeed bail them out, we have to remember that we are indeed His creatures, and that His kingdom may well be advanced best by stripping us of all we have and sending us naked into the brush for 6 years to do His work. Personally, I find that reality much more believable than the claim that God wants us all to be materially prosperous.

   I might also note that those who believe that America was a paradise bbefore the White Man will get a real jolt from Cabeza de Vaca's description of warfare, slavery, and infanticide among Indians.

   So buy this book--it's almost certain to offend you somehow!




2. I concur with all those who have praised this book, particularly the reviewer who suggested that it offered a great deal to confound many Christians who are hard-headedly (as well as hard-heartedly) devoted to the pet doctrines of their particular faction. But, of course, non-Christians will likely find de Vaca's account even more provocative. This is one of the more politically incorrect but utterly worthwhile books I have ever read. Along with an unforgettable tale of survival, there's faith healing, a resurrection, and even an account of a native tribe that practices homosexual marriage. Perhaps foremost among those who were most astonished by the miracles he wrought was de Vaca himself. But for the fact that he survived to tell it, de Vaca's story is so extraordinary most would find it impossible to believe.



3. Why read a 'history' fantasy when you can read one man's true adventure? "Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America" is a real source document. Rolling through the pages one can sense the genuine experience of a man alone in the 'New World', and understand the very real challenges. Through Cabeza de Vaca's eyes one can get a fresh look at the Native American cultures that existed before Europeans took over.
   
   History really happened, it is not the musings of men (or women) who were not there. History is the actual experience of the participants. This book is alive with the living experience of a key player in the exploration of the American continent by Europeans.
   
   And, there is a bonus. The book reveals the character of a man, and the impact of real events on that character . Cabeza de Vaca grows and changes in the pages. With all of the paper wasted in the publishing business, and all of the speculations of historians staining perfectly good paper, it is a joy to behold the real thing.



4. For many, if not most Americans, early history of the Americas goes something like this - Columbus to the Pilgrims to the American Revolution, end of story. Unfortunately, this abbreviated tale not only leaves many gaps in knowledge, but bypasses some truly amazing stories. `Cabeza De Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America' is one of the best examples of the incredible tales that are often overlooked from the early history of European exploration and conquest of the Americas.
   
   This is a first hand account from a survivor of an ill-fated attempt of a Spanish conquistador to conquer and colonize Florida and the Gulf Coast of North America. Of over four hundred proud men who landed with high hopes of vast wealth in gold, only four survived, after an eight year struggle, making their way across the North American continent from Florida back into Spanish controlled Mexico. The author of the book emerged naked from the wilderness, with nothing of value to show for his harrowing eight year experience except his story, which he wrote hoping to gain favor from his king.
   
   The tale of the author's eight year struggle is simply incredible, and for most modern readers, sometimes unbelievable. He relates the missteps and misadventures that reduced him and his companions from proud conquistadors to weak, naked men, sometimes only surviving as slaves of native tribes. His writing gives a unique snapshot of Native life in that region before its conquest by Europeans, and covers a wide variety of tribes and cultures, both those who were hostile and helpful to him. In the second half of his narrative, he relates events that are nearly impossible for most modern minds to credit, as he tells of how he gained status with the natives by becoming a faith healer, and even of raising a man from the dead. Regardless of whether or not you credit his stories of becoming a faith healing messiah followed by hundreds of adoring natives as historical, it certainly makes for an amazing and lively tale.
   
   While the story itself certainly merits five stars, the writing does not rise to the same level. Cabeza De Vaca was not primarily a writer, and was not writing for a broad audience, but only to impress his king in hopes that he would be rewarded for his service. He leaves out details, background, and scrambles chronology, which may make it necessary to reread certain passages to make sure you get the gist of what he is writing. Of course, as he wrote in Spanish, there is the factor of what is lost in translation as well. Still, this slim volume is packed with fascinating information and incredible tales of survival, and I highly recommend that you discover it for yourself - four stars.
   
   Theo Logos



5. My son and I heard this book on tape nine years ago, and frequently refer to it to this day. We were delighted to find it in print form. An amazing, true and vulnerable account of a man who stumbled into his destiny simply by doing the right thing a step at a time. Some incredible history. De Vaca was [...] when Columbus returned home in chains . . .

5 comments about Pocket Map and Guide Barcelona (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL 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 Time Out Barcelona (Time Out Guides).

3 comments about The Rough Guide to Portugal 12 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. This guide includes inexpensive to
   moderate accommodation recommendations,
   excellent maps, comments on public transportation,
   and knowledgeable advice.



2. Rough Guides never let me down. This one from Portugal is very detailed, has many accomodation reviews, good for sightseeing scheduling, and alternative sites for tourism. The only thing I miss is a way to help me to organize trips between the different cities (from "somewhere" to "other where" is best by plane or by train, and so on).



3. This is edition number 12 in the Rough Guide to Portugal series. Believe me, Rough Guide has this country down to the square inch.
   
   First, the country. Portugal was the most powerful country in the world in the 15th century, only to be eclipsed by Spain in the 16th, but that's not the point. The point is that after about a century of tremendous opulence, Portugal's fortune began to sink with its weak, superstitious monarchy. The Lisbon earthquake in the 18th century was the nail in the coffin, and by the 19th century, Portugal had become a European fringe state - a long forgotten backwater. So much the better for its truly remarkable preservation! Since Portugal essentially stopped in the 18th century, what you see today is essentially what was in place at that time. It's an absolute time warp. So many of Portugal's cities and towns are preserved in such pristine condition, it's impossible to list them all. UNESCO has recognized this fact by naming over 10 sites within the country to the ultimately prestigious World Heritage List. Want to see Renaissance Europe? Forget about expensive and absolutely overrun Italy. Portugal is the place. It has everything, culturally and geographically.
   
   Now, the book. The typical Rough Guide format works well with Portugal. Rough Guides concentrate resources around historical and cultural contexts, arranged geographically by region and city. Listings are selective, not comprehensive. Rough Guide authors seek out the hotels and restaurants that they believe offer something unique to the location. In this way, this edition really shines. Few glossy photographs are here, but there are words aplenty. It's like carrying the national history museum in your hand.
   
   Maps are simple and accurate. Contexts are concise enough to be practical, but comprehensive enough to be interesting. The literature section is especially good.

4 comments about The Rough Guide to Spain 12 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. I traveled for three weeks driving in southern and central Spain with this 2007 Rough Guide to Spain, a 2007 DK Eyewitness Travel Spain book, and a 2004 Frommer's Spain's Best Loved Driving Tours guidebook. While each had some information the others didn't, the Rough Guide was the most informative and most used...therefore the one I'd recommend taking.
   
   Times for museums/attractions and prices (in Euros) was accurate. The cultural information helped understand their culture. The historical information helped also. I didn't depend on the specific accommodations listed...I would typically just go into an area with many listed places (typically tourist area with nice walking right outside the room) and ask around until I find someplace. [Note: This method can be a real problem during festivals (which Spain has no scarcity of...) when rooms may be in few supply....or in high season (I traveled in early/mid May...when the flowers were out in the countryside and it wasn't too hot).]
   
   You won't find a book that has "everything" you want to know, so consider buying a couple (like I did) or just getting one and get the most out of it you can.
   
   Whatever you do...enjoy your trip.
   
   'Ta Luego.....



2. The authors of this guidebook give lots of interesting information--along with their frank opinions!! As the book is so thick, they really can cover many, many places in Spain. We used the Galicia section for our trip, and it helped me decide in which places to stay/not stay as well as where to go on day trips. If they think the beach is ugly, they will say just that! If they like the architecture in a town, they will offer their opinion.
   
   Because it is so thick, it is not a book that I carried around during the day.



3. Rough Guides never let me down. This one from Spain is very detailed, has many accomodation reviews, good for sightseeing scheduling, and alternative sites for tourism. The only thing I miss is a way to help me to organize trips between the different cities (from "somewhere" to "other where" is best by plane or by train, and so on).



4. My husband and I just got back from a 2-week trip to Spain where we covered about 1000 miles by car. This was the guide that we depended on when we traveled through the Pyrenees, Rioja and Basque regions. The other guidebooks have maybe one or two sentences on the picturesque little medieval towns that we passed through, where this one had recommendations for meals and places to stay off the beaten path. I was so glad to have this book or we would have missed out on many great experiences, including our stays at some small "casas rurales" (like bed and breakfasts) where we got to really speak to the locals and take in the day to day life in Spain. It's a big book to drag around, so I ended up tearing out the pages with the maps we would need each day and carried those around with me instead of the whole book. The best travel book purchase that I have ever made!

5 comments about Madrid (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. We are using the guide to plan use of hotels, touring, etc. Have found MADRID very useful so far.



2. I like these Eyewittness Travel Gides and byu them when I plan to travel. However this time the delivery was delayed.



3. Not as good as some of the other guides I used. The page numbers mentioned next to sights in the intro sections are often incorrect. Lots of pretty pictures though.



4. This was a nice guide for a 2 day trip to madrid -- the monument descriptions & photos were enjoyable & the walking tours were fun. It was very nice to have pictures of each key sight next to it's description so we could be sure were were looking at the right place.
   However, we also used this book to navigate to our hotel. Big, big mistake. In this guide, hotels are not marked on the map, they are located by quadrant (e.g. Map5 D-3). But our hotel was very far from where the book said it was; it was 3-4 map-quadrants away, which we found only by using the address & after a 30 minute walk with our luggage. FYI: unlike in the US, addresses do not go up by 100 per block. Going from 85 Gran Via in the old quarter to 15 Gran Via is about a 2 mile walk.



5. I enjoy Rick Steves' guides, but often I want to know more, both in-depth and in-breadth about a destination. This is a typical Eyewitness Travel Guide, almost a small encyclopedia about one place, its history, and its many attractions. I enjoy buying such books months in advance of a trip, reading & re-reading it, hoping that when I arrive at the destination it will seem familiar. I would heartily recommend any Eyewitness Guide to anyone who similarly want to know more. This little volume on Madrid packs a lot of information into one book.