1 comments about Karen Brown's Spain, Revised Edition: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries 2008 (Karen Brown's Spain Charming Inns & Itineraries).

1. Having been to Spain on several ocassions, I thought I would purchase Karen's book in hopes of finding some "hidden tresures" or insightful places to stay. This book lacks maturity, needs updating and intodays market, certainly needs more of an effort to make it worth while buying.
   Pleasant cover design leads you to believe its content will satisfy - unfortunatley it does not. It reads as if it was originally written in the 1980's and ocassionally someone gives it a quick review and minimal updates. Poor sketches of places sadly disappoint - sorry I wasted my money but more importantly, sorry I wasted my time reading it.

No comments about Barron's Traveler's Language Guide -- Spanish (Barron's Traveler's Language Guides).

3 comments about Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections.

1. I read (and looked at) Iberia while preparing to visit Spain in 1969. I had already read Hawaii and Caravans by Michener, which are 2 great stories, but this photo essay about Spain astounded me. Although I thought I was prepared, I knew how to speak Spanish, I had lived in Peru for about 3 years, I had seen bullfights, I knew about geography, etc, Michener's short but in depth reflections about places in Spain made me hungry for a trip there, to try to experience some of what he wrote about. The photos are an integral part of this book, I can't remember the name of the photographer.

   This book should still be in print! I'll look in a library now.




2. In the summer of 1976 I read this book shortly after Franco died and before I arrived for a years's study in Madrid. I found it a terrific read. I arrived in Spain with more knowledge than most of my American friends.
   I have just finished re-reading it. My 17 year old daughter is going to summer school this year in Tarragona for a month, to work on her Spanish skills. I hope she enjoys this as much as I did.
   My wife and I have returned to Spain on numerous occasions, to vacation, to visit friends, to just visit. We are never bored. This book was and is a large part of that.



3. Published in 1968, 'Iberia' is James Michener's tribute to Spain, drawn from his travels there beginning in the 1930s through the late 60s. Not only does he describe the different regions of Spain, but as he does in his novels, he delves into Spain's culture, politics and history and even its ecology (there is a beautiful chapter written about Las Marismas, a large swampland in the south). This is a wonderfully written and fascinating book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about or travel to Spain.

1 comments about StyleCity Barcelona, Second Edition.

1. i went to visit a few of the places mentioned in this guide. one store went out of business while another was an utter disappointment. They have nice pictures of some shops and landmarks, but overall it was not a helpful book.

5 comments about Spanish: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. Bought the book before a vacation in Madrid. It was very useful and well organized. When I needed to look up a phrase, I found the book very easy to use. It gave more information that I needed!



2. I just returned from South America (Bolivia and Chile). This book was great to have with me over the past month. There are many instances where it came in handy. It is easy to pack and to carry. I recommend it to anyone traveling abroad to a Spanish speaking country.



3. You send me a message saying the whole order (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, was undeliverable.
   Why?



4. My girlfriend and I knew zero Spanish before travelling to Spain. Thanks to this guidebook we were able to get by in all the situations that we encountered. This book is absolutely essential for those who don't know the language, since Spaniards will warm up to you a lot more if you try to speak in their language. My only regret is that there wasn't enough on Catalan, but that is to be expected. Great product.



5. This guide is small enough to fit in a purse or pocket and full of lots of helpful information. I especially liked the foods section. It was easy to discretely pull it out while we were at the tapas bars and restaurants and figure out what was on the menu. My husband who knew no Spanish before our trip, used the helpful phrases verbatim, whereas I found the short dictionary in the back useful when a I couldn't remember certain words - they were almost always in there. There is even a Catalan and Basque phrase section. Highly recommended if you don't speak fluent Spanish.

2 comments about Spanish Steps: One Man and His Ass on the Pilgrim Way to Santiago.

1. Ever since I read "Continental Drifter" I have been an avid fan of Moore's writting (and comic) talent. His ability to play to me sense of humour is uncanny and has left me looking like a deranged, giggling, teary eyed loon whilst reading in public. This book seems like a slight change of direction for him. The humour is still there but it is somewhat muted and is not bursting out of every sentence as with his previous outings. Instead the book has a much more reflective tone (for Tim Moore that is) and is perhaps due to the envronment and people he walked with. It is a great book, I read it for the humour I expected from this author, I got the humour I wanted but got much more. "Burn donkey Burn - Shinto inferno". Great.



2. From the early 1990s the Camino Francés - an ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in the Spanish province of Galicia - has been undergoing a rapid revival, to the point of becoming a hike of choice for the middle-age crisis sufferers and the spiritually fashionable from all over the world.
   
   Several good books (and many more indifferent and downright bad ones) have been written about the Camino, and now Tim Moore joined the level-headed group of authors with his "Spanish Steps". His account is not going to go down well with the professional "pilgrims" and the holy phonies who people both the road to Santiago and the Camino internet groups. He does not speak in vague and tearful terms about the "spiritual renewal". He makes fun of the highfalutin fantasies of Shirley MacLaine
   and Paulo Coelho. He is not a believer in Templar mysteries, ley lines, Celtic lore and magic swords. What's probably the worst, he does not look at his fellow pilgrims through the love-clogged lenses of New Age sentimentality. His book is full of annoying power-walkers, elderly lesbians, old naked German men, assorted nut cases, overcrowded refugios, eternally closed churches, sticky mud, bloody blisters and donkey crap.
   
   Just the same, he also describes ordinary people doing various acts of heart-warming kindness, and some of his weirdos are much more likeable than the average "pilgrim" types.
   
   Like Tim Moore's previous travel accounts, "Spanish Steps" is full of his trademark humor (somewhat heavy on sexual innuendo and mild scatology). Along with Jack Hitt's "Off the Road", it should be required reading for all the would-be walkers to Compostela.
   
   PS. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Moore (without knowing his
   identity) in front of the Villatuerta albergue, after following him and Shinto the donkey at a very brisk pace for about two kilometres. He kindly took my picture with Shinto, and I would like to thank him for that again.

No comments about Canary Islands Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs).

No comments about Camino De Santiago (Rother Walking Guide).

No comments about Insight Pocket Guide Costa Del Sol (Insight Pocket Guides Costa Del Sol).

No comments about Visitor's Guide: Southern Spain & Costa Del Sol (Regional Traveller).