Staff Reviews

The shoulder seasons like October have always been a great month to travel in Europe for people whose children are grown and can fend for themselves.  Since I was a little girl, my most fond wish has always been to travel to Europe and eat the food and see the museums (drinking the beer and wine came later). For many years, thanks to Rick Steves' books, I have been able to meticulously plot any lucky trips that I have, even down to where I will walk until I collapse as late as possible on the day that always starts with that hellish overnight flight and ends with catatonic jet lag. Rick has taught me which advance tickets to get to save time, which Parisian cafes don't hate Americans, and which neighborhoods to see on foot. My sister and I--non churchgoers both--spent a whole day visiting Roman churches on foot, thanks to a tour in "Rick Steves Rome." And we spent an entire day on foot walking the city of Barcelona when the Catalan general strike of 2017 closed all museums and public transportation. Seventeen miles of sights that many tourists will never see, it turned into one of the best days of my life.  Steves and his co-authors are notably strong on Italy, Spain, and France, and perhaps less sympathetic (I think) to Germany and Switzerland. The pandemic has taught us many things, including don't put off  the travel that you have always wanted to take. This collection is a fun (and full color illustrated) collection of reflections from decades of travel. It's what I call a guest room library book as well. You don't have to read the essays in order.  As all of those October Facebook memories remind me of pre-COVID life, I'll be reading  to plot my return.