I love to read, I love to travel and I love to read about travel so beginning this month I will feature a travel-related book each month. It may be a guide book, a travel memoir, or a novel set in an interesting locale so long as it relates to travel in some way.
The book that I have selected for June is Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door – 2011. This is the 30th anniversary edition of the handbook that was first published in 1980 to help fellow travelers plan their trips to Europe. Rick has a friendly, humorous style of writing that makes for a fun read.
Part One of the book covers travel skills such as planning, packing, booking transportation and accommodation and eating great meals without breaking the bank. Part Two is comprised of short summaries about some of his favourite places in Europe from the Cinque Terre in Italy to Gimmelwald in the Swiss Alps to the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland.
Rick’s tidbits of information that he has gleaned while traveling in these places is what is truly interesting. For example, I don’t think I have read in any other guidebook that the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square is electrified in order to prevent pigeons from staining it.
If you are looking for a practical guide on planning a trip to Europe or if you are looking for inspiration in order to pick your destination then Europe Through the Back Door is definitely worth a read.
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