Happy Friday! Today Lisa and I bring to you another installment of our blog book swap series. It’s been awhile but we figured with the weather getting nicer it was time to get one back out there. Check out the books I’m recommending as good beach/pool/cafe reading over on Lisa’s blog.
Greetings! I love these book swap posts that Nora and I do occasionally (and not as frequently as we would both like!)! The season for spring break vacations has come and gone. I don’t think I’ve ever known SO many people who are escaping to tropical destinations. That’s so not happening for me as I am up to my eyeballs in study material for an exam I’ll take in June… so in the mean time, I rely on books to help me escape.
In case you are in my shoes, too, and are unable to head to a warmer destination, here are some of my favorite books that let me escape and travel vicariously through the author’s experiences.
Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach – This was actually the first travel memoir I read and it stands out as my favorite. It’s about a middle-aged woman who wakes up one day and realizes that had fallen into the habit of defining herself in terms of who she was to other people and what they expected of her. So she takes a sabbatical from work and travels to Paris, Milan, and Oxford, and writes about her adventures and discoveries. One cool thing that she does while traveling is mails home postcards that she writes to herself. I have always meant to do this when traveling, but always forget. I think it’d be a cool way to capture the emotions of traveling and keep them alive when you return home.
An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser – When the author’s husband leaves her, she travels to Italy to attempt to heal her broken heart. In Italy, she meets a man. Her casual vacation tryst turns into a transatlantic relationship, and they rendezvous in places such as Marrakech, Lago Maggiore, Stromboli, London, and San Francisco.
Es Cuba by Lea Aschkenas – A little known fact about me is that I am mildly obsessed with Cuba. I think it’s the whole not being able to go there thing that has drawn me to this island (for non-U.S. readers, Americans can not legally travel to Cuba). The author of this book goes to Cuba for 10 months. She learns so much about the cultures and (of course) falls in love. I think it was a fascinating read, and it made me want to go to Cuba even more! Some day, hopefully!
Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard – Being a Francophile, this post wouldn’t be complete without a book set in Paris. The author moves to Paris for work and ends up meeting a man (yes, all of these books involve finding love – seems almost a requirement for a travel memoir!). Bard shares the story of their relationships – including the difficulties of their marriage of cultures – and also shares recipes!
So there you have it. 4 travel memoirs worth checking out!
Do you enjoy reading travel memoirs? If so, are there any that you would recommend? I am always looking for new travel memoirs to check out!
