Alright, I just have to share about the book I've been reading. I picked it up randomly in a used book store in Chicago and it seems like it was just waiting for me :) The author, Frances Mayes, spent a year traveling around with her husband and recorded their adventures. Her style is very descriptive and makes you feel like you're there with her. At first I was a little bored (I wanted more internal-development than just what they did day-to-day!) but I ended up really enjoying getting to "know" places through her writing. She goes to:
- Madrid and all over Spain - it's the first chapter!
- Portugal, where I'm going this weekend (partly inspired by her!)
- Southern Italy - I went to Northern Italy, not Southern, but it was still insightful and plus cool to read right after Eat, Pray, Love
- Venice, Italy, where I just spent a weekend
- Fez, Morocco... I'd lovvve to go now since it's so close, but I think I need more than a weekend to get the full experience
- The Cotswolds, England, where I took a day trip
- Istanbul and the Lycian Coast of Turkey, which I was obviously glad to read about :)
- Also France, Greece, and Scotland... all places to dream about
One thing that she does that I want to start doing is reading works by authors from the area when you're visiting. A large amount of the book is dedicated to discussing what she's reading, and I can see how it would add so much more context to what you're experiencing.
I just have to share a description that makes me jealous I can't write like her:
Even the rivers are well-behaved, as if they flow through only for ornamentation. Everywhere described as 'honey-colored', the stone houses are that color, but some are dark like chestnut honey, some pale like acacia or linden honey. Every few miles the geology shirts enough to change the shade of limestone. Like Tuscan farms, the houses seem to have grown out of the land rather than have been built.
No comments:
Post a Comment