BookGlutton / Portal / Search Results: travel

No description available

TAGS:

Mary Kingsley went alone, in 1893, to remote areas in West Africa crawling with cannibal tribes. Some areas had never been visited by a white man, much less a white woman. She’s at her best when writing in travel journal style. The rest of the book that is not travel narrative is her thoughts and research on Africa and its “fetishes”, which is what seems to be her word for the religious and traditional customs of the natives.

A detailed guide to every aspect of Genoa: history, culture, foods, restaurants, hotels, sightseeing, things to do - written by an author who knows the place intimately. Two marble-carved lions crouch flanking the stairs leading to the entrance of Genoa's monumental cathedral of San Lorenzo. Their proud features are marred by graffiti - cartoonish scribbles rendering their expression more pathetic than fierce. They're an apt metaphor for the city of Genoa itself, which can be a challenging one for tourists. During two millennia of tumultuous history, Genoa has seen its fortunes rise and fall. At its pinnacle, the city - center of the Genoese Republic - had unparalleled wealth and economic and political power. French historiographer Fernand Braudel wrote of the city, ""If ever a diabolically capitalist city can be said to have existed before the capitalist age in Europe and the world, then it is Genoa, opulent and sordid at the same time."" From these heights Genoa would plunge over successive centuries, losing hegemony, then autonomy, and finally prosperity. Today, it is a city in the grip of evolution. There is much that is decrepit and shabby, but there are also the heralds of a renaissance both economic and cultural. The lion that is Genoa may be blemished and humbled, but there is every evidence that with attention and caretaking it is regaining - if not its former brilliant grandeur - at least its dignity and relevance on the world stage. Perhaps that's why Genoa is particularly poignant, and important for travelers who hope to leave Liguria with a greater understanding of the region - both what it was, and what it is becoming. It is impossible to leave Genoa unimpressed and without an opinion. Genoa is - and has been for millennia - a port town, and the nature of a port is to facilitate trade via access to both sea and land routes. The geography of Liguria is characterized by mountains that plunge steeply into the sea, and that are criss-crossed by deep valleys. Genoa - which sits at the near middle of Liguria's great land crescent - is not only at the epicenter of what, from above, appears as one giant harbor. It is also at the crossroads of land routes that made use of these deep valleys to cut across the Apennines to northern Italy and the rest of Europe. This guide is drawn from our Adventure Guide to the Italian Riviera, but with added pictures of the hotels, restaurants and other features.

This is an excerpt from our larger guide to all of Hungary, focusing on Budapest and the surrounding area primarily. The author is a resident of Budapest, who knows the region intimately and takes us behind the scenes to discover its best features the sights, the places to stay and eat, the shopping, and all the activities. Millions of people every year hike into, bike, drive or climb into the green valleys and limestone mountain ridges of Hungary s national parks and the hills. Storks, eagles, wrens, blackbirds, woodpeckers, and flocks of thousands make their home in forests, grasslands, and cliff-sides. Majestic antlered stags and deer range the forest. Fresh springs and cold clear creeks tumble down from the mountains. The author takes us there. Sitting astride the Danube, Budapest has been called the Paris of Eastern Europe and The Pearl of the Danube. There are thousands of restaurants and virtually every type of cuisine. Hotels and nightspots are just as numerous and the author guides us to the best of them all. This is the only guide illustrated with color maps and photographs throughout. Print edition is 586 pages.

No description available

TAGS:

Jane Austen P.G. Wodehouse Travel Archaeology Philosophy

TAGS: literature travel

novels, classics, travel books,

Travel writings as literature

Travel, Popular Fiction, Science Fiction, Biography

travel lit!