A few weeks ago I read Vivian Swift’s first book, When Wanderers Cease to Roam. You can read my review here. I was so delighted with Vivan Swift’s first book, I read her second book, Le Road Trip. Vivian, and her new husband James, travel to France to celebrate their marriage and to enjoy the country with the most tourists (71 million each year). Vivian is a seasoned traveler and you’ll find plenty of great travel tips in this book. She has a clever way of packing. Vivian knows her way around French restaurants and wine (only drink Bordeaux wines). Le Road Trip is a brilliant guide to traveling in Paris and the rest of France. Below, I’ve included a sample page. As you can see, Vivian provides plenty of eye-grabbing watercolors to illustrate her books. A book like this is a browser’s delight! GRADE: A
I guess I missed your first review but this does look good. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to France – 20 years? – but I have many happy memories of Paris in particular, from the 1970s and 1980s. It is truly a beautiful city and a great place for walking.
Jeff, Paris is an incredible city. Vivian Swift proves to be a great tour guide in this book!
I liked, not loved Paris. (much preferred the Uk or Greece) I’d be really interested in her packing ideas
Maggie, Vivian Swift is an expert packer. Plenty of great travel tips in this book!
Yes, the packing ideas. Going to Berlin and Cracow in May and want to just take a small bag.
Patti, I always travel with two bags: one full and one empty (for books!)
George, but nowadays you often have to pay for that extra bag. That’s one of the side effects of ever cheaper flying – you pay for anything extra, like baggage, food, drinks, better seats …
there was a joke some months ago.
One of these no frills airlines wanted to introduce a price for the use of their toilets …
I remember MAD magazine having an article on this – many years ago. That’s where I read that expression the first time …
We did that only once. We went to London for a long weekend for our 25th Anniversary and managed with just a small carry-on bag.
Jeff, Patrick and Katie have mastered the small carry-on bag skill. I’m hopeless at it.
That’s a good idea to travel only with hand (on board) luggage when flying – all that hassle with checked-in luggage disappears …
The last time we did this was also a short trip to London from the Balaton airport with Ryanair, the (in)famous no-frills airline which charges a lot for checked-in luggage …
I also remember that I went from Germany to New York City once (alone) only with hand luggage – that must have been around 15 years ago, before I needed that CPAP machine …
Though I had to buy a suitcase in NYC because of all those intereting books I found at the Forbidden Planet – oh, those were the days!
On France and Paris:
The country is wonderful and the city is fascinating – but very expensive, even now with the $ being almost on the level of the €.
That was one reason why we always preferred Spain or even Croatia for summer holidays at the Mediterranean sea – the other being that too many French people just want your money, it’s really sad …
Wolf, when I encountered pay toilets in France I couldn’t believe it. I was warned, but I still experienced shock at the charge. Almost all the toilets in the U.S. are free (and they should be!).
George, re toilets (hope no one minds this topic …):
Is that discussed too in the book – I know many people are surprised how personal hygiene is treated differently in different countries, even in Europe.
In my German home town tourists (we have a lot of them …) used to complain so someone started a movement “Nette Toilette” (i e nice toilet) – a sticker on the door of many establishments (my favourite bar e g) that says.
You can use our toilet for free, even if you’re not a guest …
On the other hand I well remember a story from Greenwich Village in the 90s – one of my shopping trips.
After shopping and walking all day I saw a kind of cellar bar with a sign “Happy Hour” so I went in for a beer and had a nice conversation at the bar when people realised that I was a foreigner (they often think I’m English or from Sweden). Then a guy came in, went straight to the toilet and back out – and the girl behind the bar called after him:
You *** could have had at least a beer – it’s only one $!
Everybody started to laugh …
Wolf, some Americans are cheap. I would have bought a glass of wine.
San Diego spent tons of money on something called the Portland Loo for use downtown. typical of the city, they placed them where it was difficult to hook up to the sewer system, so the cost was much more than anticipated. and of course, there was a huge upswing in crime in the area. The goal had been to help the homeless, and it backfired. I think by that time a million bucks had been spent.
Maggie, most public projects go over budget. When the Senecas built their casino/hotel in Niagara Falls, it was finished early and under budget. They know how to get things done!