The funniest travel books I have ever read are written by Peter Biddlecombe. He is a British writer and I laughed my way through a few of his books I purchased in the UK. I have never seen them for sale in the US but you might find them on amazon.com

has anyone read the book:

Continental Drifter, by Tim Moore?

also a hoot. this guy decided to follow the path of the first man to do the Grand Tour, Thomas Coryate (who also introduced the fork to Britain, allegedly) but this modern day Coryate decided to do it in a very old Rolls and wearing a purple velvet suit.

the stories which ensue are hilarious.

I'm with Capo - one should never presume to know what is interesting to others.

Ms. Gellman obviously never went to, or ran, a yard sale.

Or noted the number of responses to the thread, "As a woman travelling alone, have you ever been approached by a gigolo?"

I think it is very interesting to read the different trip reports. Everyone's idea of how to spend their times may not be the same as mine. Your trip is your experience and there is no right or wrong way to travel.

Everbody has bugged me about posting our recent trip report to Europe and the excuse I use is "nobody wants to read a trip report" or " I just haven't the time". I'm only kidding myself. If a trip report offers suggestions or tips that would help a person in their travels then why would that be considered a "disaster"? I sure used Fodors before my trip. Most all the info here is basically a "trip report", is it not?

Whoops, misread the quote. But I for one use them as good advice or options, not to read about disasters.

Flygirl, yes - isn't <i>Continental Drifter</i> great?

I tend to use trip reports to record observations rather than recount details. To me, travel is all about comparison - how others live compared to myself, how their lives are shaped by their surroundings and vice versa. I acknowledge and respect others' approaches to travel - as purely for relaxation or recreation where interaction with the locals is secondary, for example.

I did a longish &quot;observations&quot; post a couple of months ago about a trip this spring to Israel and the Mediterranean, and someone wrote that sometimes all we want to do is get away. True enough. Fortunately I've haven't lost the ability to multi-task when traveling, so that &quot;getting away&quot; from something always entails &quot;going to see&quot; something else.

I find trip reports very valuable. Often chock full of tips and recommendations not available in any of the tour guides.

Many of Peter Biddlecombe's books are listed on Amazon.com, mostly as out of print or special order. However, many are available for quick dispatch at Amazon.co.uk - I often purchase books there. Same login, reasonable shipping charges, arrive in about a week. There are many fabulous travel guides and maps available on the UK website not offered on the USA website.

As always, DJKBooks, you google well.

Obsessive compulsive googling disorder?

Snort!! OCGD :D

OCGD--definitely very advanced case if you think people on this site need to be told that amazon.com lists the books, but most of them are listed as &quot;out of print&quot; on the US site.

;-)

......re Continental Drifter - if you
loved that book (and I did) try to get
French Revolutions. In it Tim Moore
follows a Tour de France route (alone)
and it is very, very funny!