taconictraveler

Rose Macauley: The Towners of Trebizond

It has my vote for the best first line in a book:

"'Take my camel, dear,' said my aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass." So begins The Towers of Trebizond, the greatest novel by Rose Macaulay,"

I have a particular fondness for that line, but you'd have had to be at the Boston GTG last year to understand.

wikoffclan

Been lurking on this forum for a long time, but had to join and add my 2 cents to this favorite topic.
"The Old Patagonian Express" by Paul Theroux started my love of travel writing Many years ago. This was quickly followed by many books by a favorite writer - John McPhee - with books as wide-ranging as "Coming Into the Country" and "The Pine Barrens". Not Europe, but great travel writing.

Underhill

Thanks for the recommendation of "The Road to Oxiana." It came in the mail yesterday, I sat down to read a few pages, and had to force myself to stop at dinner time.

For a travel book with history included, you can't beat Hopkirk's "The Great Game." It's the story of the struggle between Great Britain and Russia for domination of India and adjacent countries. It's a really, really good book. I also very much liked his "In Search of Kim."

MmePerdu

Underhill, your "In Search of..." reminded me of another I liked very much. 'In Search of Conrad", by Gavin Young, sailing to ports in SE Asia where Joseph Conrad had worked on sailing ships. I ran across a copy in a used bookstore in a small town in Derbyshire and having traveled around Borneo not long before found it particularly interesting.

Pepper_von_snoot

I am so shocked that no one has mentioned The Little Hotel by Christina Stead.

Idle ex-pats living in a residential hotel in Lausanne post-WWII.

What great character sketches.

Thin

farrermog

<i>From the Holy Mountain; A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium</i>
by William Dalrymple

<i>Slow Boats to China</i> by Gavin Young

<i>The River at the Centre of the World; A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time</i>
by Simon Winchester

<i>River Town; Two Years on the Yangtze</i> by Peter Hessler

willit

I am really enjoying this topic, and like others now have a huge list of books that I will try and find on the Kindle store, or local library.

I quite enjoyed:

Vroom with a View by Peter Moore (mid life crisis man buys 40 year old Vespa in Milan and attempts to ride it to Naples)

Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes (Clueless Brit buys olive grove in Liguria)
Much as I like all of Tim Parks's Italian books, my favourite is "A season with Verona" - as well as being quite a good travel book, it is a brilliant sporting book.

texasbookworm

I liked Ina Caro's <I>Paris to the Past: Traveling through French History by Train</I>

and being a big fan of Oxford, I enjoyed <I>Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)</I> by Jerome K. Jerome if for nothing else than some chuckles and one of my favorite travel quotes--

“Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when ‘tis over.”

Pepper_von_snoot

Unless you are Will Self, of course, and you are arrested on suspicion of child molestation.

Thin

bigtyke

The greatest travel writer of all time was Harry Franck. From 1900 - 1950, he traveled the world like no one else.

His first book, and best, was 'A Vagabond Journey Around the World'. Even though it is over 100 years old, it is readily available.

MmePerdu

Ferrermog, thanks for the additional Gavin Young title. I've just ordered 'Slow Boats to China' & 'Slow Boats Home'.