Other books that might interest you

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  A Little Swiss Sojourn

  William Dean Howells

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  A charming brief account of a two months' autumnal stay on the shores of the Lake of Geneva. Howells, who was there with his family traveling from England to Italy, has a sharp eye not only for scenery and architecture, but for people and customs, both Swiss and foreign. (Summary by Nicholas Clifford)

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  Portrait in Red - A Paris Obsession

  L. John Harris

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  The quest to uncover the history of a mysterious painting, and a joyous exploration of art in the twentieth century and beyond. 
   
  While wandering the streets of Paris in 2015, L. John Harris finds an abandoned, unfinished, and strangely compelling painting. The subject: a girl wearing a bright-red head covering, fixing her viewer with a foreboding gaze. The painting bears no signature, only the date: January 12, 1935. Harris, a journalist and illustrator, embarks on a multi-year quest to uncover the story behind this painting. His sleuthing has given birth to Portrait in Red, a wide-ranging exploration of art and its enduring mysteries. 
   
  With wit and a contagious enthusiasm, Harris traces unexpected connections between Paris on the eve of World War II, his bohemian life in the San Francisco Bay Area, the aura of original paintings, the magic of found objects, and the aesthetics of a perfect croque monsieur. Portrait in Red will delight lovers of Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes or Michael Finkel's The Art Thief. By turns heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, it is an existential detective story, set among world tragedies, art-historical epiphanies, and comic hijinks.

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  An Open Door - New Travel...

  Steven Lovatt

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  'If the mountains secluded Wales from England, the long coastline was like an open door to the world at large.' – Jan Morris
  The history of Wales as a destination and confection of English Romantic writers is well-known, but this book reverses the process, turning a Welsh gaze on the rest of the world.
  This shift is timely: the severing of Britain from the European Union asks questions of Wales about its relationship to its own past, to the British state, to Europe and beyond, while the present political, public health and environmental crises mean that travel writing can and should never again be the comfortably escapist genre that it was. Our modern anxieties over identity are registered here in writing that questions in a personal, visceral way the meaning of belonging and homecoming, and reflects a search for stability and solace as much as a desire for adventure. Here are lyrical stories refracted through kaleidoscopes of family and world history, alongside accounts of forced displacement and the tenacious love that exists between people and places. Yet these pieces also show the enduring value and joy of travel itself. As Eluned Gramich expresses it 'It's one of the pleasures of travel to submit yourself to other people, let yourself be guided and taught'.
  Taken together, the stories of An Open Door extend Jan Morris' legacy into a turbulent present and even more uncertain future. Whether seen from Llŷn or the Somali desert, we still take turns to look out at the same stars, and it might be this recognition, above all, that encourages us to hold the door open for as long as we can.
  Featuring contributions from Eluned Gramich, Grace Quantock, Faisal Ali, Sophie Buchaillard, Giancarlo Gemin, Siân Melangell Dafydd, Mary-Ann Constantine, Kandace Siobhan Walker, Neil Gower, Julie Brominicks and Electra Rhodes.

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  The Innocents Abroad

  Mark Twain

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  "The Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain is a groundbreaking and wildly humorous travel narrative that helped establish Twain as one of America's greatest literary voices. Based on his journey through Europe and the Holy Land in the late 1860s, the book offers a sharp, irreverent, and refreshingly honest account of Americans encountering the Old World for the first time.
  
  Traveling with a group of fellow tourists aboard the Quaker City, Twain visits iconic destinations in France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and the biblical lands of the Middle East. Rather than romanticizing ancient ruins and revered landmarks, he approaches them with skepticism, common sense, and biting wit. Twain pokes fun at exaggerated guidebook claims, pretentious travelers, and the habit of viewing history through uncritical admiration.
  
  Beneath the humor lies a thoughtful critique of cultural snobbery, blind reverence for tradition, and the commercialization of history. Twain contrasts American practicality with European formality and exposes the gap between expectation and reality that travelers often experience. His honest observations challenge readers to question inherited ideas about art, religion, and civilization.
  
  At the same time, The Innocents Abroad captures the excitement and wonder of global travel during an era when international journeys were rare and demanding. Twain's vivid descriptions of landscapes, cities, and people bring the 19th-century world to life, making the book both entertaining and historically valuable.
  
  Witty, bold, and endlessly engaging, The Innocents Abroad remains one of the most popular travel books ever written. It is an essential read for fans of classic literature, travel writing, and Mark Twain's unmatched ability to find humor in the human condition.

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  Travel Diaries of an Atypical...

  Malcolm Teasdale

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  Traveling the World in search of new business seems like a glamorous occupation, but in reality, it presents many complications, misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. 
  Malcolm Teasdale is one of those fortunate people, who has been given the chance to experience the many wonderful places and people on our planet. Chilling out on vacation in a far off distant exotic place is a dream come true for most of us. However, when the primary reason for travel is to conduct business, the challenges caused by the competitiveness of the industry is compounded by the necessity to understand foreign cultures and mannerisms. 
  Flight delays, overcrowded planes, unscheduled hotel stays, language barriers, unfamiliar food, strange people with confusing dialects, bizarre social behavior, are just some of the day to day happenings when traveling overseas. 
  With an attitude of “I'll go to any place at least once”, Malcolm goes in search of business opportunities in emerging markets around the Globe, some of which bring success and others that can be classified as a waste of time and energy. 
  The negatives are completely outweighed by the positives. A bad experience becomes a learning experience. Bad luck relates to something that didn't go as planned, but as much as a good experience, it is forever etched in memory. 
  Malcolm decided to document everything, so that when he retires, and is too feeble to play golf, scuba dive, or even walk along a beach, he will have something to read, and maybe laugh at his past escapades. 
   

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  How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart

  Florentyna Leow

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  20-something and uncertain about her future, Florentyna Leow is exhilarated when an old acquaintance offers her an opportunity for work and cohabitation in a little house in the hills of Kyoto.
  Florentyna begins a new job as a tour guide, taking tourists on elaborate and expensive trips around Kyoto's cultural hotspots. Amidst the busy tourist traps and overrun temples, Florentyna develops her own personal map of the city: a favourite smoky jazz kissa; a top-shelf katsuobushi loving cat; an elderly lady named Yamaguchi-san, who shares her sweets and gives Florentyna a Japanese name.
  Meanwhile, her relationship with her new companion develops an intensity as they live and work together. Their little kitchen, the epicenter of their shared life, overlooks a community garden dominated by a fruitful persimmon tree. Their relationship burns bright, but seasons change, the persimmon tree out back loses its fruit, and things grow strange between the two women.
  How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart is a collection about the ways in which heartbreak can fill a place and make it impossible to stay.

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