When Elizabeth receives a diagnosis of breast cancer, she reassesses her life’s to-do list. Having always suppressed her travel longings, she opens her neglected ‘someday’ ledger and takes a much closer look at the contents. After an opportune invitation from a friend to meet in Paris, and her sister’s enthusiastic agreement to be part of the adventure, a plan begins to take shape. Join the … Australian trio as they savour the sights of France and Spain, where no trip is complete without a morsel of local cuisine and a sip of something sparkling.
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Reading E.J. Bauer’s gentle account of her trip from Paris to Barcelona, with prolonged stays in both beautiful cities and places in between, is akin to enjoying comfort food. Her narrative induces a cozy sense that all is well with the world: that there are places of worth to visit in the company of old friends; conversations to be had; sites to be seen; history to remember; languages to be spoken; past achievements to be celebrated; meals to be delighted in; wines to taste; champagne flutes to sip; music to relish; culture and beauty to venerate and novel experiences to be investigated.
It’s the author’s first visit to France and Spain though she fell in love with Paris on first listening to her stirring French teacher in Brisbane, Australia when she was a teenager.
The author’s delight in Paris, the Loire Valley, southern France and Catalonia is passionate and tender. I also found it contagious, building in me the desire to visit these regions again and savour everything once more through the innocent and admiring eyes of the first-timer.
But there’s no need to go to the expense or trouble – E.J. Bauer’s warm account takes your hand so that you accompany her every step of the way.
This is the second of E J Bauer’s travel memoirs that I have read, and it did not disappoint. Au contraire it delighted, as did the first, with its wonderful descriptions that are so vivid you feel like you are one of the traveling party. I learned so much about local cuisine and history and enjoyed it all but have to confess to having a favourite part. Having visited Barcelona a couple of years ago, it was wonderful visiting it again through her eyes.
This was a very fun read where I felt I was on the trip with the author, her sister and their friend. She writes in a very personal way, with just enough personal feelings, humor, and thoughts along with a fantastic amount of history and descriptions of the places they visited.
The author had wanted to visit France for a long time and so finally after having overcome a health issue, she decides that it is time to make the trip a reality. The author and her sister meet up with their friend in Paris, and the three of them have a wonderful time exploring the city. The descriptions and places she talks about make me want to go back there, and explore Paris and some of their choices once again.
From Paris they spend a week in rural south France, where they have a great time experiencing a totally different France from Paris, but still with great shopping and wonderful food and wine.
The last stop on there trip is Spain where they enjoy a wonderful time in Barcelona, taking in all that this city has to offer.
I loved a saying she had when unable to capture a good photograph of swallows in flight, “It was not mine to take.” I must remember this, as I love to take photos as well, and instead of feeling frustrated at missing a shot, I will have to remember that it was not mine to take.
I am looking forward to reading more of her travel stories as she has such a nice way of writing.