30f0b103-f56a-454d-a36c-2370a64056afTrueNewShip2Mayes,_FrancesAmazonLargeBooksreviewrank91100767999053http://www.amazon.com/Bella-Tuscany-Under-Tuscan-Book/dp/0767999053%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0767999053597396http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511S5N0EB2L._SL75_.jpg7548http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511S5N0EB2L._SL160_.jpg160103http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511S5N0EB2L.jpg475305Frances MayesPaperback91497807679990521720767999053BroadwayEnglishEnglishEnglish8143000USD$30.00Broadway1Book2000-04-04Broadway2000-04-04Broadway1105412495USD$24.951845USD$18.453700004.04107679990531682005-02-24

A Painful Read

When I learned the first book had been a best seller and inspired a movie, I purchased this box set with both books. In addition, I also live in Italy so I was sure this would be a great set for me to read. Wow, I really called this one wrong. <br /> <br />Mayes is a good writer and she certainly writes with all five senses, but most of the content in these two books was just plain boring. After spending over twenty bucks on this set, I had to force myself to read both. Mayes rambled on and on. Her memoirs just simply are not that interesting in print. My daughter brought the movie home after I finished reading the first book, and I wasn't at all suprised to find that the movie was only loosly based on the book. They almost completely changed the whole thing, and it was pretty good. <br /> <br />The recipes certainly were the best part of the books, but they were written in paragraph form. It definately would have been much nicer if they were printed like a typical cookbook. Also, I wish some pictures would have been included in the books. Maybe some before and after shots during the renovation for example. <br /> <br />Well, at least my purchase helped Mayes pay for her endless remodeling projects on not one but two homes. I'm familiar with the prices for real estate in the San Francisco area, and they are impossible for most people. Furthermore, I hope Mayes was able to complete renovations on her Tuscany home before the dollar began its downward spiral. <br /> <br /> 0767999053518192003-10-04

Perfetto Frances!! You brought me home!

Having lived in Italy myself for 4 years Frances Mayes brought me back to what I call my second home. I laughed and cried, but mostly my heart ached to be back in this wonderful country she so beautifully describes. Frances words make you hear, fell and smell everything she describes. You don't read her books you live inside them. I followed up Under The Tuscan Sun with Bella Tuscany - having taken them both on a ski trip. Read Under the Tuscan Sun on the way up out loud to my husband(9 hours driving,- made him want to return to Italy also) and opted to pass on a day of skiing to read Bella Tuscany. Thank you for taking me home! Molti ringraziamenti per così tempo divertente Frances!0767999053526302002-12-05

Absolute Escape

Being able to lose yourself in a book, is a completely unique experience that is usually reserved for fiction. Under the Tuscan Sun, a non-fiction book absolutely does this. It reads like a novel that you cannot possibly put down. <p>At the same time it is real - you are there using every sense that you possess. <p>As a guest in the author's house, you sweat, your muscles ache and you get dusty as the rennovations take shape. You want to soak in a long hot bath after reading several pages.<p>You shop side by side with her at the market, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting all that Italy has to offer.<p>At her table you do not feel compelled to go to the fridge for a snack, but feel completely stuffed, like you have really eaten the meals she has described.<p>What a wonderful place to lose your self, but Under the Tuscan Sun.076799905341561612000-06-14

Romantic traveler

The two books in this set can be read independently of one another, but read together provide a rich tapestry of the author's romance with Tuscany, and the author's major life change adventure embracing the future as she embraces her Italian home. One need not necessarily be a Tuscan scholar, or a Tuscan devotee, or even a Tuscan traveler to enjoy the colorful and appetizing narrative centered around the author's purchase and initial rehabilitation (in Under The Tuscan Sun) of a once-graceful long-abandoned farmhouse in the Tuscan hills. The plans and projects she and her husband make for resurrection of the once-lovely old building on ancient footings in forgotten gardens strike yearning chords in every fantasy spinner's heart. The project unfolds in some successes and some failures as we also see the author's resurrection of buried dreams in her own life similarly unfold. The metamorphosis becomes much more concrete, much more focused and visible, like the author's struggle to learn Italian, in the second book of the set, Bella Tuscany, in which she includes more of her inner life and more interaction with her Italian neighbors, even tucking some favorite recipes into various chapters as they become better acquainted. Her travels through Tuscany in search of fixtures, furnishings, towels, tiles and dishes become charming tours of Italy on and off the beaten track, and a way of life which seems to open the heart and coax the spirit forth. These two passionate journals resonate in those places where each of us still muses about finding our dream - or dreamhouse - someday, whether an Italophile or not. The books lack much hard economic analysis or any real social or political feeling for Tuscany; they document a continuing personal journey. Great reading to encourage the reader to reach for the adventure and find herself.B0007LQ4JS07679100600679731148B001FA23PE06700207452375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books17029Essays & Travelogues17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books67646General16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books197498011General27Travel1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR1TMAXN1K0YE2IBooks Like FoodR2D5YVA55ETZAKBooks for FoodiesK7O43M2YF4KTTravel Stories30Z9FKD73DUWFTake a Couch Potato Vacation32G5JFZ5KD7PEArmchair travel3654SKCQP5VISMy favorite booksN4T1UK3CA6NYA short list to psych you for your first Italy tripALS4LTQKB3PWRad first-person accounts that totally deserved publication3IGGI0ZG3DIO6Italy Good Food, Good Living2R8YH6DB0LQ94light at my fingertips0553525204http://www.amazon.com/Under-Tuscan-Sun-Frances-Mayes/dp/0553525204%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D05535252041178274http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W0DR1GEDL._SL75_.jpg7543http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W0DR1GEDL._SL160_.jpg16093http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W0DR1GEDL.jpg475275Audio CassetteFrances Mayes945.59780553525205AbridgedAudiobook1250553525204Random House AudioEnglishEnglishEnglish7092595USD$25.95Random House Audio4Book1998-01-20Random House Audio1998-01-20Random House Audio43414640USD$6.4022USD$0.224160011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewD7ywOEYZE%2Bs6L3BkiXFY3MOUTfy%2FW8qNnc6KUnsUAHJp8sxMqpULq%2FAqhfiZs1DqM8VWhFTqanpXY0qhhgKPBg%3D%3D2595USD$25.95Usually ships in 9 to 11 days3.54348705535252042002008-09-24

Under the Tuscan Sun

The story line is good,the only thing that didn't get 5 stars from my wife and I was that the author read the book. She should have used a proffesional. The book and the DVD got our 5 stars. J.A.A.05535252041012008-08-08

You too, can write a book!

How is it that this even got published? I am a voracious reader, even books I don't really care for I finish just because I want to see what happens in the end. But I just couldn't do it with this one. How can you be so possibly boring?? Have you ever been stuck on the phone with someone who just loves to talk about themselves? You listen, occasionally give a few grunts as acknowledgement, and sigh in relief when they finally run out of words and use for your ear. This book was that, in text form. Frances Mayers needs someone to talk to, I guess no one would listen, so she wrote it all down in book format. If this is all it takes to publish a book, maybe I'll become a writer!05535252042002008-06-27

Subject 5--Delivery 0

This is a wonderful, wonderful, journey, adventure, book. By all means, it should be read....just not aloud by the author. Why do people think that if they write a book they have the skill to read it??05535252043002008-06-03

Under the Tuscan Sun

ISBN 0767900383 - As a fan of lists, I'm always curious about books that make bestseller lists. I rarely read them, but I'm always curious. This was the case with Under the Tuscan Sun until a rather beat-up, unsellable copy fell into my hands. My curiosity, but little else, has been satisfied. <br /> <br />A recap of the plotline is usually the second paragraph for me. The trouble here is that this book doesn't actually have a plotline. The author and her boyfriend bought a house in Tuscany, living there during the summer and restore it and the land around it. Seriously, that's it: no actual point, no build up, not a character to root for (although there were moments I admit to rooting for the house to fall down on them, just to liven things up). So much for the recap! <br /> <br />Beautifully written, Under the Tuscan Sun isn't without redeeming qualities. Tuscany sounds like a bit of Heaven on Earth and Mayes, reputed to be a good cook, turns out to be a decent writer, at least so far as descriptive writing goes. A few short sections are even well-done humor. For that, the richness of language, the way you can nearly smell the food and hear the quiet of the countryside, for that, Mayes gets 5 stars. For boring me nearly to death, ZERO stars! An average of 3 stars seems a reasonable compromise. There are definitely readers for this type of book, I just happen to not be one of them. If you're looking for a relaxing read, this one certainly fits your needs; if you want a storyline, something more exciting than recipes, this book is a snore - if your blood flowed to the rhythm of this book, you'd be dead.05535252042122008-04-29

Disappointed

I was so looking forward to reading, "Under The Tuscan Sun". An avid traveler, I love to explore various places through books since having 3 kids doesn't allow me to travel as much as I used to. I assumed the book would be good considering it was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. <br /> <br />Maybe my expectations were too high. I found the book to be monotonous, laborious and rather self-indulgent. The relationships Mayes appears to have developed seem superficial at best and imagery of the old, deep south conjured in my mind as I read about her cook "Wille Bell" and her seamstress as a child in Georgia. I thought I would relate to this part of Mayes' life as I too grew up in Georgia, but, again, the absence of any emotional impact left me wanting just to finish the book and be done with it. <br /> <br />Aside from the rehabilitation of her home in Tuscany which was written about mostly at the beginning of the book, I found the book to have a lack of continunity and really any depth. The self-proclamed pagan describes churches and locations, but doesn't capture the romance, innocence and intrigue that will keep you flipping pages. <br /> <br />Mayes does appear to be a fabulous cook and I would probably like a cookbook by her. However, if you are looking for a novel with a plot to sink your teeth into, this is definitely NOT it. I much prefered "Eat, Pray and Love" and the first chapter (which I am now reading) of "Almost French" is wildly more clever and intriguing. <br /> <br />Frances Mayes--widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer--opens the door to a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. In sensuous and evocative language, she brings the reader along as she discovers the beauty and simplicity of life in Italy. An accomplished cook and food writer, Mayes also creates dozens of delicious seasonal recipes from her traditional kitchen and simple garden, all of which are included in this audio. Doing for Tuscany what M.F.K. Fisher and Peter Mayle did for Provence, Mayes writes about the tastes and pleasures of a foreign country with gusto and passion. A celebration of the extraordinary quality of life in Tuscany, <i>Under the Tuscan Sun</i> is a feast for all senses.In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.076790284XB0000VD02YB0007LQ4JS06797311480767910060B0000296YHB00001YVFP2283Italian2272Languages44Books on Cassette368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books2326Travel44Books on Cassette368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books658010General44Books on Cassette368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books17029Essays & Travelogues17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books67600General16940France16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books67646General16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books465216General4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books394186011Abridged394185011Edition (format)388186011Refinements283155Books618077011Books on Cassette618075011Audiobooks618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books1586420445http://www.amazon.com/Torregreca-Miracles-Southern-Italian-Village/dp/1586420445%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D15864204451001972http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SM5JHQB9L._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SM5JHQB9L._SL160_.jpg160105http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SM5JHQB9L.jpg500327Ann CornelisenPaperbackFrances Mayes945.779781586420444851586420445Steerforth ItaliaEnglishEnglishEnglish8491600USD$16.00Steerforth Italia1320Book1998-06-01Steerforth ItaliaSteerforth Italia77550775USD$7.75399USD$3.992500USD$25.002820003.52115864204455772002-11-06

Historical Perspective of Southern ITalian Town

This very graphic and descriptive book opened up my eyes to the realities that many of our ancestors faced in their lives.<br>This compassionate woman described her time in a small town<br>in Italy in a sharp contrast to most books on the subject,<br>perhaps somewhat like "Christ Stopped in Eboli"<br>For the person interested in Recent Italian history, this book<br>will greatly enlarge your understanding of the plight of the southern italian.<br>if you are looking for romantic fluff, don't read this book.158642044523182002-08-29

Disapointing

I was misled by Frances Mayes' name listed next to the author's.<br>She wrote only the introduction. This was not a colaboration.<br>The book itself was basically dry, boring, dated, plot-less and less than wonderful.<br>I think it was reprinted to "jump on the "Tuscany" bandwagon" of popularity. I could not recommend this book.IN 1959 ANN CORNELISEN came to the impoverished region of Basilicata. A young, unmarried Protestant woman, she found herself in a tradition-bound, male-dominated Catholic world. She smoked, drove a car, occasionally drank at the village bar, and quickly became the object of disapproving gossip. With aplomb and tough-minded determination, Cornelisen established a school and gained the acceptance, if not always the approval, of the community. In this absorbing memoir, she renders the people, landscape, and vexing social ills of her adopted home with candor and compassion.158642016XB000OZ1STSB0007ZNV2M158790030003745300922330Authors2327Arts & Literature2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books10125General10127Classics17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books465216General4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books712982011General AAS465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books713014011General AAS319654011Qualifying Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books31MLWI2KDS3NMItalian Adventures5WBEWTQVEX3MMy Essential Italy0553525662http://www.amazon.com/Bella-Tuscany-Frances-Mayes/dp/0553525662%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D05535256622290247http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H44DFY7YL._SL75_.jpg7543http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H44DFY7YL._SL160_.jpg16092http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H44DFY7YL.jpg475273Audio CassetteFrances Mayes945.59780553525663AbridgedAudiobook1210553525662Random House AudioEnglishEnglishEnglish7062500USD$25.00Random House Audio4Book1999-04-06Random House Audio1999-04-06Random House Audio43416174USD$1.7425USD$0.256130011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewsg5nFr6R8tlL8iAfXSXshsJmiUvLs5SEEXYX1inObPxMkZgAXZC5w6yimWV6lJI9AuMdyT%2FUaprxPjWaezXg%2Bg%3D%3D1975USD$19.75Usually ships in 24 hours3.01302605535256625002008-07-01

Bella Tuscany

I had re-read Under the Tuscan sun, I love Frances Mayes style of writting and I love I Italy, I could litterly see it in her writing and when I did see actual pictures it was as I imagined love the book and will re-read it to at some time, have gotten her other 2 books as well 05535256621332008-04-27

Spectacularly Boring

I cannot understand why the first book was a best-seller. It was about an ultra-rich, ultra-materialistic women that has only a very superficial understanding of Italy and the Italian people. I bought this book to read for my book club. It was even worse than the first. No more Frances Mayes for me, ever! One of the most self-absorbed authors the book club has ever read. Hope she finds happiness in her eternal quest for the perfect stuff.05535256625002008-04-02

Bella Tuscany

I LOVE IT!!! When I read the words,I feel as if I'm there. Wonderfully written.05535256624002007-10-31

Bella Tuscany

Lovely, light book all about Tuscany and life in the author's adopted village and her renovated old stone house and garden with such a view! Wonderful characterizations of people, great foods, travels here and there. Enjoyable and very well written.05535256622222007-01-25

Disappointing

I had heard about UtTS and how wonderful it was, so when a copy of Bella Tuscany came my way, I grabbed it happily. Perhaps I didn't give Mayes enough of a chance: I assumed she would be a female version of Peter Mayle, and write with joy and humor. <br /> <br />After about a third of the way through, I was thoroughly sick of her whining and sniveling. Her descriptions of food and landscape and wine, I thought, were less than dazzling, less than enamoured - they were more like descriptions from a creative writing class. Mayes became a traveling companion that annoyed me, someone who could not appreciate her good fortune, a drain on anyone's good humor. <br /> <br />I never did finish the book. I couldn't see my way to spend another moment with Mayes.<i>Happiness? The color of it must be spring green, impossible to describe until I see a just-hatched lizard sunning on a stone. That color, the glowing green lizard skin, repeats in every new leaf. The regenerative power of nature explodes in every weed, stalk, branch. Working in the mild sun, I feel the green fuse of my body, too. Surges of energy, kaleidoscopic sunlight through the leaves, the soft breeze that makes me want to say the word 'zephyr' - this mindless simplicity can be called happiness</i>.<br><br>Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera , an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona - and her beloved house, Bramasole - just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides.<br><br><b>Bella Tuscany</b>, a companion volume to <i>Under the Tuscan Sun</i>, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, <b>Bella Tuscany</b> is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy.Following up on her bestselling novel, <I>Under the Tuscan Sun</I>, Frances Mayes returns to her beloved villa in the small hill town of Cortona, Italy. Welcomed back like an old friend, she is soon puttering in the garden, and as Mayes devotees might expect, busy in the kitchen as well. As Mayes rediscovers her taste for la dolce vita, she embarks on a journey of cultural awakening and embraces a newfound romance with the Italian language and people. "I came to Italy expecting adventure," reads Mayes. "What I never anticipated is the absolute sweet joy of everyday life."<p> Mayes is as generous a cook as she is a writer, flavoring her story with tasty descriptions of local gustatory delights--many of which are included in a small recipe book. She also serves as narrator, and the beguiling simplicity of her voice makes listening as enjoyable as spending an afternoon with a well-traveled favorite aunt. (Running time: 9 hours, 6 cassettes) <I>--George Laney</I>B00076VE2KB0007LQ4JS0767910060B0000VD02Y0767917464B00001YVFP17029Essays & Travelogues17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books67600General16940France16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books67646General16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books658010General44Books on Cassette368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books394186011Abridged394185011Edition (format)388186011Refinements283155Books618077011Books on Cassette618075011Audiobooks618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books9T354CMQXUFLBest Goodies on Tape0739324624http://www.amazon.com/Year-World-Journeys-Passionate-Traveler/dp/0739324624%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D07393246241037681http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZDDA2MDCL._SL75_.jpg7565http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZDDA2MDCL._SL160_.jpg160138http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZDDA2MDCL.jpg500432Audio CDFrances Mayes914.045610929780739324622AbridgedAudiobook1000739324624Random House AudioEnglishEnglishEnglish6302995USD$29.95Random House Audio5Book2006-03-14Random House Audio2006-03-14Random House Audio105501192USD$11.92644USD$6.441580011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnew1sHNgQlBx6zfM1eodKol7eRUyVrCmJApTVWtlFD%2BVKgPlAgGwhGg56oAxvwgkdDPzgxN3w2Lb2sNzyIirl3c8z3Eds1szEN%2F2995USD$29.95Usually ships in 24 hours3.0541107393246242002008-08-18

This book was not edited!

Frances Mayes has had so much success as a writer. No doubt she never dreamed that her adventures in Tuscany would bring her best-selling books and a film based on the first book. That must have been very exciting and gratifying--beyond words. We all can't wait to read what she has to say next. I think that's why there is so much disappointment about this book. I mean why is it that once a writer had so much success the editors no longer cut as much as they should? She is so full of herself in this book, whereas in her other books her writing was delicate and poetic. <br /> <br />It's not to say that this book doesn't have it's moments. In fact, I am inspired by some of her perceptions of her destinations and many of them are similar to ours. But some of her perceptions are way over the top. That last chapter is some sort of fantasy that, frankly, I wish she had kept to herself! Her inflated self-image needs to calm down a bit.07393246243002008-07-09

Napoli ???????

Which Napoli is she talking about? It sounds <br />ideal compared to the real one - no problems <br />with garbage, no rioting in the streets and at <br />the docks, no mafia stranglehold on <br />the government - where is this Napoli? <br />07393246244002008-07-07

I liked it

I really liked this book only because I just came back from a trip to Spain, Portugal and Scotland and shared many of France's opinions and observations. I can see where others would be annoyed by her flowerly language and occasional overblown descriptions. I'm buying this to keep (the copy I originally read was borrowed from the library) just to remind me of my latest vacation!07393246245002008-05-27

Great Book

I just finished this book and loved it, I don't really understand the bad reviews. One I read said she didn't think Mayes's heart was in it. Unbelieveable! It makes me wonder if she really read the book. Mayes' "heart", her heartfelt impressions of the places she visited, ran throughout the book. I strongly recommend this book if you love to read about travels and particularly if you like the way Mayes writes. 07393246241232008-04-23

Misleading title...

I'm sorry, but this book was ultra boring. I couldn't muster up enough energy or interest to even finish it. <br /> <br />I myself, suffer from wanderlust. My extensive travels have taken me to some of the same locales as Mayes, so I was looking forward to reading about them from her perspective. <br /> <br />However, I'm a writer myself--and while I haven't published a book about my travels I do keep a popular travel blog and write editorials for my local papers upon my return. But, trust me I've written more interesting narratives on a postcard home to my family than Mayes manages to do in 20+ pages. <br /> <br />My advice--skip the book, and opt for a nice program on the Travel Channel instead. I guarantee it will be more fascinating and informative and you get the pleasure of avoiding Mayes's pretentious ramblings. <br /><p>The author who unforgettably captured the experience of starting a new life in Tuscany in bestselling travel memoirs expands her horizons to immerse herself—and her readers—in the sights, aromas, and treasures of twelve new special places. <br> <br><i>A Year in the World</i> is vintage Frances Mayes—a celebration of the allure of travel, of serendipitous pleasures found in unlikely locales, of memory woven into the present, and of a joyous sense of quest. An ideal travel companion, Frances Mayes brings to the page the curiosity of an intrepid explorer, remarkable insights into the wonder of the everyday, and a compelling narrative style that entertains as it informs. <br><br>With her beloved Tuscany as a home base, Mayes travels to Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, and to the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa. In Andalucía, she relishes the intersection of cultures. She cooks in Portugal, gathers ideas in the gardens of England and Scotland, takes a literary pilgrimage to Burgundy, discovers an ideal place to live in Mantova, and explores the essential Moroccan city of Fez. She rents houses among ordinary residents, shops at neighborhood markets, wanders the back streets, and everywhere contemplates the concept of home. While in Greece, she follows the classic Homeric voyage across the Aegean, lives in a bougainvillea-draped stone house in Crete, and then drives deep into the Mani. In Turkey with friends, she sails the ancient coast, hiking to archaeological sites and snorkeling over sunken Byzantine towns. Weaving together personal perceptions and informed commentary on art, architecture, history, landscape, and social and culinary traditions of each area, Mayes brings the immediacy of life in her temporary homes to the reader. An illuminating and passionate book that will be savored by all who loved <i>Under the Tuscan Sun, A Year in the World</i> is travel writing at its peak.</p>076790284XB0007LQ4JSB00076VE2K034548109707679174642375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books17029Essays & Travelogues17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books197498011General27Travel1000Subjects283155Books69725Biographies & Memoirs69724Books on CD368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books15853961General69724Books on CD368395011Audiobooks504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books394186011Abridged394185011Edition (format)388186011Refinements283155Books618076011Books on CD618075011Audiobooks618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksB00073DA1Ghttp://www.amazon.com/Acqi%C3%8C%C2%81-Gold-over-Frances-Mayes/dp/B00073DA1G%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00073DA1GFrances MayesUnknown BindingHeyeck PressEnglishEnglishHeyeck PressBook1984Heyeck PressHeyeck Press00000014486General14452Nature & Ecology75Science1000Subjects283155Books290069Ecology14454Animal Rights13474Animals14488Aquatic Life14490Living on the Land14505Mountains14533Rain Forests13625Rivers13456Star Gazing290060Outdoors & Nature1000Subjects283155Books0913282200http://www.amazon.com/After-such-pleasures-Frances-Mayes/dp/0913282200%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D09132822004389916Frances MayesUnknown Binding97809132822050913282200Seven Woods PressEnglishSeven Woods Press91Book1979Seven Woods PressSeven Woods Press15000USD$150.000010009822United States1600470118th Century17008219th Century1600471120th Century9823African American9857Asian American9882Classics524198Collections & Readers2160Drama16004691General9926Hispanic9928History & Criticism16004731Humor16004751Jewish American16004721Letters & Correspondence9955Native American9966Poetry10301Short Stories9979Women Writers10311World Literature17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books0940592118http://www.amazon.com/Arts-Fire-Frances-Mayes/dp/0940592118%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D09405921185214632Frances MayesHardcover97809405921170940592118Heyeck PrEnglishEnglishEnglish17500USD$175.00Heyeck Pr49Book1982-06Heyeck PrHeyeck Pr0000001000Subjects1Arts & Photography2Biographies & Memoirs3Business & Investing4Children's Books4366Comics & Graphic Novels5Computers & Internet6Cooking, Food & Wine86Entertainment301889Gay & Lesbian10Health, Mind & Body9History48Home & Garden10777Law17Literature & Fiction13996Medicine18Mystery & Thrillers53Nonfiction290060Outdoors & Nature20Parenting & Families173507Professional & Technical21Reference22Religion & Spirituality23Romance75Science25Science Fiction & Fantasy26Sports28Teens27Travel283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books394190011Deluxe Edition394185011Edition (format)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksB001CF0RS2http://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Tuscany-Frances-MAYES/dp/B001CF0RS2%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB001CF0RS2Frances. MAYESPamphlet(np): Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries Inc.(np): Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries Inc.Book2003(np): Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries Inc.(np): Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries Inc.3500USD$35.000010001000Subjects1Arts & Photography2Biographies & Memoirs3Business & Investing4Children's Books4366Comics & Graphic Novels5Computers & Internet6Cooking, Food & Wine86Entertainment301889Gay & Lesbian10Health, Mind & Body9History48Home & Garden10777Law17Literature & Fiction13996Medicine18Mystery & Thrillers53Nonfiction290060Outdoors & Nature20Parenting & Families173507Professional & Technical21Reference22Religion & Spirituality23Romance75Science25Science Fiction & Fantasy26Sports28Teens27Travel283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books8432216569http://www.amazon.com/Bajo-Sol-Toscana-Frances-Mayes/dp/8432216569%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D84322165691827365Frances MayesPaperback9788432216565808432216569BooketSpanishSpanishSpanish6901095USD$10.95Booket1Book2004-05BooketBooket304509501USD$95.0102000016261081Spanish16260961Foreign Language Nonfiction53Nonfiction1000Subjects283155Books197498011General27Travel1000Subjects283155Books309310011No-Ficción309311011Automotriz309414011Ciencias Sociales309319011Crimen y Criminales309335011Educación309487011Estudios de la Mujer309374011Feriados309375011Filosofía309366011Gobierno309483011Hechos Verídicos309486011Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo309401011Política309322011Sucesos de Actualidad309478011Transportación301731Libros en español504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books310149011General301755Viajes y turismo301731Libros en español504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books712966011General AAS301755Viajes y turismo301731Libros en español504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books712406011General AAS301731Libros en español504358Formats251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books