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Reader's Paradise

Reading in Rome

20 years ago

My DH Tom and I are halfway through our three week trip to Italy. After a brief stopover in London to see a good friend, we moved on to Rome. Tomorrow we will be on our way to cooking school in Tuscany. I'll be thinking of all those threads on books about food, and how hungry they made me when I read them!

So what do we do in between touring ruins and cathedrals and gardens? Well, besides eating, of course. We visit bookstores. One must have soemthing to read on the plane and in waiting areas, and in the hotel when resting before going out once again to see the wonders of Europe. Some Roman bookstores have a few English books, but I have to share with future travellers the Anglo-American bookstore. It is heavy on classics and nonfiction, but has enough light reading to satisfy any tastes. We stocked up, since the books we brought with us are almost done and we have eleven days yet to go. Any book we finish that is not a read-again, we'll leave at the cooking school for future travellers.

Rosefolly

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Comments (4)

granjan
20 years ago
I love places that have left behind books. Besides my need for several pairs of shoes, I need a second bag for books on any trip. I get paranoid about running out of books. English books are VERY expensive in non-English countries.
friedag
20 years ago
Rosefolly: Good of you to check in with us! Yum. When you get home, please, would you post some of the things you and your DH learn at cooking school?

I've bought books -- usually just paperbacks -- in different countries, but I can't bear to part with them because they are souvenirs. When I reread books I've read traveling, I'm instantly transported back and I remember sights, smells, the taste of food I ate (I like to read while eating better than almost anything), and even the racket of dustbins being emptied outside my hotel windows.

Enjoy your time in Tuscany and all the rest of your trip. I would love to read anything and everything you have to report.
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ccrdmrbks
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On long trips I always pack a lot of paperbacks, which I leave behind as I finish them-both for whoever follows, and so that I have room in my suitcase for purchases. Tried posting them on bookcrossing but have NEVER had one registered as found-disheartening.
mumby
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Cece,
I left eight bookcrossing books in various places across Europe in May/June and was lucky enough to get journal entries on three of them that had been found (2 in Italy, 1 in Edinburgh). But don't get discouraged, a bookcrossing friend of mine recently had an entry on a book that she had "released" over a year ago.

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Enjoy the rest of your trip! Oh, to be in Italy again...

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