What a lucky life Rick Steves lives! He pursues his life's passion and brings in an ample income at the same time. There he goes, traveling the world, sharing his tips and tales, and enjoying the riches of experience and wealth. I couldn't wait to read his new travel book, For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories. After opening the cover, I discovered a sad omission - not a word about Barcelona. How distressing! I had hoped to find some coverage of the architectural wonder, the church of the Sagrada Familia. Alas, no mention. Still, this was an enjoyable romp through pages of someone else's travel journal.
Laced with interesting (and sometimes off-color) tales of his travels in Europe, this book is an intimate look at individuals and stories along the way. In the section on England, I discovered an unknown tid-bit. I knew of the chalk horse etchings on the hillsides in England. Yet I had never heard of the Cerne Abbas Giant, an anatomically correct warrior. How hilarious to read that women still leap over the giant's parts in superstitious hopes of encouraging fertility. Then, I came to a story about the bathroom walls in the beer halls of Bavaria. Apparently, they have decorated the long line of public urinals in the men's facility with life-size Fatheads of women pointing and laughing. That, too, gave me a chuckle.
The book is rich with vivid photography. My favorite story of all included a photo of the tree house Rick Steves built as a kid. Since his father imported pianos, he had access to large pine boards. His tree house was the envy of other boys, but it crushed him when neighbors moved into the vacant lot next door and forced him to tear down his castle. The happy end to the story? This disappointment propelled Steves to travel away from home without his parents and explore the world. Sometimes our greatest disappointments are closed doors that lead us to open more significant ones.
This was a delightful travel book to skim. I didn't read every word, but got the thrust of his message: travel enriches life through the people you meet along the way. Too true. And it even applies if you never leave home (thanks, pandemic isolation!). The people are the most important aspect of our life's journey.
=====
Speaking of tree houses - I found another location I hope to explore one day (although the cost is prohibitive - if you commit to the two-night minimum it will set you back at least $1300). The brand new tree house resort, Treehouse Grove - a mountain getaway in the trees of Gatlinburg, Tennessee - looks AMAZING! Isolation, beauty, hiking, interesting and unique housing layouts, flush accommodations - I think even my boys would think it is COOL! Sadly, I doubt we'll be going soon... unless someone wants to drop an unexpected 2 grand in our laps. Thank you in advance!😉
No comments:
Post a Comment