Without Reservations : The Travels of an Independent Woman - Bookray

by Alice Steinbach | Travel |
ISBN: 0375758453 Global Overview for this book
Registered by fizzfred of Sacramento, California USA on 6/22/2005
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25 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by fizzfred from Sacramento, California USA on Wednesday, June 22, 2005
This book was nice. I don't hate Alice Steinback quite as much as I hate Frances Mayes (she is living the life that was meant to be mine!) but I am very jealous of her voyage. I really respect her ability to travel alone and meet the most interesting people. She has recently written a new memoir called Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman. I'll have to pick that one up too.

Maybe someday I'll be able to take a year off and travel around Europe. I don't see it happening any time soon though. I said I was curious about Freya Stark's memoir, The Valley of the Assassins, that she often quotes and dschinny RABCKed it to me. If anyone else wants to read it let me know.

From the back cover:
"In many ways, I was an independent woman," writes Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Alice Steinback. "For years I'd made my own choices, paid my own bills, shoveled my own snow." But somehow she had become dependent in quite another way. "I had fallen into the habit... of defining myself in terms of who I was to other people and what they expected of me." But who was she away from the people and things that defined her? In this exquisite book, Steinbach searches for the answer to this question in some of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world: Paris, where she finds a soul mate; Oxford, where she takes a course on the English village; Milan, where she befriends a young woman about to be married. Beautifully illustrated with postcards from her journeys, this revealing and witty book transports you into a fascinating inner and outer journey, and unforgettable voyage of discovery.

Journal Entry 2 by fizzfred from Sacramento, California USA on Wednesday, June 22, 2005
I bought this book to replace my stuck ray. I don't want to buy a third copy so please keep this one moving! :) Please journal when you receive this book so we know where it is. Try to read it in 4 weeks after receiving it. Then, tell us what you thought of it in a journal entry. PM the next person on the list for their address and send it on in a timely manner. Make sure to let us know when you sent it in a journal entry. Enjoy!!!

Here are the participants and the order it will be shipped...
1. dschinny (Germany)
2. blacksheeps99 (Austria)*
3. Nolatari (TX) - US only
4. antsnax (TX) - US only - 1st ray STALLED since 11/30/04
5. labmomnm (NM)*
6. sgscarcliff (CA)*
7. nwpassage (northern BC, Canada)*
8. jessibud (Toronto)*
9. Rrrcaron (NH)*
10. MaryZee (MD) US/Canada
11. schmetterling (NC)*
12. hotflash (AZ)*
13. Ilios (FL) US/Canada
14. Tiredngrumpy (FL)*
15. meganh (Australia)* (put near end)
16. jackiea (Australia)* - skipped
17. maupi (Netherlands) Europe (put near end) - skipped
18. redhouse (UK)* (put near end) - skipped
19. Auglaise (UK) Europe
20. Brujula (France) Europe


It seems appropriate to let this book travel where it may. :) I'm so excited so many people from all over the world have signed up! The ray has ended now but the book is still traveling. Have fun little book!!!

Journal Entry 3 by fizzfred from Sacramento, California USA on Friday, June 24, 2005
Sent to labmomnm today to complete it's journey. I am so sorry for the delay. I hope you all enjoy the book!!!

Journal Entry 4 by winglabmomnmwing from Albuquerque, New Mexico USA on Sunday, July 3, 2005
Arrived in yesterday's mail - thanks! (Really spiffy BC bookplate, by the way)

11 July '05 - I finished reading this yesterday and really enjoyed it! I've already bought a copy to keep, and plan to get more to give away :-)

I think the thing I liked best about Alice was the way she was able to allow herself to be open to life, even when she had to convince herself that this would be best for her. I was talking to a co-worker last week who was saying she'd missed an annual art show (that she *loves* to attend) last year because her husband was out of town. I asked why not go on her own, and her response was, "I don't like to talk to people". I wanted to shake her! (She's one of the people I plan to give a copy of this book.) I know too many women who are like that - afraid to go anywhere on their own, not just because of some perceived danger of a lone woman, but also (and maybe even more) because of what people will think. I was sooooo not raised that way.

Thanks for sharing this, fizzfred!

17 July '05 - mailed to sgscliff

Journal Entry 5 by wingsgscarcliffwing on Wednesday, July 20, 2005
I just received the book and read a little while on the bus. I think this book arrived at the right time for me.

Journal Entry 6 by wingsgscarcliffwing on Friday, September 9, 2005
I just finished and enjoyed it. I am abit younger then Alice, but am trying to rediscover who I am. I am using a book called "You Can Do It: a Big Girls Merit badge book" to rediscover me. So this book came at a good time.

I am pming NWPassage for mailing address.

Journal Entry 7 by nwpassage from Prince George, British Columbia Canada on Monday, September 26, 2005
Book arrived today! First off: fizzfred, what a BEAUTIFUL label you designed for this book!!! Absolutely gorgeous! I will finish the novel I'm currently reading quickly and start this ASAP. Thanks so much for including me in this ring! :)

Journal Entry 8 by nwpassage from Prince George, British Columbia Canada on Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Confession: a while ago, when I was looking at all the rings I'd signed up for in my burst of ring-newbie excitement, I started feeling a little overwhelmed and decided to drop out of a few. I seriously thought about dropping this one, but some little voice told me no. I'm so glad I listened, because this was one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Steinback's prose is beautiful and insightful. This is a delicious book, one that I want to buy for my PC, plus buy copies for all the women I know, especially the single ones. I am also going to be looking for the other travel book by Steinbach.

This book also reminded me somewhat of one of my favorite books of all time, "Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World" by Rita Golden Gelman.

I should also mention that this travel book got in some extra travel with me. I had to take the Greyhound bus to my hometown of Fort St. John (8 hours each way) this past week, to attend my great-grandmother's funeral. This book kept me company all the way. I started it on the trip up, but was too full of thoughts to get much read. On the trip back Sunday, I finished the section on Paris as the bus pulled into Chetwynd, and the section on London as we pulled into Mackenzie. After taking a day to reconnect with my honey, I finished the book this morning.

I really can't recommend this book enough! It really reignited my traveling itch. Thanks so much for including me fizzfred, and for going to all the extra trouble of buying a second copy when the ring got stuck.

I'm going to take a few notes of "places to see", then I'll package this up and get it in the mail to Jessibud, hopefully later this afternoon.

Journal Entry 9 by jessibud from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Saturday, October 22, 2005
This book arrived yesterday. Today is a rainy and cold day, just perfect for hunkering down under a blanket on the couch, with a book and a cup of hot chocolate!

Although I have a couple of other books I am committed to at the moment, I may sneak this one in anyhow, and not make it wait its turn!

Stay tuned...

Journal Entry 10 by jessibud from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Sunday, November 20, 2005
Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying this book. I am over my head right now with school work, so I've been slowed down a bit but hopefully, I'll have it finished by the end of this week. I will PM for Rrrcaron's addy, so I'll be ready.

Journal Entry 11 by jessibud from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Sunday, December 4, 2005
What a great book! I liked it so much, I went out and bought my own copy, just so that I can mark the passages I loved; I got tired of copying them out into my *Favourite Passages* file, lol! And of course, while at the bookstore yesterday, I saw her follow-up book, "Educating Alice - Adventures of a Curious Woman" and -- you guessed it! -- I had to buy that one, too. A little present to myself!


I will leave you with one of my favourite passages:


"Going back to school is like going back in time. Immediately, for better or for worse, you must give up a little piece of your autonomy in order to become part of the group. And every group, of course, has its hierarchies and rules -- spoken and unspoken. It is like learning to live once again in a family -- which, of course, is the setting where all learning begins."


Ok, one more:

"Perhaps," this companion - whose name was Insecurity - whispered to me, "you're just not as smart as the others."...
At such times I reminded myself that life was not a test and no one was grading me. Except my own superego, of course...
I loved it. All of it. I loved being back in a learning situation surrounded by opinionated, smart and complex people. I loved the political arguments that started at dinner and ended hours later in a pub on the High Street. I loved the rumours and the gossip. I even loved watching the way in which small circles formed and broke away from the group. I saw it as a valuable lesson in the psychology of how people select -- often after an initial mis-selection -- the company they prefer to keep."


Hehe, not unlike Bookcrossing, lol! ;-)

Oh, there are way too many other gems and nuggets of insight sprinkled throughout the book for me to copy here. Just read on and enjoy!!


Thanks for including me in this bookring. Mailed off today to Rrrcaron

Journal Entry 12 by Rrrcaron from Lancaster, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, December 18, 2005
I received this book in the mail a few days ago. I hope to get to it soon.
Ruth

Journal Entry 13 by Rrrcaron from Lancaster, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, May 13, 2006
Sending this off to maryzee via priority mail on Monday. Life got in the way, so I didn't get a cahnce to read this one. Maybe I'll catch it later on when things are quite so hectic. Sorry for the hold up!
Ruth

Journal Entry 14 by wingmaryzeewing from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Received in the mail today. I'll get started on this soon.

5/23/06 - Starting on this today.

Journal Entry 15 by wingmaryzeewing from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Sunday, May 28, 2006
What a lovely book! I'd heard good things about this one, and was eagerly awaiting my turn to read it. I wasn't disappointed; I felt like I was traveling right along with Ms. Steinbach. I've never been to Europe, but now I feel like I've visited (although vicariously it was).

Thanks so much for sharing this one Fizzfred. Mailed to Schmetterling on 6/2/06.

Journal Entry 16 by schmetterling from Durham, North Carolina USA on Saturday, July 1, 2006
Greetings, fellow BookCrossers! I received this book the week that I was moving, so it's been hidden away in an unmarked box for a few weeks. Sorry! I have just started it and am so far enjoying it quite a bit.

Journal Entry 17 by LynnWrites from Tucson, Arizona USA on Saturday, August 5, 2006
Finally, I get a shot at reading this one. My turn came up last summer when I knew I couldn't promise to complete a bookring book in a timely manner, so I passed. I was in the midst of a family medical crises, which was consuming all my time and enery. I am so pleased to be able to jump back in now and take my turn. Thanks for moving me down the list and keeping me in the ring. Will finish my current book in a day or so and will then immediately begin reading this one !

Journal Entry 18 by LynnWrites from Tucson, Arizona USA on Sunday, August 20, 2006
An absolute, unequivocal 10 .
What a remarkable memoir – what a remarkable woman !! One of my favorite observations is that “being alone” is different from “being on my own”.
Oh how I wish I had the adventurous spirit and spontaneity of Alice Steinbach. I wish I could morph into an independent woman, perfectly at ease travelling around Europe and Great Britain on my own. I so admire this woman: everything from her talent for falling easily into friendships and conversations with the strangers she met on her travels, to her poetic and thoughtful observations of the world around her.

This is wonderful: …beauty and history that hangs like a bridal veil over the city of Paris ; and this poignant statement, ...people and places and cats that were lost to me. I had been thinking a lot about that lately—the inevitability of separation, in one form or another, from all those we love and, in a different way, from ourselves as we were in the past. I love Steinbach's ability to rediscover and to celebrate who she is now rather than mourning who she was at 25.

This quote from Frey’s writing (my ignorance of this writer is sending me to the Web for a search), seemed to be the grand finale to all of Steinbach’s remarks about learning not to let life beat her down, to continue to move forward: “The unexpectedness of life, waiting around every corner, catches even wise women unawares…. “to avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live life”. I wish I had read this about 30 years ago.

I loved this book. I could write pages ...but instead I will PM the next reader and get this wonderful memoir on its way again.

Journal Entry 19 by LynnWrites from Tucson, Arizona USA on Monday, August 21, 2006
This marvellous book will be on its way again tomorrow. Received Ilios's address today. Enjoy !

Picture taken in 2002, in England, the village of Corfe -- the remains of Corfe Castle in the background. Corfe is near Bournemouth, in SE England
This is as far as my non-aventureous spirit has travelled: to England to visit my family and one of my closest friends.

Journal Entry 20 by Ilios from Tampa, Florida USA on Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Just got this in the mail! This is great timing, as I am finishing my last ring. I will update this entry as soon as I a done. Thanks for sharing!

PS: I loved the label, fizzfred! It's wonderful!

9/15/06

I finished this book a few days ago and had a wonderful time traveling through Europe with Ms. Steinbach. She did a wonderful job at combining descriptions and historical information from the places she visited and her own personal experiences witht the people she met along the way. Her approach was very open and it was a pleasure to catch a ride with her.

Having been raised in Paris and traveled trhough Europe myself in my late teens, this book really made me long for the places, foods, adventures that are bound to happen when you have time in your hands and a willingness to really know new places.

I will definitely keep an eye out for other books from this author. This read was well worth it.

PS: I sent a second PM to Tiredngrumpy today. I hope to get an answer soon so that this book can travel again.


Journal Entry 21 by Ilios at post office in BOOKRAY, Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Released 17 yrs ago (9/19/2006 UTC) at post office in BOOKRAY, Bookray -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Tiredngrumpy declined to receive the ray, so I am sending it back to fizzfred so that this book can start its overseas journey.

Journal Entry 22 by fizzfred from Sacramento, California USA on Tuesday, October 10, 2006
I was out of town and found this waiting for me when I returned home. I will PM meganh to get this rolling again soon. Thanks to labmomnm, sgscarcliff, nwpassage, jessibud, Rrrcaron, MaryZee, schmetterling, hotflash and Ilios for helping this ray run so smoothly!

Journal Entry 23 by fizzfred from Sacramento, California USA on Thursday, November 30, 2006
I FINALLY got it in the mail to meganh. I am so sorry for the delay. I goofed and thought I had mailed it ages ago. :( I hope the rest of the readers enjoy it. Thanks for your patience.

Journal Entry 24 by wingmeganhwing from Preston, Victoria Australia on Monday, January 29, 2007
This well travelled book has finally arrived downunder - just a week before I moved! Thank you fizzfred for persisting with this ray, I look forward to reading this book which has captivated all it's readers. Thank you also for the RABCK "Gilead" - I have crossed two books off my wish list in one go. I love your work - the beautiful bookmarks travelling with the ray and the book label - you are very creative!

Journal Entry 25 by wingmeganhwing from Preston, Victoria Australia on Wednesday, February 7, 2007
I joined this bookray way back when I was very much an independent woman myself and had just returned from 5 weeks in France and Sweden. Since then, I have met a new partner and in a few months we are heading off to Italy to live and travel for about a year.
After reading this book, I now look forward to spending time in Asolo as well as Siena and Ravello, some of the Italian towns which Alice loved so much.
I enjoyed the way she wrote about the people she met wherever she went. I liked the way that people, places and events reminded her of her family and friends particularly her long dead father and grandmother. I loved how she knew and visited places where famous writers had frequented. I enjoyed her visit to Pere La Chaise Cimitiere in Paris where I had once spent many pleasant hours (photo attached of Edith Piaf's grave).
Although her adventures were bland compared to those of Freya Stark whose adventures she enjoyed reading, she enjoyed wonderful experiences and wrote about them beautifully.
Off to jackiea next.
Edit
9/2/07 jackiea no longer has PMs enabled (she has become inactive).
10/2/07 maupi is overwhelmed and wishes to pass.
I will PM redhouse next -
12/2/07 she has also declined as her TBR books have taken over her bookcase. PM'd Auglaise; here's hoping we have a new reader.

Journal Entry 26 by Auglaise from -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, March 5, 2007
I'm really excited about reading this one; It arrived today. And thank you for the bookmark!

Journal Entry 27 by Auglaise from -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, April 9, 2007
I loved this book. As I was reading it, I found myself back traveling around Europe for two months with a friend of mine when I was 19 and still lived in the States. I'm definately going to be buying this one! Thanks so much for having the ring, and I'll pass it on as soon as I have an address.

Journal Entry 28 by Auglaise from -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, April 20, 2007
Being sent off today!

Journal Entry 29 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Wednesday, May 2, 2007
This book arrived safely in Belfort sometime last week, and I found it in the mail when I came back from vacation.

Thank you Auglaise by sending it on!

Journal Entry 30 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Friday, May 25, 2007
A very relaxing read, well written, of a slowpaced and long trip to several european cities.
I wish I could take several months to make such a trip!
Thanks for this ring!
Pming Hellie for his/her adress.

Journal Entry 31 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Saturday, September 8, 2007
Mailed to Kanapoutz this morning.
Sorry it's taken me so long.

Journal Entry 32 by KanaPoutz from Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur France on Monday, September 10, 2007
Got the book, thanks!
Will read soon...

Journal Entry 33 by KanaPoutz from Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur France on Monday, October 29, 2007
I didn't think much of the writing, but I liked the book. It's quite inspiring, because of course like many of you, I would love to travel like that for a number of months! Sometimes I could not really relate to the author because of our age difference.
There are some really nice places in that book that I would love to visit!
Thanks for the ray, I'm sending it to Icila now.

Journal Entry 34 by wingIcilawing from Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Monday, November 5, 2007
Got this morning. Thanks for the perfumed calendar ! :)

Journal Entry 35 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Sunday, October 13, 2013
I don't know how I didn't read this sooner.
I think I'm well traveled and I totally approve of Alice Steinbach views on the thing. Do a planning but be open to follow your mood about a street name, a view... You need a map and a solid sense of direction, forget the GPS device. ;)
I think you have to be of a certain age to understand her meanings.
The think is to be optimistic and take chances without fearing the future. Easier said than done.
I didn't know anything about Freya Stark but I intend to read about her voyages.
And surely I want to read Educating Alice.

Journal Entry 36 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
I chose this one for the 1st leg of the 2015 roundabout.

1. Fifna
2. Lamilla
3. Dark-draco
4. elstaplador1.
5. earthcaroleanne
Back to Icila

Journal Entry 37 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Released 8 yrs ago (1/13/2016 UTC) at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to The Netherlands. Enjoy !

Journal Entry 38 by wingFifnawing at Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Arrived safely today, thank you Icila! This looks like something I will enjoy.

Journal Entry 39 by Lamilla at Мінск / Minsk, Minsk Belarus on Saturday, March 5, 2016
With me now. For such a travelled book it is in extremely good shape!

ETA: I was eager to start reading to compare travel experience. In the end, I left the book unfinished. The content would fit the blog of medium interest, I was surprised to find it published as the proper book

Journal Entry 40 by Lamilla at Мінск / Minsk, Minsk Belarus on Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (3/29/2016 UTC) at Мінск / Minsk, Minsk Belarus

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent further

Journal Entry 41 by wingdark-dracowing at Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Thursday, April 7, 2016
Received yesterday - thank you :)

Journal Entry 42 by wingdark-dracowing at Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 17, 2016
I'm sort of interested in this kind of book - I mean, I don't seek them out, but when one falls in my path, I usually give it a go. My favourite author of the 'genre' is Bill Bryson, whose witty outlook on his travels is what makes my want to read about what are, essentially, his holidays!

Alice Steinbach is a good writer - but she isn't witty. There were a few moments that made me smile (namely trying to get out of an airport!), but on the whole she comes across as a very serious, and sometimes quite sombre, person. However, it is the writing that kept me reading - her style is easy to read and enjoyable - her turn of phrase can be very clever and I liked some of the descriptive passages a lot. On the negative side, there is a lot of jumping around, especially towards the end of the book, where it seemed her homesickness made her turn to the more enjoyable moments in her travels rather than face up to her sadness. She seemed to easily meet nice people ... I'm sure it wouldn't be that easy, but maybe the more horrible ones she didn't want to immortalise in her book?

Anyway, a good enough read - entertaining and great to pick up in small amounts. But not as live changing for the reader as it obviously was for the author!

Released 7 yrs ago (5/21/2016 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted off to the next participant of the Favourite Book of 2015 Roundabout.

Journal Entry 44 by elstaplador at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Friday, May 27, 2016
Safely received in the Favourites book roundabout.

Journal Entry 45 by elstaplador at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Wow - what a well-travelled book! By this point it must have travelled many thousands more miles than the author.

I found this a pleasant and readable account of what would have been called a 'Grand Tour' two hundred years ago, though I felt that it took itself more seriously than was really warranted. It's interesting reading about locations that are familiar to me from a stranger's perspective, though my feelings were mixed on that score. The Oxford section in particular set off my 'resident in a tourist spot' cringe reaction - I don't know Oxford well, but I live in Cambridge. Where I was less familiar with the scenery, however, I enjoyed coming along for the ride.

Journal Entry 46 by elstaplador at By Mail, Book Ring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (6/7/2016 UTC) at By Mail, Book Ring -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending on to the next participant in the Favourites roundabout.

Journal Entry 47 by wingearthcaroleannewing at Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, June 10, 2016

Arrived today - with another bookray, of course!

Journal Entry 48 by wingearthcaroleannewing at Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, July 15, 2016
I was slightly worried about this book because it reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and i hated that. Fortunately Alice Steinbach is much more likeable. What also helped was I have recently had holidays in Paris and Venice and of course the Convention in Oxford plus a long ago memory of Monet's Garden. Sometimes her travels seemed too good to be true and in a horrible way I was pleased she had problems in Rome. However I'm completely jealous of her visits to buildings designed by Palladio. I love Scottish architecture and much of Edinburgh New Town is built on Palladio's principles. So glad you sent this out for the roundabout.

Journal Entry 49 by wingearthcaroleannewing at La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, Pays de la Loire France on Thursday, August 4, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (8/5/2016 UTC) at La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, Pays de la Loire France

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending on in the favourites roundabout.

Journal Entry 50 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The book is now with me again. Thank you.

Journal Entry 51 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Thursday, December 21, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (12/21/2017 UTC) at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

To mcsar in Canada as my participation in INTL RABCK Sweeps August-September (From Bookworm-lady). Sorry for the delay.

Journal Entry 52 by wingmcsarwing at Richmond, British Columbia Canada on Tuesday, January 16, 2018
The delay is well worth it. This seems like a well loved and well travelled book. I do enjoy a good travelogue. I look forward to this one.

-------------------------
Updated April 8, 2019

Finished this one a couple of weeks ago and forgot to journal. This is an okay read for me. Some parts I enjoyed more than others. I expected more.

Journal Entry 53 by wingmcsarwing at Wishlist Tag Game, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Released 4 yrs ago (4/10/2019 UTC) at Wishlist Tag Game, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Tagged sakirmo with this. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 54 by wingsakirmowing at Turku, Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland Finland on Sunday, May 5, 2019
The book has arrived, thank you! (and WOW - lots of journal entries already)

** reserved for kirjakko

Journal Entry 55 by wingsakirmowing at Turku, Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland Finland on Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Released 4 yrs ago (2/4/2020 UTC) at Turku, Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland Finland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I don't remember how this book got on my wishlist, but I'm guessing it was because of its promising title. Well, there are already more than enough of these middle-aged (?) women making a big deal out of going to the most clichéd places in Europe and trying to "define themselves". Not my kind of a read at all, so I'm giving up on page 30.

Moving on to kirjakko next, one way or another...


Read and Release at BookCrossing.com...

Journal Entry 56 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 22, 2020
I'm always delighted to come across an oldie still on the road, but seldom has there been so many readers... I have no desire to travel further than Europe (have been to Las Vegas of all places 19 years ago), so I think the book will suit me fine. Nice to seem some familiar faces among the previous readers, hi there!

Journal Entry 57 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, January 31, 2021

Released 3 yrs ago (1/31/2021 UTC) at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I haven't read the book yet, but got an SOS from the daughter of my ex-workmate from the Academic Bookstore (we are talking 34 years ago...). Elisabeth, who used to be the life and soul of the English pocket book department, is 80+ years old and has been practicing social distancing for almost a year now. She has read her own books time and again, so the cavalry was called to rescue. I'm putting together a first-aid bag (or two) of this and that, so there should be something to fit any mood.
Elisabeth does not have a computer, but writes long letters, so I will journal her thoughts of the book later. And when Alice has done her duty in Töölö, she will return to me.

Pic: Elisabeth when she turned 80. An old bookshop-keeper grabbed a couple of her favourite books along when she realized she was going to be photographed...

Journal Entry 58 by wingAnonymousFinderwing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Friday, February 19, 2021
Exciting read, but I was worried about the writer the whole time. She didn't work for a year, but was eating in restaurants all the time, how is that possible? She always found interesting people, which made me think of Kirjakko, who travels a lot (in normal times) and just happens to meet extraordinary and fun people. She is our most interesting friend and I love her letters.

Journal Entry 59 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 20, 2021
Sorry Sakirmo, I know I've tagged you with a TBR book, but if somebody says I remind her of a person in a book, I'm far too curious to put that book at the end of the queue.
I've travelled solo and with somebody else and five out of seven travelling companions I could have murdered at some point of the trip. Luckily my workmate is the perfect travelling companion and we have done a lot of trips together, because it is nice to have somebody with whom you can ooh and aah at things and who can keep an eye of your bag when nature calls. But going solo is fun, too, although I don't travel to find myself.
Those who don't know me, I usually comment a book as I read, otherwise I would forget what I wanted to say. Already from the introduction I got the feeling I would like the book. I recognized Florian as being one of the posh cafes in Venice and I was quite happy to take my tea on the cheapside, but if somebody visiting London first mentiones the Museum of Garden History, which is an old church and wee graveyard turned into a museum and cafeteria for the green-thumbed, I know I want to follow this journey.
It is silly to find joy of books mentioning places where you have been and even more so, if the writer has visited the same unlikely places where you have perhaps accidently ended up. Susan Allen Toth's three travel books of Britain have been my favourites as she has also been to places where I wanted to go but never managed to get transportation (like the seal hospital in Gweek). Perhaps the joy comes from the surge of memories flashing to your mind when a familiar place is mentioned.
Of all the exotic places in the world where Alice does not want to travel she mentiones two - Las Vegas and Katmandu. What are the odds that you have been to one of them and your Agatha Christie books have travelled to Katmandu, thanks to lils74? Good vibes, keep reading...

Journal Entry 60 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, February 21, 2021
Greetings from Paris. My relationship with the city didn't begin all that well. My eldest brother Jussi and his family were living on the outskirts of Paris in 1986 and I decided to go and see them on my way to my beloved Britain. I had bought an Interrail-ticket which was valid for a month in all European trains (except in some Eastern Block countries). It was my second Interrail and I travelled as far as Paris with my third brother, Jaakko's girlfriend, Alice. She was over 26, too old to get an Interrail-ticket, but she was meeting Jaakko whose Interrail-trip was nearing its end in Paris, they would spend a few days there free-lodging with Jussi's family and return by train. We arrived at Gare de Nord, the main railway station of Paris and went to the tourist information to find out about metro (underground) tickets and other essential info. Nobody spoke English there and the attitude was pretty arrogant - at a tourist information! I had been spoiled doing most my travelling in the UK, where natives are friendly, helpful and very polite. My hackles were up and I though: "Who do these people think they are?!?"
Alice could speak French and found out that buses and the metro were on strike! We would have to walk or take a taxi. This was pre-cellphones, but Jaakko and his travelling companion Helena had come to meet us to the train, having gotten a lift from Jussi on his way to work. The plan was to hang around in the city until Jussi would get off from work and could take us home to the suburbs. It was hot (26-30 C) and I had to carry my rucksack the whole day (there would have been lockers at the station, but we didn't want to walk back there), nobody spoke English and I loathed Paris. We had been travelling non-stop from Finland for three days, sleeping in trains and I wanted a shower more than anything. Bloody strike! Notre Dame -could not care less. Then we went looking for a bookshop Alice wanted to see and could not find it at first. Every unnecessary step you take in the heat, carrying a rucksack, makes you a bit more pissed off. So when we finally found Shakespeare & Co, the famous English bookshop - the only place English was spoken - I was only a few degrees less pissed-off. Saw the famous Mr Whitman, the American who kept the shop, but I hadn't heard of the shop or of him before, so did not know to ooh or aah.
The strike continued, so the following day Jussi dropped us to Versailles for the day and although that was a much better day, having showered, slept in a bed, left the luggage at home and eaten proper food, I decided this was enough Paris for me forever and I continued solo to the UK where life was good and travelling easy. No strikes! Lovely people!
It was in 2002 that I broke my vow never to return to Paris. A client of us had won a long weekend -trip for two in an European capital, free of choice, by filling in a coupon in KitKat chocolate -competition. At the same time her boyfriend of over ten years had walked out on her and she didn't have a travelling companion. I must have been doing something right customer service -wise, as she asked if I would like to travel with her! Sure, what city are you thinking of? She had been thinking of Prague, but when she realized the European Winner Dog Show was held in Paris that year there was no other option. My face fell a bit, but the big dog show was very tempting.
Between 1986 and 2002 Parisians had had to give in and learn some English. These avid strikers were actually working when we were there, so moving about would have been relatively easy. Would have, if Eija, my sponsor, would not have gone into her Scrooge-mode having been left to pay the mortgage by herself. We walked almost the whole time, but it was October and we lived in the city centre, much better than summer 1986.
The dog show was great fun. The ring personel had been borrowed from the Museum of Cynology, they were octogenarians, moved slowly as tortoises and had no idea of the show rules. They must have been important figures in the French Kennel Club in their youth, dress and black tie -guys. As I didn't have a dog to show, I sat near the judge's table and talked with the Finnish judge in Finnish while he waited for the octogenarians to get things ready. It was he who said that they seem to have no understanding of the show rules and they only speak French, he really has to keep an eye on them. I sat there for a while and when I was leaving, noticed a fellow Finn, competing with her dogs. She asked if I could hang around to see if she needed help. She already had the best male, if her bitch wins, too, she will need another handler for the Best of Breed. I said I know nothing about showing Västgöta spitz, a Swedish breed which looks like a corgi. "It doesn't matter, she shows herself, you just have to hold the lead." I agreed, as I thought she would not be lucky enough to have two winners. She did... If you have ever showed a dog in any show, you know that you feel like you need to pee right at the moment when it is your turn to go into the ring. I thought my bladder would burst when I went into the ring, not having practiced at all, not having indoor shoes... But Fanny the bitch was like a dream and she became Best of Breed! There I was, shaking hands with the judge and getting a big trophy in the European Winner Show, not quite like my previous visit to Paris!
Like the writer, we also visited the cemetery of Pėre-Lachaise as a friend of mine had said it is worth seeing, nothing like boring Finnish graveyards. It was really grand and they have these small house-like graves there.
Crêperies became our favourite places to eat and we usually had three each, one salty and two sweet for desert. The French raised their eyebrows a bit, but who cares? Besides, if you only get a croissant for breakfast and walk all day, you are bound to be hungry.
This time I also realized that the city is actually quite beautiful and we covered a lot of miles walking. One reason was lingerie, which was Eija's weakness. I do not know how many shops we visited, because she also wanted to compare prices, but it was a lot. And I could not have cared less of laced bras or sexy stockings, but if hanging around was the price to pay for a long weekend in Paris, so be it.
I saw enough of Paris to know I wanted to return there on my own, to walk where I fancied and I returned there during early summer, when it wasn't that hot yet.

Journal Entry 61 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Monday, February 22, 2021
Can't remember the year, but it was early June when I went to Paris on my own. I wanted to have an excuse not to go to somebody's 65th birthday party and this was it. I stayed at Hotel de Suez on Bulevard Saint-Michel, a tiny room in the attic. I later read that George Whitman had stayed there, too, because it had been cheap and close to Sorbonne. He had began his book collection there and had stuck the room full of books. At some point he lost his key and didn't bother to lock the room anymore. One day on his return he found people sitting in his room, reading, and was only sorry for the fact that he had merely some biscuits to offer them (facts taken from Jeremy Mercer´s "Books, Bedbugs and Baguettes"). I chose it because of somebody's recommendation, the relatively cheap price considerring the neigbourhood and the location (Sorbonne - Latin Quarters). And I remembered Harpo singing ´When I walked down Boulevard Saint-Michel`.
Loved the neighbourhood, found a sh-bookshop which specialized in Canadian books. And of course re-visited Shakespeare and Co., but Whitman wasn't there anymore.
Comparing my stay and the writer's notes I clearly see a difference; I would never have taken a taxi from the airport (Metro, 60 m from the hotel) nor bought a bagful from the fancy cosmetics shop (70$ for a taxi in 1993!).
What I remember distinctly from this trip was the smell of Paris. I woke up relatively early and went out walking and having crossed the first bridge it hit me - the smell of urine and dirt! I was looking up at the beautiful buildings, but when met by this odour I lowered my gaze and saw tiny tents right beside these beautiful historical buildings - homeless people were camping there. A bit later streets were washed, every day, and for a good reason. Dog poo is a minor issue comparing to this. In Finland you can't put your tent up anywhere you like, so called drifters could be taken to jail for the night. Or taken to a hostel for the homeless, if they were sober.

Journal Entry 62 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Monday, February 22, 2021
I've been to Giverny three times. There were some leaflets in the hotel lobby about bus trips there and as Monet was Mom's favourite artist I thought I'd like to see the famous gardens. They were lovely and there was enough room to spread around, so other people didn't bother me (I hate crowds). I don't know if they had the shop there the first and second time, at least I didn't notice it, and I didn't remember much of the house after my first visit. Reading the book I had no recollection of any Japanese prints which were mentioned.
My two other visits were part of river cruises and the second time was most memorable, because it was on the first whole day, having left Paris towards Rouen and we didn't know other passengers at all. We had seen an elderly Brit, who looked just like Peter Falk as Columbo, was a cheerful fellow and had introduced himself as Charley. He went to Giverny in a different tour bus and we saw him there once, talking happily to some fellow Brits and walking to the direction of the village (there was a small walk from the parking area), but we had been given two hours, perhaps he had seen the gardens before....
We returned and the ship left late, because of a missing person. No Charley. Finally a bus company called from Bretagne. They had an extra passenger, Charley. He had found other Brits, didn't realize they weren't from our tour and had merrily climbed into their bus. We left for the next harbour, Charley taxied there from Bretagne, came late to dinner and got a round of applause! It turned out that Charley was a bit demented, so from then on everybody kept an eye on Columbo during excursions...

Journal Entry 63 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Do you want to hear more stories of a middle-aged lady visiting Paris? I tell them anyway...
You might mistakenly think a vet nurse's life is very glamorous when I tell you that our vet and I (we are a very small practice) got an invitation to our client's 50th birthday party - in Moulin Rouge, Paris, in 2011. We had to pay for the plane tickets, but luckily just two weeks before our vet's brother had moved to Paris, so we got free lodging. Our client paid for the evening, which began by a sight-seeing tour and Champagne in "Herbie"-type Wolksvagens. They had invited 19 guests, they were two hosts, three people in a car, so we were in a row of seven 40-year-old Herbies with roof windows, so you could also see upwards. People on the street were taking photos of us (i.e. the cars), so I know how Lady Diana must have felt... The tour ended at Moulin Rouge where we watched the show. Not wanting to be ungrateful, but once is enough. I'm not a man, so I don't know what makes them tick, but it was more of an athletes' show, the men having bigger brests than the ladies. My godmother told later that when she was in Paris sometime in the 1970'ies and had walked around the city the whole day, she fell asleep during the show... Our birthday boy ended up on the stage as well, plotted by his wife.
We do have some very nice clients, I have to say.

Journal Entry 64 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Bact to the book: I've also sent myself a card or two from my trips, but not very often. I've sent cards to my fellow travellers as I know how nice it is to return home and find loads of post on your doormat - that was when post still travelled fast. I love writing cards, but I'm no good writing a travel journal, so there was a time I wrote my journal entries on postcards from that place and carried them with me. That worked better than keeping a diary.
I am a cardaholic and could open a card shop any day. During corona I've sent touristy cards from way back, saying: "Greetings from Paris, where I was last in 2014", because people still love to receive real mail and the fact that we can't travel now should not stop us from sending cards.
Once we were on a river cruise and there were two men making fun of me sending cards from every port. I asked them to write a few cards as me and those were the ones that everybody remembers as they told about hot romances and vericose veins... So much so that before my next trip, where the merry men weren't taking part, I sent them some cards from my collection, asked them to write them and send them back to me, so I kept sending those cards to my friends from along the journey.
Alice's mother is correct, saying Dublin Zoo is very good. It was, and so is the one in the middle of Amsterdam, but I cried in Berlin Zoo and the one in Vilnius was also bad.
Two more Paris stories and I'm good to move over the channel to Britain.
Pekka, my workmate's brother, who had moved to Paris in 2011, noticed that people who he hadn't met in years, suddenly wanted to come for a visit. I could have told him that, because when Jussi's family lived there for about two years, they had a guest book from where they could count for how many days they didn't have guests - 14. Not in a row, total. My sister-in-law said that she liked to have people over from Finland, because they brought Finnish books and magazines, Finnish goodies and news from people - this was before computers or cellphones, when calling from a country to another was terribly expensive, it had to be some sort of emergency if you called someone. And yes, sometimes they had people like friends' relatives, who they hardly knew.
A man from Pekka's year in law school, who hadn't been in touch for years and was a lawyer in a big company (= could well have afforded a hotel), called and asked when Pekka was having his holiday and would be in Finland, because that would be a good time for him to spend a week in Paris and keep an eye on Pekka's flat!!! The nerve some people have! Pekka phoned his sister and asked if we would like to spend a week in his flat when he was in Finland, so he could say the place is already taken. We agreed and had a great time on Rue Lauriston.
I know I've said I would never take a taxi from the airport, but instead I paid 96€ for afternoon tea for two... Helena Petäistö is a Finnish journalist / broadcaster who has lived in Paris for decades and loves tea. She has written a book about great tea-experiences in different places of Europe and she wrote that if you really want to spoil yourself and be pampered, you take your afternoon tea at Hotel de Crillon, Place de la Concorde. I wanted to thank my workmate for taking me along to house-sit for her brother, so I treated her to this fancy afternoon tea and it was lovely. I complimented the waitress for her good English and she thanked me and told she was British... We spent hours drinking different tea-brands from a long tea-menu (there was no limit how many teas you could try) and ate all sandwiches and pastries they brought us. A once in a lifetime treat.
Tea, by the way, is something the French have "found" a little late, but are now taking very seriously. There are some excellent tea shops in France and the flavours are exquisite! If you get a chance to visit the main shop of Mariage Frères in Paris, please do. All the sales people are elderly men in black suits and ties and they wear white gloves, talk in low, serious voice like in a church and those who handle tea do not touch money...
I had found Meet-a-Greeter service from the net; ordinary people who are willing and able to take foreign visitors for a walk around their neighbourhood for free. A tour usually lasts two hours and there are max six people in a group. We wished to a have a tour on the left bank, preferably in the Latin Quarters. Being Finns, we tried the route to our meeting point the day before, so we would know how long it takes and would not be late. We were actually early and our guide was very surprised as she came there after us. She then said that a Canadian family of four should be joining us and when they arrived on the dot she said this was the first time the whole group came (as it is free, people often just don't show up and don't bother to notify her) and that everybody was on time - and she had been doing this for two years!!
She could have been a professional guide, she knew history well, she knew the buildings and famous people who had lived there. She had a good sense of humour and her English was very good (she said she did this to keep it that way). The Canadian family had come to Scotland to hunt for the father's ancestors and meet some living relatives, but had decided to see Paris, too, before flying home. The mother, perhaps in her forties, could only say Wooooow to everything she saw, so even now, whenever something extraordinary happens, we say Wooooow in the same note. It was so funny. She explained that everything in Canada is so young comparing to this and coming from Finland I know exactly what she means. Two hours went quickly and we asked if our guide would like to join us for tea (normal tea...) and we all went and chatted for two more hours. I asked her how old people or people with disabilities cope in Paris, where there are steps, steps and more steps everywhere (my feet were killing me, I only had one pair of Birkenstock sandals with me and they mutilated my poor feet for life during that week!). She said they often have to move away or to the outskirts of Paris, where there are more modern buildings. Paris was built when people didn't live for very long. Her father is very unhappy, because soon he can't make it up the stairs to his flat where he has lived for decades and there isn't even an escalator, let alone a lift at his nearest metro station. So dear readers, do not save Paris for when you have retired...
The last trip so far has been a river cruise from Champagne to Paris and we were there for their independence day. Our barge was parked near the Eiffel Tower, so when every tourist and Parisian were packed on the streets like sardins in a tin, trying to see the fireworks, we were sitting on deck chairs, listening to chansons and sipping bubbly...

Pekka, by the way, is currently residing in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nobody has asked for the use of his flat there.

Journal Entry 65 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Thursday, February 25, 2021
Alice has moved to London Town, but fear not, I won't even try to tell everything about my visits there. It is actually too big for me and there are far too many people there, but if you more or less try to stay in one or two of its villages, it becomes tolerable.
I've never been to the War Museum. Mom nearly died on the first day of war, when she was getting into a bus at the bus station when Russian bombers came. One bomb was dropped nearby and all windows of buildings surrounding that square broke and Mom got breaking glass on her. The bus she had been climbing to burned. She only got a small wound, but her soul was scarred for life. She was 14 years old. The declaration of war from the Russians came only after the bombing.
So in our family, the stories were always about before or after the war, like the people Alice met at the museum said. And the mere sound of sirens on telly made Mom pale. She later worked in war hospitals as a Little-Lotta, too young to work as a proper Lotta-nurse. And during summers she, a city girl, went to work on farms as all young men were at war and harvest had to be made.
Dad was two years younger, but as he had failed his math exams, his father said he won't pay money to educate a thick child, so he took him off school and put him to work in an ammunition factory. Having seen some of his workmates lose fingers or even their eye-sight due to hazards with ammunition, Dad made up his mind to work really hard to get back to school. He did it in all secrecy, first only his Nanny knew and then Granny, but only when he was good and ready to pass the exams the Nanny addressed my grandparents and asked if they would let Dad take the exam and return to school. Grandpa was first annoyed that something had been cooking behind his back, but the gave his permission. Dad worked so hard he jumped over a class and as he had been put to school a year too early in the first place he was only 16 when he graduated. I never met Grandpa, but he was not a happy camper. Apart from working in that ammunition factory Dad had nothing with the war to do, being so young.
I've been to the Freud Museum twice, first with Mom and then with my workmate. Mom was interested in psychology, but didn't like shrinks. She had meters and meters of psychology books at home and most of them she mocked, saying it is amazing what rubbish so called scientists can write. Her dislike probably began when she was 21 years old and wanted to move from her childhood home and her mother took her to see a shrink - there must be something wrong with the child (of 21 yrs)! Granny and the shrink discussed the case and after a while Mom asked if she, too, could say something. The shrink looked at her like something the cat had brought in and said: "And what do you think you have to say in this matter, you are merely an unripe human being?" I must say that considering their backround, both my parents were surprisingly normal...
I've been to Freud's old practice in Vienna, from where he had to flee the Nazis. Some of the family escaped to Canada, if I remember correctly, but those sisters who remained in Austria were taken to concentration camps where they died. They were already over 80 years old, surely a very serious threat to the Third Reich.
Freud was already old and ill when he came to Britain and didn't live there for very long. As Alice said, he had Chow chows. Somehow an odd choice for a shrink, because Chows (and many of the oriental breeds) do not show their moods or mood swings easily. One minute they appear ok and the next all hell breaks lose.
In the museum you could listen to patient cases or Anna Freud talking about her father and like Alice said, watch a film from Freud's birthday. Museums are something Brits really know how to make, so you can easily spend several hours there.

Journal Entry 66 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Friday, February 26, 2021
I think I will put The Journey´s Echo by Freya Stark to my wishlist. She was a woman who explored Arabia and Middle East on her own about a hundred years ago, when women simply didn´t do such things. The book was a gift from Angela, who was one of the three ladies who took care of Alice when she was ill in London. I have to say that she did bump into interesting and nice people.
Alice loves John Cleese. Jeremy Irons is more to my taste, but I do have a ticket to see Cleese in Helsinki the last time before he dies. That was the name of his tour from last year, postponed to this autumn. We´ll have to see which dies first, Corona or Cleese. (Edit: September 2022: Went to finally see Cleese perform on a Monday and got Covid-19 on Wednesday, having gotten the bug from a fellow bookcrosser five days earlier, it turned out. Survived to write these lines 🙂).
Sissinghurst Gardens should also go to my list of to see -places. I have to say though that I´m in no rush to travel anywhere.

Journal Entry 67 by jessibud at Toronto, Ontario Canada on Friday, February 26, 2021
Kirjakko, I have to jump in here and say that I have been enjoying your adventures almost as much as I enjoyed Alice's! Such wonderful journal entries! Although I read this one so many years ago (my JEs are from 2005!!), the pleasure this book is bringing to all the readers has almost made me want to revisit and reread it (though, in fact, I seldom reread). Thanks!

Journal Entry 68 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Friday, February 26, 2021
Sometimes world is a really small place and for a minute I thought jessibud came here to say she was the Canadian mother who Wooooowed at everything in Paris... Luckily you can easily revisit these places, you told us you bought a second copy of the book!
Good to hear that I'm not too boring, getting carried away with what this book brings to mind.
When Alice arrived to Oxford and cursed the map, I could not help smiling, as all those elderly American cruise ship passangers spring to mind. They wander around Helsinki, totally lost with the map from hell. If I offer to help, I often know what the problem is - they can't find themselves from the map of...Stockholm!
I loved Oxford. I've been there on Interrail, I've been there with Sebastian Flyte and Charles Ryder and Inspector Morse, of course. And I was there at the 2015 BC-convention. Want to see what Alice saw from her window, having digs on Radcliffe Square?

Pic: Oops, the Radcliffe Camera, sideways.

Journal Entry 69 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
All Souls College.

Journal Entry 70 by wingIcilawing at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Just to say I appreciated your entries kirjakko. The last one reminded me of a member of our coach party who wasn't on time on the departure rendez-vous the day when she wandered the streets of Cracovia with the map of Varsovia. Some things don't change...
People who get aboard the wrong coach is a great one too but the good drivers and guides don't leave with the wrong people. I could continue, I have a lot of anecdotes too. 😊

Journal Entry 71 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Here is MissMarkey, guiding her flock of bookcrossers to the Bodleian Library.

Icila, I've been left behind on a bus tour in Jerez, Spain. We had been told not to carry our suitcases, but leave them behind our door in the morning. We were told to be by the bus at ten am. It was 9.55. and we were walking to our bus, when I saw it driving out from the hotel gates. "It can't be, we are on time", said my travelling companion. Well, of course it was. We knew we were heading to a distellery that morning, but our travel description didn't mention which one. From there we would be leaving town. We didn't have the guide's phone number, it wasn't mentioned on the program, either. Then we happened to see our local guide from the previous day, coming to meet another group. We had heard that she had asked our Finnish guide about our program, so we went to ask her if she knew which distillery we would visit - and she did! She got us a taxi, told the driver where to take us and we were on our way. It wasn't far and our group was still waiting outside, because they were early... Our driver went a bit pale when he saw us, smoke coming out of our ears and nostrils, foam from the mouth... We really gave our guide an earful, how can she leave early and not count the people - and for what, to hang outside the distillery? Her smart answer was that she had counted all the suitcases!! She did pay the taxi, unfortunately the bill was small.
A few years later I got a letter from her, asking if we remembered her and telling she was a free-lance guide nowadays and organizing a trip to Peru, if we were interested. I wrote back that I will never forget her and as I don't want to be left behind in Peru, I won't travel with her. I also wrote to the travel agency and told them she had stolen their client info and was marketing her services to us.

Journal Entry 72 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Alice mentions her analyst the way most people would mention a hairdresser. Does everybody in the US have an analyst? Does life have to be analysed the whole time?

Like Alice, I loved Brideshead Revisited TV-series. I've already mentioned Jeremy Irons. I have Brideshead on CD, read by Jeremy. His voice is like honey to the ears and balsam to the soul.
Dad had read something to the radio and an eager listener called us home and Mom answered. The lady on the other end was telling Mom how fortunate she is, being able to listen to Dad all day long. Dad was prone to long explanations and it became a family joke: "How fortunate we are, being able to listen to him all day long..."
In 2018 I saw Jeremy on stage in "The Long Day's Journey into Night" in London Town. Jeremy was good, but the play was far too long. I would make a lousy therapist, it was boring to listen to family troubles and watch an alcoholic for over three hours.

Journal Entry 73 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Burford, now that was the village where MissMarkey took us on the pre-convention tour. Here is a view from the High Street. Pity I didn't know the church was somehow exceptional. I prefer orange curd to lemon curd (the thing Alice was told to buy from there).

Journal Entry 74 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
My absolute favourite of our Cotswolds tour was hoarder Charles Wade's mansion. He had collected so much stuff during his life that he had to buy a large house for it. His own living quarters were in one of the small outhouses. An interesting collection and I realized I am only a small fish in the pond of hoarders...

Pic: A wrong photo ended here and refuses to go away... This is from Charles Wade's yard, but not the one I meant to pick...

Journal Entry 75 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, February 27, 2021
Little Rissington was certainly one of the highlights of the Cotswolds tour and we probably were the highlight of the year to the good people of Little Rissington. MissMarkey had driven criss-cross the countryside, examining ten (!) phone boxes which had been turned into libraries and took us to the best one, in Little Rissington. Now, the name Little Rissington tells a lot about the place. It is actually a gathering of houses along a road. The only place wide enough to park a bus was some 200 meters uphill and so to the amazement of the people living there the tourist bus actually stopped and perhaps 20+ chattering ladies and a couple of gentlemen came out, half running down the road directly to the old phone box where they then tried to fit in among the books, two or three at a time. Lots of aahs and oohs, American accents, Australian accents, totally foreign accents, waving of hands, pictures taken, books taken and others put in their place and in half an hour back they went to their bus and drove away. It was over five years ago, but the good people of Little Rissington haven't quite recovered yet.

Pic: This was not the best shot of that phone box nor the crowd, but for some reason this was the only one the computer accepted here.

Journal Entry 76 by wingmeganhwing at Preston, Victoria Australia on Sunday, February 28, 2021
Thanks for the reminder of the Cotswolds tour kirjakko- the free time in Little Burford, the Standing Stones, the Little Rissington phone box library and the Charles Wade mansion were all fabulous. Meeting and chatting with new and old friends on the coach tour was fun and Miss Markey was a wonderful tour guide.

Journal Entry 77 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, February 28, 2021
I've got notes written down now as my pad keeps overheating and throwing me out from the net... Too many journal entries?
Alice sometimes gets the urge to call her mother - who has been dead for ten years - and tell her what she has seen that day. There is one book I'm sorry Dad never saw, because I just know he would have enjoyed it so: "The Acute Abdomen in Rhyme" by the pseudonym Zeta. A professor of internal medicine has written a rhyming study book of his lectures and it is amazing. I bought it from Hiltunen's legendary sh-bookshop for 1€. Each time I see it on my shelf I pity the fact Dad never saw it.
Due to plumbing renovations in my house I moved to a small flat of 24m2, which happens to be in the same house where my grandparents and later my Auntie Mia lived (the flat Mom wasn't supposed to move out from, remember?). Mia loved the neighbourhood, Lauttasaari, which is an island and even though I spent a lot of time here visiting her and granny as a child, it is first now that I've fallen into the spell of it as well. Mia passed away five years ago and I think it is such a pity we didn't get to be neighbours. She would have asked me over to tea and to watch Hercule Poirot with her on telly or join me and my dog for a walk as she lived on the 4th floor and I on the 6th. The odd thing is that I feel her presence here very strongly (and I don't normally believe in these things), but hey, she lived in this house over 70 years and loved it, where else she would go? Now we get to the spooky part; no matter how late in the evening I return from work, there is always a space for my car next to the house. I'm sure Auntie Mia keeps it for me. This winter we got a lot of snow, so I was a bit worried, because Auntie Mia would have been 100 yrs this year, shoveling snow at her age can't be easy, but lo and behold, there has always been a shovelled spot for me! So even if I feel sorry for not being able to take tea with her, I know she sees me enjoying her beloved Lauttasaari. My own flat of 79m2 is good and ready (expect for unpacking all those boxes), but here I am, in my little book cave of 24m2...

Pic: Small proportions but a big view...

Journal Entry 78 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Monday, March 1, 2021
Meganh mentioned Standing Stones (King's Men Stone Circle), here is a photo for those of you who weren't lucky enough to attend the Oxford convention.

Journal Entry 79 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, March 6, 2021
I finished the book already last weekend, but since my tablet has had this problem with overheating, I haven't written more journal entries. I wish the rest would have done good to this apparatus.
I jump back and forth a bit, Alice mentioned Keats having lived (and died) by the Spanish Steps in Rome. I have never read Keats, but I have been to his 225th birthday party! I was staying with an old friend in Hampstead, London. Hampstead is a lovely old village and I went out for a nice walk. I happened to pass Keats House, nowadays a museum, and saw a note on the gate. It was an open invitation to Keats's birthday party, promising light refreshments, signed by The Friends of John Keats. I checked and double-checked the time, the party was on NOW! Well, why not? I hadn't been inside the house before, so I was a bit hesitant of where to go. There was a group just taking off to a guided tour of the house, but I said I was merely attending the party. I was directed down crooked stairs to an old kitchen in the basement. There were three old ladies, probably original friends of John Keats, behind an unstable table where odd pairs of teacups and saucers were laid. There was only one guest there, a man looking for an escape route. I was offered tea and cake. The old dears had difficulties cutting the cake, which was probably a leftover from Keats's last birthday cake. It was so hard that I was fearing for my teeth. I tried to avoid the topic of Keats, not wanting to reveal my ignorance about his life or work, merely not to make her friends sad. Stayed for half an hour and left telling how enjoyable it had been, but I was waited elsewhere. The old ladies were very sweet and so very British. I would not expect to end up at a party like that anywhere else in the world. John Keats is lucky to have friends like that after 200 years.
It was first in 2016 that I actually went to a guided tour in the house.

Journal Entry 80 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, March 6, 2021
Alice mentioned going into fancy shops where staff would now in an instant that she could not afford anything. Well, if you ever happen to pass Purdey's in London, do step in. It is a world of its own. I was walking with a friend, following a route from "Walking-tours of London" and Purdey just happened to be there. Brits are masters of window displays and this window was definately an eye-catcher with a big train and artificial snow on the ground (in October). For those of you who don't know, they are manufacturers of guns and rifles. I'm not into guns at all, but this shop was exquisite. My friend said we can't go in, but the very polite doorman was already holding the door for us.
I was very careful not to touch anything. I had never seen an alligator cartridge bag (9995£). Hunters in Finland are rather scruffy type of men, more like the Neanderthal Man, if you know what I mean. The most interesting part of the shop was their museum! They had photos and displays of old hunting paraphernalia where names of different kings and princes were mentioned. And the staff was very polite and friendly, answering our questions and not treating us at all like we would have been wasting their time (which we of course were). They seemed genuinely proud of their shop, none of that "I just work here" attitude.
When I posted some photos in my FB, a fellow dog-owner of working spaniels said he always visits Purdey when in London. You may learn new things of your friends when visiting places like that.
The book said that particular walk would take two hours. It took six!

Journal Entry 81 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, March 6, 2021
On that same London walk we had to go into Sonia Rykiel's - just to ask what kind of a shop it was. It was haute couture with 10 000 books just for effect, the books weren't for sale. 80£ for mittens, not my shop either. But the books looked great.

Journal Entry 82 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, March 7, 2021
My very favourite shop which has become a must to see during all my visits to London Town is Fortnum&Mason on Piccadilly. It is so decorative and their seasonal themes are great - it is a place one would love to be accidently locked into overnight. I am a bit ashamed to admit that I only buy their cookies, I buy my tea from Whittard's, the English Rose being my current favourite.

Journal Entry 83 by wingkirjakkowing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, March 7, 2021
Alice told about an impressive night storm, when she went out to the Spanish Steps to see Rome by the storm light. My most impressive thunderstorm has been in Dover. I had gotten my driver's licence just six weeks before (on third try!) and a friend of mine had come up with a great idea to drive around Europe with a car for 3-4 weeks. Only a novice would say yes. We took turns driving, except in France where they drive like maniacs, so Barbara drove the whole French bit. We had friends or friends of friends in Hannover, Old Windsor, near Nantes and somewhere else in France, otherwise we would seek B&Bs as we arrive (this was pre-internet). The ferry arrived to Dover very late and it was already raining heavily. We drove around looking for signs of vacant B&Bs and finally, high on a hill road there was a sign with a light on. The owners had probably gone to bed already, but luckily came to the door when we were knocking. We took just an overnight bag, rushed in from the rain and got a room with a magnificent view to the famous white cliffs and the sea. And then the thunders and lightnings began and even though we had had a long day driving I sat late into the night just listening to that roaring and watching the awesome light show Mother Nature had decided to welcome us to Britain with.
Speaking of Dover there is another story I have to tell:
Dad had given me a newspaper cutting of a British book town called Hay-On-Wye, because he knew I would be Interrailing in the UK again next summer (1988). I am not the most organized person and when it was time to travel I could not find the cutting or remember the obscure name of the town. So, on my arrival to Dover I went to a sh-bookshop and while paying for my book I asked if the owner happened to know the name of the town and its whereabouts. Of course he did. He then asked what newspaper the article had been in and I said it was a Finnish newspaper.
"Finland?" A pause. "I have met another Finn once. She used to work in a bookshop in Colchester."
"Oh, you don't mean Alice X, do you?"
His eyes widened in surprise. "I do! Do you know her?" (What a silly question).
"She used to date my brother" (remember, my travelling companion to Paris?).
He was over the moon. Alice had been baby-sitting for them every now and then and they had named their youngest child after Alice (luckily it was a girl). He asked if I had time, so he could write Alice a letter which I could deliver. Of course I had. I didn't have Alice's address, but I would contact her on my return to Finland. That was funny, too. I called her landline and somebody else answered. I asked if Alice was at home and she answered using that famous film title: "Alice doesn't live here anymore, but she happens to be visiting me." So I got to tell her of the smallness of the world and she gave me the address where to send the letter.
We were only 4,5 million Finns at that time (it's near to 5,5 now, I think), but still the odds of somebody mentioning having met A Finn before and telling the place and you knowing right away who it was were quite low.
Alice X had a double citizenship having a British father (living in Finland). Alice had gotten her name from his father's favourite book, Alice in Wonderland.

Pic: The Finnish Alice, my traveling companion on my way to Paris in 1986.

Journal Entry 84 by wingkirjakkowing at Sipoo, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Tuesday, March 9, 2021
I haven't travelled much in Italy, but I've been to Venice twice. It is an amazing maze of a town, if only there weren't so many tourists... The first time we were there during off-season in March, I think. It was through a Norwegian travel agency which had booked the cheapest everything - hotel on Lido, except we were the only people on Lido at that time, so there was no regular vaparetto going there, we had to buy their tours and stick to them. The cheapest airline which went into bankruptcy while we were there...
We even did a Venice tour by night, because nobody else was there then, but the buildings were illuminated, so that was kind of cool, and so was the weather...
McDonald's shares went up in Venice, because wherever in the world you travel, McDonald's equals a clean toilet and in Venice they also had a toilet with a seat, opposed to just about everyplace else in town - they only had a whole in the floor. Disgusting!
I've also been in Venice with a cruise ship, but apparently the harbour charges are astronomical there, so the stay was very short.
In Verona we were taken to Juliet's house and to the famous balcony, which is originally a coffin. The funny thing is that Romeo and Juliet are fictional people...
Marta, the fat lady touring Italy by bus in the book (remember the book?), she who could not climb up or down steep streets, reminded me of 1) me on a hot day 2) a Finnish man with colossal proportions who was on the same cruise with us around the British Isles in 2017. He had difficulties walking from the airplane to the tour bus, he never took part to the compulsory safety drill they have in the beginning of all sea cruises (I was sure we would lose the eldest British and American passengers already during the drill), he never took part in any of the shore excursions or left the ship until the trip was over. We only saw him in the evenings in the bar, he even ate in his cabin and never took part of any of the activities or came to watch the shows offered on the ship. Our guide said he often travels with them, so obviously he gets something out of those trips, but I failed to see what it could have been.

Journal Entry 85 by wingkirjakkowing at Kerava, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Released 3 yrs ago (3/10/2021 UTC) at Kerava, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book can't be released in the wild after such a travelling history and one can't meet other people right now, but I can always surprise Annelis by leaving a book bag outside her door... After all, we were both in the Oxford Convention, so she surely wants to visit Oxford again. And perhaps tell us a few stories about travelling with hubby, kids and a tent around Europe...

Journal Entry 86 by wingAnneliswing at Kerava, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Thursday, March 11, 2021
Thank you for the book, Kirjakko! I think this book will bring a lot of memories to my mind. Some travelling has been done in the past. I wonder if that will be possible in the future. A year ago we were cruising around the Canary Islands and visited Madeira and Agadir, too. Now I am not allowed even to do my own shopping, says my daughter. Yesterday I got my first shot of vaccination against covid 19. I'll get the second shot in the beginning of June. Maybe the summer will be different.

Journal Entry 87 by wingAnneliswing at Kerava, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Friday, January 13, 2023
Now I have got 5 shots of vaccination against Covid and it is again possible to travel. In March I am going to visit Italy around Naples. I must find this book and read it soon.

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