Flickr image by Paolo Margari
100 Places In Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen is a hybrid between a guide book & a tavel blog. At first I was confused. I didn’t know if I should attack it like a book and read it cover to cover or treat it like a guide book and only read about the places I want to see. I tried it both ways. Neither way really flowed for me.
Finally, I decided to read it cover to cover just to cover my bases. In the beginning I wanted to absorb every single morsel of information in the book. Every item listed in these pages contained a juicy secret only Susan knew and she enlightened us with stories of sex, love and , of course, love affairs. There’s more than that but if you want to find out more, you’ll have to win it! (See giveaway below) Susan even accompanies each destination with a restaurant in the area because what’s Italy without fine wine and good food?
However, after a while the names of churches, cathedrals and statues began to blur. I couldn’t remember who was who and what was where. All I knew was that I wanted to go. I wanted to drop every thing I was doing and hop on the next mode of transportation that would take me to the airport.
The best way to navigate this book is to flip straight the index, close your eyes and where ever your finger lands, that’s where you should go. There is nothing in this book that won’t intrigue you and Susan’s personal stories adds texture and depth compared to your typical travel guide book.
Here’s an inside look of what the book contains:
- Section I: The Divine: Goddesses, Saints And The Blessed Virgina Mary
- Section II: Ville, Palazzi, And An Apartment
- Section III: Gardens
- Section IV: Beaches
- Section V: Beauty Treatments And Spas
- Section VI: Indulge Your Taste Buds
- Section VII: Shopping
- Section VIII: Active Adventures
- Section IX: Cooking Classes
- Section X: Learn Italian Crafts And Culture
- Section XI: Be Entertained
- Section XII: Advice From Writers
- Section XIII: La Famiglia Experiences
- Appendix 1: Tips For Italian Travel
- Appendix 2: Packing
- Calendar of Madonna Holidays and Female Saints’ Feast Days
- Resources
GIVEAWAY TIME: How to win this book? Easy – leave a comment below & retweet this post. Winner will be chosen on Monday, August 16, 2010.
Disclosure: I was given two free copies of 100 Places In Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen – one for my review and one for this giveaway. No monetary compensation was received.
