Guide book time. I like having a couple reference books with me when I travel, for basic context and for the maps. A good guide book gives me a sense of the flavor of a place, what to expect, and what secret treasures might be hidden from plain site. Sometimes I feel that if I read enough random descriptions of hotels, restaurants, shops, landmarks, and other sites, eventually they come together to create a place. I know this particular place exists only in my head but I prefer having a hypotheses.
My standards are Lonely Planet and Rough Guide but for this trip, I'm trying new ones. My Amazon package is winging it's way in my direction and it contains:
Eyewitness Guide's Provence & The Cote D'azur
Michelin's Green Guides for Provence and The French Riviera
Fodor's Provence and the Cote D'Azur
and what I'm most excited about Michelin's Red Guide 2005 France
I love good food and I'm looking forward to eating well for my two months in France. While I'm sure that many of my preconceptions about what French life is like will be proven wrong, I don't think the French love of quality ingredients and well prepared food is one. The Michelin Guide is a bible for many foodies and I'm looking forward to finding for myself the difference among one, two, and three star establishments.
I'm also looking for the 2005 Gault Milau Hotel and Restaurant Guide. It's only published in French, so it will be good for my language acquisition skills and my understanding is that it is a very complete and reliable guide to finding great food in France.
I'll browse through these and see if they have the information and feel I'm looking for. I've still got Lonley Planet and Rough Guide on the bench and an Amazon search turns up hundreds more. I'm sure a couple will make the cut, reside in my day pack, and end up dogeared and torn by the end of May.
you might want to pick Paul's brain since he spent some time in France a few years back (and last year I think). If you're interested you can contact him at pcopp AT princeton DAHT edu.
Posted by: Shannon | March 02, 2005 at 06:29 PM