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CHE BELLA'S FAVORITE BOOKS AND FILMS
ITALY
BOOKS
Traveling to Italy
The Art of Traveling Italy: An Insider's Guide to Traveling Fearlessly and Wisely by Sandy Serio Gregory This colorful, entertaining book is written to make planning fun and set you on a course to make the most of your time in this amazing country. It is chock full of expert advice, essential information, tricks, tips and cultural insights prepared by seasoned tour manager, tour operator and intrepid traveler, Sandy Serio Gregory, owner of Che Bella Tours.
The Italians, by John Hooper. As a tour director since 2008, I love this study of Italy, where geography, history and tradition weave a portrait of the Italians at their best and their worst.
Italian Neighbors, An Italian Education and Italian Ways, by Tim Parks. Certainly we all have the longing to live “Under the Tuscan Sun” and there have been many books written in the genre. I like this series about an Englishman married to an Italian wife in Verona. Tim Parks is a very good storyteller and observer of people and culture.
La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind by Beppe Severgnini. This is your book if you want a fun peek into Italian culture through the eyes of a local.
La Bella Lingua, by Dianne Hales. This book is a celebration of the language and culture of Italy. It is the story of how a language shaped a nation. Told against the backdrop of one woman’s personal quest to speak fluent Italian, this is for anyone who finds the idea of living the Italian life powerfully seductive.
SPQR, by Mary Beard. To this day, you’ll find these letters all over Rome – even on the manhole covers. SPQR means Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the Roman people). In the context of the rise of the Roman Empire, this author focuses on the lives of the average people who lived in the era.
Venice
The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice, by Polly Coles. This is a city perilously under siege from tourism, but its people refuse to give up. They love Venice with a passion. This book is a fascinating window into the world of ordinary Venetians and the strange and unique place they call home.
Death at La Fenice and Blood from a Stone, by Donna Leon. Any of her mysteries featuring the fictional hero, Commissario Guido Brunetti, is a winner.
The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt. This story tells the truth behind the 1996 fire at La Fenice opera house in Venice. This author also wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Tuscany
The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone. I first read this historical novel about the life of Michelangelo when I attended college in Florence. The streets and artwork came alive as I was studying his works while living in this Renaissance city.
Sixteen Pleasures, by Robert Hellenga. This wonderful novel focuses on the “Mud Angels,” who helped to clean up and preserve the art and books in Florence after the 1966 flood. Many U.S. volunteers went to help rescue works of art. This is one woman’s story of her struggle to help save a waterlogged convent library.
Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio. A medieval story of seven young women and three young men who take refuge in a secluded villa outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death. Over ten evenings, to pass the time, each traveler takes a turn as storyteller.
A Light in the Ruins, by Chris Bohjalian. In 1943, the prominent Rosati family was confident their grand villa would protect them and garner favor from the greedy German forces intruding on Italy. Jumping forward to 1955, the story picks up with the brutal slayings and heinous dismemberments of Rosati family members by an unknown assailant. Serafina Bettini, a Florence police investigator, is assigned to the gruesome case. She promptly finds herself immersed in family drama as she pursues the serial killer, who is determined to slay the entire clan. Serafina discovers she has a personal relationship with the maniacal murderer.
The South
My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante. This is a rich story about two friends growing up in a poor, but vibrant, neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. This story is also an HBO series.
Calabria: The Other Italy, by Karen Haid. My grandfather, Dr. Michael Serio, came to the U.S. from Calabria when he was eight years old. My grandfather, and this book, are inspirations to travel there soon.
The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples, The Bay of Noon and other books by Shirley Hazzard. Born in Australia, Shirley Hazzard first moved to Naples as a young woman in the 1950s to work at the United Nations. This was the beginning of a long love affair with the city. My grandmother, Genevieve DelBello Valentine Serio, came to the U.S. from Naples when she was three years old, so this is an inspiration every time I visit this rich and historical city.
Unto the Sons, by Gay Talese. Gay Talese, one of America’s greatest living authors, is from Calabria. This is the saga of his family’s emigration to America from Italy in the years preceding World War II. It’s the story of all immigrant families and the hope and sacrifice that took them from the familiarity of the old world into the mysteries and challenges of the new.
Art
Lives of the Artists, by Giorgio Vasari. This is an excellent reference book for anyone who is interested in the Renaissance masters. Vasari was born in Arezzo. A painter and architect, he is more famous, however, for his biographies of contemporaries than any of his own works. The talents of the Renaissance artists made them geniuses, but it was Vasari’s words that made them celebrities. His book also provides an insider’s view of the business of art and the struggles artists faced to thrive in the environment of pleasing their patrons. Vasari also dishes on the artists behind the works: the groundwork laid by Leonardo da Vinci; the showdown between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the Sistine Chapel; the competitive subterfuge of Raphael.
The Stones of Florence, by Mary McCarthy. A unique history of Florence, from its inception to the dominant role it came to play in the world of art, architecture and Italian culture.
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, by Ross King. On August 19, 1418, a competition concerning Florence’s magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore — already under construction for more than a century — was announced. Of the many plans submitted, one stood out: a daring and unorthodox solution to vaulting what is still the largest dome (143 feet in diameter) in the world. It was offered not by a master mason or carpenter, but by a goldsmith and clockmaker named Filippo Brunelleschi. Starting at the age of 41, he would dedicate his next 28 years to solving the puzzles of the dome’s construction. In the process. Brunelleschi reinvented the field of architecture. This book is one of my favorites.
Cuisine
Italian Food Rules, by Ann Reavis. In Italy, they love making rules, but hate to follow them. However, when it comes to cuisine, food rules are carved in stone. And for those of you who have traveled with me to Italy, you know food rules are not merely a suggestion.
Why Italians Love to Talk About Food, by Elena Kostioukovitch. Italy is food and food is Italy: literally, emotionally, historically, culturally and symbolically. This book is organized by region and tells a wonderful story about the history of Italian cuisine.
Ecco la Cucina, by Gina Stipo. Chef, instructor, restaurateur, culinary tour director and my friend, Gina Stipo is another Italian-American who brings groups to Italy. She lived in Siena for many years and ran a cooking school. Her recipes are authentic and easy to follow.
Honey from a Weed, by Patience Gray. This 1986 autobiographical cookbook has been on my shelf for years. It’s a story of the author’s relocation from London, marriage to a sculptor and travel throughout the Mediterranean. Gray celebrates, through her recipes, the places she loves. In Puglia, she cooked with the local produce, including the weeds. My own grandmother, who came from southern Italy, also used the weeds from her backyard to make wonderful dishes.
FILMS
Big Night. An American movie set in Atlantic City, this film is about two brothers from Italy who open up a restaurant. To save their business, they take a chance and create one epic night of food, friends and family. A Serio family favorite, we make and enjoy the food featured in the movie, especially the timpano. Stanley Tucci wrote and starred in this movie, along with Isabella Rosallini, Tony Shalhoub and Mark Anthony.
The Godfather. It’s a classic. The cast. The criminals. The family. The staging. The camera work. The music. If you travel with me, bring your favorite line from the series. My line is, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli!”
Tea with Mussolini. Set in Florence and San Gimignano, this is a true story about a gaggle of Englishwomen caught in the fray of WWII. Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Cher and Lily Tomlin star in this Franco Zeffirelli film. Available on DVD or from the local library. My copy is worn and scratched from the many times I have played this little gem for my guests on my motor coach.
Mid-August Lunch. A charming tale of good food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Roman holiday. Broke, and armed with only a glass of wine and a sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni resides with his 93-year-old mother in their ancient apartment. The condo debts are mounting, but if Gianni looks after the building manager’s mother during the Pranzo di Ferragosto (the Feast of the Assumption), all will be forgiven. An auntie and a mother-in-law join the party. Can Gianni keep four such lively mamas well fed and happy in these cramped quarters?
The Bicycle Thief. This is a simple, powerful film about a man named Ricci, who joins the queue every morning, looking for work. One day, there is a job for a man with a bicycle. “I have a bicycle,” he says! The bicycle allows Ricci to go to work as a poster-hanger for cinema advertisements. Soon, of course, the bike is stolen, no doubt by another man who needs a job. The cycle of theft and poverty is the theme of this movie. In Italian with English subtitles.
Cinema Paradiso. This is a sweet story about a young boy’s friendship with a movie house operator and their mutual love of film and fantasy. In Italian with English subtitles.
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty). Rome is the backdrop of this reflective story about 65-year-old Italian socialite who, for decades, seduced his way through lavish parties and romance. Depressed with the high life, a shock from his past causes him to rethink the beauty of life and the meaning of the superficial. Available on Netflix.
Life is Beautiful. A Jewish librarian and his family become victims of the Holocaust. While in the concentration camp, he uses a mixture of will, humor, and imagination to protect his son from the dangers that surround them. Papa tells his son that they are competing with others to win an armoured tank. Everything from food shortages to tattoos becomes part of the contest. This movie was filmed in Arezzo, a place I love to travel with my guests.
The chick flicks ...
The language, the music, the passion toward life — all contribute to the romance of Italy. The first time I stepped foot onto a cobblestone piazza, I was smitten with la dolce vita. I’m a sucker for a chick flick about a grown-up woman who’s on a beautiful, life-affirming journey. Here are a few of my guilty pleasures:
A Room with a View. Lucy Honeychurch’s journey to self-discovery during Victorian England is set in beautiful Florence. As Lucy is exposed to opportunities previously not afforded to women, her mind — and heart — must open. Before long, she’s in love with an “unsuitable” man and is faced with an impossible choice to follow her heart or be pressured into propriety. There is a newer version, but I prefer the 1986 movie featuring a young Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day Lewis, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.
Enchanted April. A wonderful movie about new life, rekindled relationships, new beginnings, new friendships and finding love again. Filmed in beautiful Positano. Sometimes a change of scenery can change everything.
Under the Tuscan Sun. When Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) learns her husband is cheating on her, life is turned upside down. In an attempt to bring her out of a deep depression, her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh), encourages Frances to take a tour of Italy. During the trip, she impulsively decides to purchase a rural Tuscan villa and struggles to start her life anew amid colorful local characters.
Letters to Juliet. While visiting Verona, a young woman visits Juliet’s house, where the lovelorn drop notes in the red mailbox of Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet Capulet. This story, filled with love and romance, inspired me to go to Verona to write my own letter to Juliet. Like the movie, my note went into the little red mailbox. Curiously, Juliet’s 13th century house also had a computer, so I followed up with an email: “Dear Juliet, per my letter in the post, please facilitate promptly as I am 52 and not getting any younger.” Three weeks later I met Odell, who became my husband.
BOOKS
Traveling to Italy
The Art of Traveling Italy: An Insider's Guide to Traveling Fearlessly and Wisely by Sandy Serio Gregory This colorful, entertaining book is written to make planning fun and set you on a course to make the most of your time in this amazing country. It is chock full of expert advice, essential information, tricks, tips and cultural insights prepared by seasoned tour manager, tour operator and intrepid traveler, Sandy Serio Gregory, owner of Che Bella Tours.
The Italians, by John Hooper. As a tour director since 2008, I love this study of Italy, where geography, history and tradition weave a portrait of the Italians at their best and their worst.
Italian Neighbors, An Italian Education and Italian Ways, by Tim Parks. Certainly we all have the longing to live “Under the Tuscan Sun” and there have been many books written in the genre. I like this series about an Englishman married to an Italian wife in Verona. Tim Parks is a very good storyteller and observer of people and culture.
La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind by Beppe Severgnini. This is your book if you want a fun peek into Italian culture through the eyes of a local.
La Bella Lingua, by Dianne Hales. This book is a celebration of the language and culture of Italy. It is the story of how a language shaped a nation. Told against the backdrop of one woman’s personal quest to speak fluent Italian, this is for anyone who finds the idea of living the Italian life powerfully seductive.
SPQR, by Mary Beard. To this day, you’ll find these letters all over Rome – even on the manhole covers. SPQR means Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the Roman people). In the context of the rise of the Roman Empire, this author focuses on the lives of the average people who lived in the era.
Venice
The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice, by Polly Coles. This is a city perilously under siege from tourism, but its people refuse to give up. They love Venice with a passion. This book is a fascinating window into the world of ordinary Venetians and the strange and unique place they call home.
Death at La Fenice and Blood from a Stone, by Donna Leon. Any of her mysteries featuring the fictional hero, Commissario Guido Brunetti, is a winner.
The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt. This story tells the truth behind the 1996 fire at La Fenice opera house in Venice. This author also wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Tuscany
The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone. I first read this historical novel about the life of Michelangelo when I attended college in Florence. The streets and artwork came alive as I was studying his works while living in this Renaissance city.
Sixteen Pleasures, by Robert Hellenga. This wonderful novel focuses on the “Mud Angels,” who helped to clean up and preserve the art and books in Florence after the 1966 flood. Many U.S. volunteers went to help rescue works of art. This is one woman’s story of her struggle to help save a waterlogged convent library.
Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio. A medieval story of seven young women and three young men who take refuge in a secluded villa outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death. Over ten evenings, to pass the time, each traveler takes a turn as storyteller.
A Light in the Ruins, by Chris Bohjalian. In 1943, the prominent Rosati family was confident their grand villa would protect them and garner favor from the greedy German forces intruding on Italy. Jumping forward to 1955, the story picks up with the brutal slayings and heinous dismemberments of Rosati family members by an unknown assailant. Serafina Bettini, a Florence police investigator, is assigned to the gruesome case. She promptly finds herself immersed in family drama as she pursues the serial killer, who is determined to slay the entire clan. Serafina discovers she has a personal relationship with the maniacal murderer.
The South
My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante. This is a rich story about two friends growing up in a poor, but vibrant, neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. This story is also an HBO series.
Calabria: The Other Italy, by Karen Haid. My grandfather, Dr. Michael Serio, came to the U.S. from Calabria when he was eight years old. My grandfather, and this book, are inspirations to travel there soon.
The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples, The Bay of Noon and other books by Shirley Hazzard. Born in Australia, Shirley Hazzard first moved to Naples as a young woman in the 1950s to work at the United Nations. This was the beginning of a long love affair with the city. My grandmother, Genevieve DelBello Valentine Serio, came to the U.S. from Naples when she was three years old, so this is an inspiration every time I visit this rich and historical city.
Unto the Sons, by Gay Talese. Gay Talese, one of America’s greatest living authors, is from Calabria. This is the saga of his family’s emigration to America from Italy in the years preceding World War II. It’s the story of all immigrant families and the hope and sacrifice that took them from the familiarity of the old world into the mysteries and challenges of the new.
Art
Lives of the Artists, by Giorgio Vasari. This is an excellent reference book for anyone who is interested in the Renaissance masters. Vasari was born in Arezzo. A painter and architect, he is more famous, however, for his biographies of contemporaries than any of his own works. The talents of the Renaissance artists made them geniuses, but it was Vasari’s words that made them celebrities. His book also provides an insider’s view of the business of art and the struggles artists faced to thrive in the environment of pleasing their patrons. Vasari also dishes on the artists behind the works: the groundwork laid by Leonardo da Vinci; the showdown between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the Sistine Chapel; the competitive subterfuge of Raphael.
The Stones of Florence, by Mary McCarthy. A unique history of Florence, from its inception to the dominant role it came to play in the world of art, architecture and Italian culture.
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, by Ross King. On August 19, 1418, a competition concerning Florence’s magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore — already under construction for more than a century — was announced. Of the many plans submitted, one stood out: a daring and unorthodox solution to vaulting what is still the largest dome (143 feet in diameter) in the world. It was offered not by a master mason or carpenter, but by a goldsmith and clockmaker named Filippo Brunelleschi. Starting at the age of 41, he would dedicate his next 28 years to solving the puzzles of the dome’s construction. In the process. Brunelleschi reinvented the field of architecture. This book is one of my favorites.
Cuisine
Italian Food Rules, by Ann Reavis. In Italy, they love making rules, but hate to follow them. However, when it comes to cuisine, food rules are carved in stone. And for those of you who have traveled with me to Italy, you know food rules are not merely a suggestion.
Why Italians Love to Talk About Food, by Elena Kostioukovitch. Italy is food and food is Italy: literally, emotionally, historically, culturally and symbolically. This book is organized by region and tells a wonderful story about the history of Italian cuisine.
Ecco la Cucina, by Gina Stipo. Chef, instructor, restaurateur, culinary tour director and my friend, Gina Stipo is another Italian-American who brings groups to Italy. She lived in Siena for many years and ran a cooking school. Her recipes are authentic and easy to follow.
Honey from a Weed, by Patience Gray. This 1986 autobiographical cookbook has been on my shelf for years. It’s a story of the author’s relocation from London, marriage to a sculptor and travel throughout the Mediterranean. Gray celebrates, through her recipes, the places she loves. In Puglia, she cooked with the local produce, including the weeds. My own grandmother, who came from southern Italy, also used the weeds from her backyard to make wonderful dishes.
FILMS
Big Night. An American movie set in Atlantic City, this film is about two brothers from Italy who open up a restaurant. To save their business, they take a chance and create one epic night of food, friends and family. A Serio family favorite, we make and enjoy the food featured in the movie, especially the timpano. Stanley Tucci wrote and starred in this movie, along with Isabella Rosallini, Tony Shalhoub and Mark Anthony.
The Godfather. It’s a classic. The cast. The criminals. The family. The staging. The camera work. The music. If you travel with me, bring your favorite line from the series. My line is, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli!”
Tea with Mussolini. Set in Florence and San Gimignano, this is a true story about a gaggle of Englishwomen caught in the fray of WWII. Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Cher and Lily Tomlin star in this Franco Zeffirelli film. Available on DVD or from the local library. My copy is worn and scratched from the many times I have played this little gem for my guests on my motor coach.
Mid-August Lunch. A charming tale of good food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Roman holiday. Broke, and armed with only a glass of wine and a sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni resides with his 93-year-old mother in their ancient apartment. The condo debts are mounting, but if Gianni looks after the building manager’s mother during the Pranzo di Ferragosto (the Feast of the Assumption), all will be forgiven. An auntie and a mother-in-law join the party. Can Gianni keep four such lively mamas well fed and happy in these cramped quarters?
The Bicycle Thief. This is a simple, powerful film about a man named Ricci, who joins the queue every morning, looking for work. One day, there is a job for a man with a bicycle. “I have a bicycle,” he says! The bicycle allows Ricci to go to work as a poster-hanger for cinema advertisements. Soon, of course, the bike is stolen, no doubt by another man who needs a job. The cycle of theft and poverty is the theme of this movie. In Italian with English subtitles.
Cinema Paradiso. This is a sweet story about a young boy’s friendship with a movie house operator and their mutual love of film and fantasy. In Italian with English subtitles.
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty). Rome is the backdrop of this reflective story about 65-year-old Italian socialite who, for decades, seduced his way through lavish parties and romance. Depressed with the high life, a shock from his past causes him to rethink the beauty of life and the meaning of the superficial. Available on Netflix.
Life is Beautiful. A Jewish librarian and his family become victims of the Holocaust. While in the concentration camp, he uses a mixture of will, humor, and imagination to protect his son from the dangers that surround them. Papa tells his son that they are competing with others to win an armoured tank. Everything from food shortages to tattoos becomes part of the contest. This movie was filmed in Arezzo, a place I love to travel with my guests.
The chick flicks ...
The language, the music, the passion toward life — all contribute to the romance of Italy. The first time I stepped foot onto a cobblestone piazza, I was smitten with la dolce vita. I’m a sucker for a chick flick about a grown-up woman who’s on a beautiful, life-affirming journey. Here are a few of my guilty pleasures:
A Room with a View. Lucy Honeychurch’s journey to self-discovery during Victorian England is set in beautiful Florence. As Lucy is exposed to opportunities previously not afforded to women, her mind — and heart — must open. Before long, she’s in love with an “unsuitable” man and is faced with an impossible choice to follow her heart or be pressured into propriety. There is a newer version, but I prefer the 1986 movie featuring a young Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day Lewis, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.
Enchanted April. A wonderful movie about new life, rekindled relationships, new beginnings, new friendships and finding love again. Filmed in beautiful Positano. Sometimes a change of scenery can change everything.
Under the Tuscan Sun. When Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) learns her husband is cheating on her, life is turned upside down. In an attempt to bring her out of a deep depression, her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh), encourages Frances to take a tour of Italy. During the trip, she impulsively decides to purchase a rural Tuscan villa and struggles to start her life anew amid colorful local characters.
Letters to Juliet. While visiting Verona, a young woman visits Juliet’s house, where the lovelorn drop notes in the red mailbox of Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet Capulet. This story, filled with love and romance, inspired me to go to Verona to write my own letter to Juliet. Like the movie, my note went into the little red mailbox. Curiously, Juliet’s 13th century house also had a computer, so I followed up with an email: “Dear Juliet, per my letter in the post, please facilitate promptly as I am 52 and not getting any younger.” Three weeks later I met Odell, who became my husband.
FRANCE
BOOKS
Traveling to France
Culture Shock! France by Sally Adamson Taylor. This is a great series of books I use before I travel to a new country, demystifying cultures and people.
A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle. Yes, another run-away-to-Europe-and-renovate-a-villa book. You know I love this genre - and I will do this some day, somewhere! Mayle's memoirs include humorous anecdotes about restoring and living in a 200-year-old farmhouse in a remote area of the Luberon. His best-selling novel about his first year in the South of France is a humorous and witty recollection of his time there.
Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and June Barlow. This is a must-read for anyone serious about understanding French culture, contemporary politics and what makes the French tick.
History
D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches by Stephen E. Ambrose. Relying on 1,400 interviews with war veterans, Ambrose spins a detailed history of this fateful day.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. This is a memoir from the man who has fostered wanderlust for generations, set in Paris during the roaring ’20s where Hemingway lived, struggling to make a living as a writer and a journalist. It remains one of the best memoirs about living in France to this day. Paris is accurately portrayed as he remembered it: an artistic haven and a moveable feast.
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain. A parallel story to A Moveable Feast, Hadley Richardson is a quiet 28-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. A moving tale of occupied France seen through the experiences of a blind French girl and a lonely German boy whose paths cross in war-torn St-Malo.
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. Némirovsky, a Russian Jew who was living in France and died at Auschwitz in 1942, plunges readers into the chaotic WWII evacuation of Paris, as well as daily life in a small rural town during the ensuing German occupation. It has since been transformed into a film starring Michelle Williams. What you may not know is that this film was first a book set against the backdrop of WWII and was meant to be the title of a series of five books. However, the author Irène Némirovsky, a Frenchwoman of Ukranian-Jewish origin, was arrested in 1942 for being Jewish and was then murdered at Auschwitz. Her daughters preserved the notebook containing the works but did not look at them until 1998. In 2004, a novel was published under the title ‘Suite Française,’ an amalgamation of the first two novels.
The Classics
Madame Bovary by Gustave Floaubert. Emma Bovary is unhappy with her small-town, provincial life and seeks a more exciting one. There is a reason why Madame Bovary is on the list of every book club and class on world literature: It is a timeless masterpiece.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The work is historical fiction and is set in the two capitals before and during the French Revolution. It follows the intertwining stories of Lucie and her father, Doctor Manette, who have never met as he was imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille. It’s well worth a read if you ever get the chance and explores the conditions that led up to the French Revolution.
Cuisine
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food and long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic French cuisine.
My Life in France by Julia Child. The zesty chef recounts her early days in Paris. Though remembered fondly as a cooking wizard and endearing television personality, Julia Child began as an awkward ex-pat who didn’t begin cooking at all until she was 37! The memoir is her version of a ‘Thank You’ to France for its kindness and influence on her rise to fame.
FILMS
Amélie. This tells the story of Amelie Poulain, a quirky waitress manipulating destiny to spreaFd joy. Audrey Tattou is charming.
Paris Je T’aime is a medley of 18 short films, each telling a story set in one of Paris’s arrondissements. With a star-studded cast including Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gerard Depardieu, it’s an easy and bittersweet introduction to the capital’s neighbourhoods.
Jean de Florette. This marvelous tale of greed and intolerance follows a hunchback as he fights for the property he inherited in rural France. Its sequel, Manon of the Spring, (only available on DVD) continues with his daughter's story. Yves Montand and a young Gerard Depardieu star.
La Vie en Rose. Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar for this film about the glamorous and turbulent life of singer Edith Piaf, who famously regretted nothing.
Les Misérables. A Frenchman trying to escape his criminal past becomes wrapped up in Revolutionary intrigues. Anne Hathaway's I Dreamed a Dream is gut-wrenching.
Loving Vincent. The is a very creative animated feature film, "painted" in the style of van Gogh, which follows an investigation into Vincent's final days before his death in Auvers-sur-Oise.
Midnight in Paris. Woody Allen's sharp comedy shifts between today's Paris and the 1920s mecca of Picasso, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald.
The Return of Martin Guerre. A man returns to his village in southwestern France from the Hundred Years' War — but is he really who he claims to be? Again, Gerard Depardieu starts.
Chocolat. In the south of France, far away from the glittering lights of the big cities, in the fictional town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a young single mother arrives with her six-year-old daughter. The main protagonist, Vianne Rocher sets up shop as a chocolatier and the film explores life in France, as well as some of its best culinary delights. If you love food, reading and France, Starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Dep.
Two For the Road This is one of my favorite old movies, starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. This story cleverly and amusingly leaps back and forth in time, catching the couple at various points during their courtship and marriage, remembering when they were “on the road” traveling throughout Europe in an old MG - very romantic. The marriage gradually loses its novelty and charm, gradually transforming itself into a deep and weary familiarity.
BOOKS
Traveling to France
Culture Shock! France by Sally Adamson Taylor. This is a great series of books I use before I travel to a new country, demystifying cultures and people.
A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle. Yes, another run-away-to-Europe-and-renovate-a-villa book. You know I love this genre - and I will do this some day, somewhere! Mayle's memoirs include humorous anecdotes about restoring and living in a 200-year-old farmhouse in a remote area of the Luberon. His best-selling novel about his first year in the South of France is a humorous and witty recollection of his time there.
Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and June Barlow. This is a must-read for anyone serious about understanding French culture, contemporary politics and what makes the French tick.
History
D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches by Stephen E. Ambrose. Relying on 1,400 interviews with war veterans, Ambrose spins a detailed history of this fateful day.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. This is a memoir from the man who has fostered wanderlust for generations, set in Paris during the roaring ’20s where Hemingway lived, struggling to make a living as a writer and a journalist. It remains one of the best memoirs about living in France to this day. Paris is accurately portrayed as he remembered it: an artistic haven and a moveable feast.
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain. A parallel story to A Moveable Feast, Hadley Richardson is a quiet 28-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. A moving tale of occupied France seen through the experiences of a blind French girl and a lonely German boy whose paths cross in war-torn St-Malo.
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. Némirovsky, a Russian Jew who was living in France and died at Auschwitz in 1942, plunges readers into the chaotic WWII evacuation of Paris, as well as daily life in a small rural town during the ensuing German occupation. It has since been transformed into a film starring Michelle Williams. What you may not know is that this film was first a book set against the backdrop of WWII and was meant to be the title of a series of five books. However, the author Irène Némirovsky, a Frenchwoman of Ukranian-Jewish origin, was arrested in 1942 for being Jewish and was then murdered at Auschwitz. Her daughters preserved the notebook containing the works but did not look at them until 1998. In 2004, a novel was published under the title ‘Suite Française,’ an amalgamation of the first two novels.
The Classics
Madame Bovary by Gustave Floaubert. Emma Bovary is unhappy with her small-town, provincial life and seeks a more exciting one. There is a reason why Madame Bovary is on the list of every book club and class on world literature: It is a timeless masterpiece.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The work is historical fiction and is set in the two capitals before and during the French Revolution. It follows the intertwining stories of Lucie and her father, Doctor Manette, who have never met as he was imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille. It’s well worth a read if you ever get the chance and explores the conditions that led up to the French Revolution.
Cuisine
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food and long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic French cuisine.
My Life in France by Julia Child. The zesty chef recounts her early days in Paris. Though remembered fondly as a cooking wizard and endearing television personality, Julia Child began as an awkward ex-pat who didn’t begin cooking at all until she was 37! The memoir is her version of a ‘Thank You’ to France for its kindness and influence on her rise to fame.
FILMS
Amélie. This tells the story of Amelie Poulain, a quirky waitress manipulating destiny to spreaFd joy. Audrey Tattou is charming.
Paris Je T’aime is a medley of 18 short films, each telling a story set in one of Paris’s arrondissements. With a star-studded cast including Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gerard Depardieu, it’s an easy and bittersweet introduction to the capital’s neighbourhoods.
Jean de Florette. This marvelous tale of greed and intolerance follows a hunchback as he fights for the property he inherited in rural France. Its sequel, Manon of the Spring, (only available on DVD) continues with his daughter's story. Yves Montand and a young Gerard Depardieu star.
La Vie en Rose. Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar for this film about the glamorous and turbulent life of singer Edith Piaf, who famously regretted nothing.
Les Misérables. A Frenchman trying to escape his criminal past becomes wrapped up in Revolutionary intrigues. Anne Hathaway's I Dreamed a Dream is gut-wrenching.
Loving Vincent. The is a very creative animated feature film, "painted" in the style of van Gogh, which follows an investigation into Vincent's final days before his death in Auvers-sur-Oise.
Midnight in Paris. Woody Allen's sharp comedy shifts between today's Paris and the 1920s mecca of Picasso, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald.
The Return of Martin Guerre. A man returns to his village in southwestern France from the Hundred Years' War — but is he really who he claims to be? Again, Gerard Depardieu starts.
Chocolat. In the south of France, far away from the glittering lights of the big cities, in the fictional town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a young single mother arrives with her six-year-old daughter. The main protagonist, Vianne Rocher sets up shop as a chocolatier and the film explores life in France, as well as some of its best culinary delights. If you love food, reading and France, Starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Dep.
Two For the Road This is one of my favorite old movies, starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. This story cleverly and amusingly leaps back and forth in time, catching the couple at various points during their courtship and marriage, remembering when they were “on the road” traveling throughout Europe in an old MG - very romantic. The marriage gradually loses its novelty and charm, gradually transforming itself into a deep and weary familiarity.
IRELAND AND SCOTLAND
BOOKS
For the Love of Ireland: A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers by Susan Cahill. This combination anthology and travel guide uses excerpts from the works of many notable Irish writers, both classic and contemporary, to set the scene for the traveler to Ireland.
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. The untold story of Ireland’s role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.
Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction by Senia Paseta. An interesting read on the major aspects of Irish history, politics, and society in the late 19th and 20th century.
Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney. In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O’Mara in the Irish countryside. For three wonderful evenings, the old gentleman enthralls the local audience with narratives of Ireland’s enduring accomplishments. These nights change young Ronan forever, setting him on a years-long pursuit of the glorious tales that are no less than the saga of this tenacious and extraordinary isle.
Confessions of a Pagan Nun: A Novel by Kate Horsley. Cloistered in a stone cell at the monastery of Saint Brigid, Gwynneve, a sixth-century Irish nun, secretly records the memories of her pagan youth during assigned task of transcribing the words of St. Augustine and St. Patrick.
Irish Fairy And Folk Tales by W.B. Yeats. Sixty-five tales and poems in this delightful collection uniquely capture the rich heritage of the Celtic imagination, filled with legends of village ghosts, fairies, demons, witches, priests, and saints.
Dubliners by James Joyce. This collection of 15 tales offers vivid, tightly focused observations of the lives of Dublin’s poorer classes by one of the 20th century’s most influential writers.
Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom by Tim Robinson. Part of the Connemara trilogy, Robinson writes about the people, places and history of south Connemara - one of Ireland’s last Gaelic-speaking enclaves.
Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt. Recounting scenes from his childhood in New York City and Limerick, Ireland, McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table.
The Best of Sherlock Holmes by David Stuart Davies. This is a collection of twenty of the very best tales from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fifty-six short stories featuring the arch sleuth. It's a good base to from which to explore more books, movies and tv series about this Edinburgh author's famous character.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark As much about a time and a place as a character, Spark's Jean Brodie came to embody a generation of Edinburgh women. Her unconventional ways and blatant favouritism made her both terrifying and alluring.
Waverly by Sir Walter Scott. Scott's first novel tells the story of Edward Waverley, a naïve young man who is posted to Scotland with his regiment. Edward must decide whether he will follow the world he has always known, or be drawn into an older world of honor.
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer. When he discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his uncle’s estate, he finds himself kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle. This adventure deals with true historical events relating to the Jacobite Rising in Scotland.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. On their weekly walk, a sensible, trustworthy lawyer named Mr. Utterson listens as his friend Enfield tells a gruesome tale of a sinister figure named Mr. Hyde who tramples a young girl, disappears into a door on the street, and reemerges to pay off her relatives with a check signed by a respectable gentleman. It happens that one of Utterson’s clients and close friends, Dr. Jekyll, has written a will transferring all of his property to this same Mr. Hyde. Soon, Utterson begins having dreams in which a faceless figure stalks through a nightmarish version of London.
FILMS
Michael Collins. IRA leader Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), was one of the most important political leaders of the 20th century. The film follows Collins as he matures from guerrilla leader to national hero and statesman. In this movie, Collins is set up by Irish president Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), who was jealous of his legendary popularity. De Valera puts Collins in the position of negotiating a peace treaty that would never satisfy the Irish hero's hard-core followers. When the IRA leader returns with a first-step compromise, De Valera undercuts Collins's popularity by refusing to support the revised treaty.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley Another gripping drama set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, this movie tells the fictional story of two brothers, Damien and Teddy O'Donovan, who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom. Cillian Murphy's emotional performance and the deep Irish history should put this film at the top of your list.
The Quiet Man. Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since.
Ryan's Daughter. The wild and rugged scenery of the Dingle peninsula is the setting for this classic, romantic war drama, which place in the political turmoil of Ireland in 1916. While the British battle European aggressors in World War I, The Irish Republican Army makes a secret deal with the Germans for a cache of weapons to battle British rule. The story revolves around Charles (Robert Mitchum) who falls in love and marries the much younger Rosy (Sarah Miles), who soon has an illicit affair with a British officer.
My Left Foot No one expects much from Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother and no shortage of grit and determination, Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.
In the Name of the Father. Daniel Day-Lewis again stars in this biographical courtroom drama based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Irish Republican Army's Guildford pub bombings, which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. The film received seven Oscar nominations back in 1994, including best actor, best director, and best picture.
Philomena tells the story of what happens to a woman who was forced to give up her child and survived living in the laundries. The movie, which was nominated for four Oscars in 2014, shows Philomena's 50-year search for her lost son and a journalist's efforts to help her find him.
Leap Year The romantic comedy's gorgeous setting is reason enough to watch. As uptight American (Amy Adams) travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day, she instead ends up falling in love with a gorgeous Irishman. The cute chemistry and idyllic countryside will quickly make you forget all about the geographical inaccuracies and sometimes cringe-worthy Irish stereotypes.
P.S. I Love You Another sweet chick-flick, a young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
The Commitments Roddy Doyle’s story details the lives of a group of unemployed youths in Dublin as they form a soul band and attempt to make a success of it beyond their town.
Outlander A former war nurse in the late 1940s travels back in time, through some stones in the Scottish Highlands, to the eighteenth century, and falls in love with a Jacobite warrior. Romance, war, history, and an amazing female protagonist are set against the atmospheric backdrop of Scotland.
Braveheart This is the story of William Wallace, one of Scotland’s most bloodthirsty soldiers, and how he united his army to rise up against the oppression they faced from the King of England in the 13th century. Mel Gibson’s direction and portrayal of the hero won the film numerous awards, and with the battle scenes as glorious and gory as they were, it’s not hard to see why.
Trainspotting This tough story follows four young addicts and their struggles with poverty, relationships and getting clean. Emotional, eye-opening and even horrifying at times, it represents a very real and difficult illness that many people struggle to understand, and doesn’t try to glamorise it.
Once The streets of Dublin provide the backdrop for penniless musicians to meet, make beautiful music together, and then be forced to part.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe From the novel by C.S. Lewis. What young woman wouldn't identify with its heroine, Chris Guthrie, torn between the countryside of her birth and the modern world?
Brave Set in Celtic Scotland, Princess Merida, whose wild fire-colored locks match her feisty personality, bristles against an arranged marriage. Her independence and wild ways get the better of her and she finds herself at war with her family, particularly her mother.
Local Hero An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.
Rob Roy This historical drama starring Liam Neeson follows 18th century Scottish Clan Chief, Rob Roy, as he battles with unscrupulous nobleman in the Scottish Highlands to save his family and his livelihood. Shot entirely on location in Scotland, this historical adventure is packed with beautiful scenery from the wild Scottish Highlands, this is the perfect film for learning a little bit more about the life of the clans.
A History of Scotland This BBC series offers a succinct, lightly dramatized retelling of Scottish history.
Mary, Queen of Scots Saoirse Ronan stars in this portrayal of Mary upon her return to Scotland and her complicated relationship with her cousin, Elizabeth I.
Edie After her controlling husband dies, an elderly woman embarks on a trip to fulfill her longtime dream of climbing a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.
BOOKS
For the Love of Ireland: A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers by Susan Cahill. This combination anthology and travel guide uses excerpts from the works of many notable Irish writers, both classic and contemporary, to set the scene for the traveler to Ireland.
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. The untold story of Ireland’s role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.
Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction by Senia Paseta. An interesting read on the major aspects of Irish history, politics, and society in the late 19th and 20th century.
Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney. In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O’Mara in the Irish countryside. For three wonderful evenings, the old gentleman enthralls the local audience with narratives of Ireland’s enduring accomplishments. These nights change young Ronan forever, setting him on a years-long pursuit of the glorious tales that are no less than the saga of this tenacious and extraordinary isle.
Confessions of a Pagan Nun: A Novel by Kate Horsley. Cloistered in a stone cell at the monastery of Saint Brigid, Gwynneve, a sixth-century Irish nun, secretly records the memories of her pagan youth during assigned task of transcribing the words of St. Augustine and St. Patrick.
Irish Fairy And Folk Tales by W.B. Yeats. Sixty-five tales and poems in this delightful collection uniquely capture the rich heritage of the Celtic imagination, filled with legends of village ghosts, fairies, demons, witches, priests, and saints.
Dubliners by James Joyce. This collection of 15 tales offers vivid, tightly focused observations of the lives of Dublin’s poorer classes by one of the 20th century’s most influential writers.
Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom by Tim Robinson. Part of the Connemara trilogy, Robinson writes about the people, places and history of south Connemara - one of Ireland’s last Gaelic-speaking enclaves.
Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt. Recounting scenes from his childhood in New York City and Limerick, Ireland, McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table.
The Best of Sherlock Holmes by David Stuart Davies. This is a collection of twenty of the very best tales from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fifty-six short stories featuring the arch sleuth. It's a good base to from which to explore more books, movies and tv series about this Edinburgh author's famous character.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark As much about a time and a place as a character, Spark's Jean Brodie came to embody a generation of Edinburgh women. Her unconventional ways and blatant favouritism made her both terrifying and alluring.
Waverly by Sir Walter Scott. Scott's first novel tells the story of Edward Waverley, a naïve young man who is posted to Scotland with his regiment. Edward must decide whether he will follow the world he has always known, or be drawn into an older world of honor.
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer. When he discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his uncle’s estate, he finds himself kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle. This adventure deals with true historical events relating to the Jacobite Rising in Scotland.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. On their weekly walk, a sensible, trustworthy lawyer named Mr. Utterson listens as his friend Enfield tells a gruesome tale of a sinister figure named Mr. Hyde who tramples a young girl, disappears into a door on the street, and reemerges to pay off her relatives with a check signed by a respectable gentleman. It happens that one of Utterson’s clients and close friends, Dr. Jekyll, has written a will transferring all of his property to this same Mr. Hyde. Soon, Utterson begins having dreams in which a faceless figure stalks through a nightmarish version of London.
FILMS
Michael Collins. IRA leader Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), was one of the most important political leaders of the 20th century. The film follows Collins as he matures from guerrilla leader to national hero and statesman. In this movie, Collins is set up by Irish president Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), who was jealous of his legendary popularity. De Valera puts Collins in the position of negotiating a peace treaty that would never satisfy the Irish hero's hard-core followers. When the IRA leader returns with a first-step compromise, De Valera undercuts Collins's popularity by refusing to support the revised treaty.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley Another gripping drama set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, this movie tells the fictional story of two brothers, Damien and Teddy O'Donovan, who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom. Cillian Murphy's emotional performance and the deep Irish history should put this film at the top of your list.
The Quiet Man. Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since.
Ryan's Daughter. The wild and rugged scenery of the Dingle peninsula is the setting for this classic, romantic war drama, which place in the political turmoil of Ireland in 1916. While the British battle European aggressors in World War I, The Irish Republican Army makes a secret deal with the Germans for a cache of weapons to battle British rule. The story revolves around Charles (Robert Mitchum) who falls in love and marries the much younger Rosy (Sarah Miles), who soon has an illicit affair with a British officer.
My Left Foot No one expects much from Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother and no shortage of grit and determination, Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.
In the Name of the Father. Daniel Day-Lewis again stars in this biographical courtroom drama based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Irish Republican Army's Guildford pub bombings, which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. The film received seven Oscar nominations back in 1994, including best actor, best director, and best picture.
Philomena tells the story of what happens to a woman who was forced to give up her child and survived living in the laundries. The movie, which was nominated for four Oscars in 2014, shows Philomena's 50-year search for her lost son and a journalist's efforts to help her find him.
Leap Year The romantic comedy's gorgeous setting is reason enough to watch. As uptight American (Amy Adams) travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day, she instead ends up falling in love with a gorgeous Irishman. The cute chemistry and idyllic countryside will quickly make you forget all about the geographical inaccuracies and sometimes cringe-worthy Irish stereotypes.
P.S. I Love You Another sweet chick-flick, a young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
The Commitments Roddy Doyle’s story details the lives of a group of unemployed youths in Dublin as they form a soul band and attempt to make a success of it beyond their town.
Outlander A former war nurse in the late 1940s travels back in time, through some stones in the Scottish Highlands, to the eighteenth century, and falls in love with a Jacobite warrior. Romance, war, history, and an amazing female protagonist are set against the atmospheric backdrop of Scotland.
Braveheart This is the story of William Wallace, one of Scotland’s most bloodthirsty soldiers, and how he united his army to rise up against the oppression they faced from the King of England in the 13th century. Mel Gibson’s direction and portrayal of the hero won the film numerous awards, and with the battle scenes as glorious and gory as they were, it’s not hard to see why.
Trainspotting This tough story follows four young addicts and their struggles with poverty, relationships and getting clean. Emotional, eye-opening and even horrifying at times, it represents a very real and difficult illness that many people struggle to understand, and doesn’t try to glamorise it.
Once The streets of Dublin provide the backdrop for penniless musicians to meet, make beautiful music together, and then be forced to part.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe From the novel by C.S. Lewis. What young woman wouldn't identify with its heroine, Chris Guthrie, torn between the countryside of her birth and the modern world?
Brave Set in Celtic Scotland, Princess Merida, whose wild fire-colored locks match her feisty personality, bristles against an arranged marriage. Her independence and wild ways get the better of her and she finds herself at war with her family, particularly her mother.
Local Hero An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.
Rob Roy This historical drama starring Liam Neeson follows 18th century Scottish Clan Chief, Rob Roy, as he battles with unscrupulous nobleman in the Scottish Highlands to save his family and his livelihood. Shot entirely on location in Scotland, this historical adventure is packed with beautiful scenery from the wild Scottish Highlands, this is the perfect film for learning a little bit more about the life of the clans.
A History of Scotland This BBC series offers a succinct, lightly dramatized retelling of Scottish history.
Mary, Queen of Scots Saoirse Ronan stars in this portrayal of Mary upon her return to Scotland and her complicated relationship with her cousin, Elizabeth I.
Edie After her controlling husband dies, an elderly woman embarks on a trip to fulfill her longtime dream of climbing a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.
SPAIN
BOOKS
Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago by Beth Jusino
The Camino de Santiago has been traversed for thousands of years by saints, sinners, generals, misfits, kings, and queens. This past spring, my friend, Laura, and I joined the pilgrims making their way to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, North-West of Spain. We walked for six days between 14 and 17 miles a day and arrived in Santiago on Easter Sunday. This is a story about a Seattle couple who take three months off work to walk from France to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Iberia by James Michener. I love this author and the way he weaves historical fiction around lengthy family sagas. This is a passionate, delightful, and essential reading about Spain.
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, by Maria Rosa Menocal. A look at how three cultures, Judaic, Islamic and Christian formed a relatively stable co-existence from 786-1492. Much of the history, architecture and culture we discover on our tours comes from this period of time.
Driving over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía, by Chris Stewart. You know I love this genre: American moves to Europe and buys a villa. Some day ... This is a fun book about ex-Genesis drummer, Chris Stewart, and his family’s account of buying a home and surviving in the Andalusian countryside. What attracted me about this book is the fact that neither Chris nor Ana had any experience in farming, but through sheer determination, they made a go of it. Being horticulturally challenge myself, it made me feel like I could do it too.
Picasso's War by Russell Martin. My favorite museum in Madrid is the Reina Sofia, which houses Picasso's masterpiece, Guernica. The painting is certainly the his most powerful political statement, an immediate reaction to the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the Basque town of Guernica during Spanish Civil War.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. Barcelona, 1945. Just after the war, a great city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds. A boy named Daniel awakes on his 11th birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel’s widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona’s guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again.
Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox. This dual biography of the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabel tells how they each lost positions of power — one to madness and the other to the desires of England's Henry VIII.
FILMS
Spanish film-maker Pedro Almodóvar won an Academy Award for the film All About My Mother. He has also directed many other avant garde films set in post-Franco Spain, including: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, about a woman's downward spiral after a breakup. Talk to Her, Volver, and Broken Embraces. This director made Penelope Cruz a star. Almodóvar’s latest film, Pain and Glory tells the story of a film director whose career has peaked, and stars Antonio Banderas.
The Way. Starring real-life father and son Martin Sheen and Emilio Estavez, a father originally planning to fly to France to retrieve his son’s ashes finds himself walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route to pay homage to his son who died while walking the route. This movie inspired me when I was preparing to walk my own Camino this past year.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In this Woody Allen film, a macho Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) tries to seduce two American women when his stormy ex-wife (Penélope Cruz) suddenly reenters his life.
Man of La Mancha. Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren star in this musical version of Don Quixote. I love his homemade knight outfit. To dream the impossible dream ...
The Mystery of Picasso In the beautifully presented movie, Picasso is filmed painting from behind a transparent canvas, allowing a unique look at his creative process.