Bonjour 40 by Karen Chase

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Malena Lott

Ah, Paris! I’ve never been, but thanks to author Karen Chase, I got to put a little French in my fall break. While my body was in Texas on a ranch, my mind was in Paris. Chase’s book is based on the blog she kept while living in Paris for 40 days. It’s a travel log, set up by date and numbered 1 through 40 so we get Paris as she saw it versus categories or themes.

Chase wasn’t traveling in search of love or redemption, so don’t expect an EAT, PRAY, LOVE a-ha moment in the quest, but she does do a great job of making her trip enjoyable for the reader and leaving us with some nice takeaways about life and adventure. She also includes history and facts to inform us along the way. The food bits and the Louvre, in particular, were my favorites. -ML

AN EXCERPT – ON FOOD

By Karen A. Chase
Author of Bonjour 40: A travel log
(40 years. 40 days. 40 seconds)

I’ve always said if you want to figure out where exactly those “really comfortable shoes” you bought are going to start giving you trouble, you could just walk around New York and your feet will find the spot. The same is true of Paris. Whenever I wasn’t writing at a café, eating, or sleeping, I was on the move. If not on foot, by bike. One day I walked from the Eiffel Tower to my apartment. That was about four miles. It doesn’t seem like much, but that morning I first biked to an early morning market. Then I walked to lunch. Shopped in the afternoon, wrote while I was at lunch and breakfast, and then after returning to my apartment to freshen up, I walked to dinner. According to my calculations, my total caloric output that day was just over 2,000. Given my average eating habits while I was there, I figure my input was about 1,500. As Ted often tells his therapy patients who are struggling with weight issues, “If the input exceeds the output, it stays put.” My output exceeded the input. So it went kaput.
The most notable difference, however, was the simple fact that not once in five weeks did I think about caloric intake or expenditure figures affecting my figure. Not once. All the above calculations were gathered upon returning home to calorie-obsessed America. (Ironically, the same country where forty-nine states have an obesity rate over 30 percent.) Here, my inbox fills with reminders from www.WebMD.com and www.RealAge.com to eat healthy, cut down, or cut out everything I coveted in France. Here, menus at restaurants tell me how many calories are in each dish. To help me? Shock me? Direct my choices with guilt? Here, magazine ads tell me I can lose unwanted pounds by actually paying for prepared or processed meals, popping pills, or tracking my every move on my new phone app. Ahhhhh! Come on! I want to enjoy life. Shuuut uuuup already!

It was so simple there. The lifestyle I had for five weeks was guilt-free and made me slimmer simply because I was moving around and eating a common-sense diet. So good-bye weight, and hello tight ass. By the time Ted arrived on Day 30, he took one look at my toned calves and thighs in a skirt and said, “Look at those! Where did you get those?”

Yes, I was touring and visiting, which made all the walking easier. But I also wrote. A lot. You can’t walk and write at the same time. But in between the lines, I was moving. Fast. Not sauntering. Not strolling. Speed-walking like every good French woman who refuses to miss a metro train. Even in heels.

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For more on author and to see her pictures of Paris, visit http://bonjour40.blogspot.com/.

Timetripping With Falco

Posted on July 20, 2011 by JodiL

I’ve been a stickler about my summer reading ever since I had to plod my way through Crime and Punishment while everyone else in my bunk was snickering over Forever by Judy Blume. Let’s face it, even the deepest most sensitive student of the written word–and back then I so did want to believe that was me–would have a hard time cozying up to Raskolnikov, he of the premeditated murder and the belated remorse, when there was a guy with a penis named Ralph hanging around, so to speak.

So this summer I’ve been catching up with an old friend, Marcus Didius Falco, the ancient Roman detective created by British author Lindsey Davis, in his latest mystery Nemesis. I met Falco just a few years after his debut in The Silver Pigs, a romp set in the chill of Roman Britain. I was working for a mystery publisher at the time, and the best perk of the job by far was that I could read every book I could get my hands on. I tore through the first books in days, then began what became an annual object lesson on delayed gratification until the next book’s release. To her credit and my relief, Davis never fails to deliver a new Falco novel each summer, which, given the uproar over the long-awaited release of George R. R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons, is no small feat. (Davis is even gracious enough to encourage far less literarily productive fans on her website while doing it.)

Falco is a wisecracking gumshoe detective whose shoes just happen to be sandals. The mysteries he investigates are deadly serious. Falco is not. Apparently this is a problem for some. On her official website Davis writes of Falco’s first adventure: “At this early point in his career, he has not only to make his way in the snobbish and dangerous milieu of Vespasian’s Rome, but to overcome the prejudice amongst publishers, booksellers and readers who are wary of historical novels and off-beat settings.”

By now, such misgivings are long gone. Davis writes with such confidence it’s hard to imagine that Falco’s Rome isn’t real. In Nemesis, he investigates the disappearance of a mild-mannered couple of art dealers and comes up against a violent band of freedmen that may have the imperial authorities’ protection. But as always, the colorful characters he meets on the job are never more colorful than his nearest and dearest at home. Falco and his wife Helena are the heart of the series, and their relationship is always its most interesting when it’s pushed to the limits, as it is here. Helena is every inch Falco’s equal–she was originally meant to be the first novel’s big baddie until she convinced the author otherwise. She keeps Falco grounded and gives us an all-too-familiar glimpse of what it’s like for a “spirited” woman to negotiate her way around a freewheeling yet unyieldingly patriarchal society.

The beauty of jumping into a series later in the game is that you can get hooked without having to wait for your next fix. It’s like renting the whole season of a TV show instead of following week to week. The Falco novels are a perfect way to get away without leaving home. Falco’s Rome is as alien as Katniss Evedeen’s Panem and as fantastically populated as Hogwarts. Trust me. I don’t share my summers with just anybody. Falco and Helena are always having a rough go of it, but it wouldn’t feel like summer if I wasn’t getting lost in their latest journey. These days, crime may not be any prettier, and our families haven’t gotten any less crazy. Best way to muddle through may still be to have a healthy sense of humor. But at least we get to do it with central air and indoor plumbing.

Je Ne Sais Quoi

Posted on June 2, 2011 by ViviAnna

I love when a book is set in Europe. I don’t know what it is about European settings and in essence the people that draws me in. It has that…Je ne sais quoi type of sensation. The thing I can’t put my finger on.

I’ve been to Germany and Austria and the Netherlands. I loved it there. I could wax poetic about the way I felt when roaming the cobblestone streets or touring the spectacular cathedrals and castles. But no one wants to hear my poetry…trust me. I long for the day that I can go back to those places, and add more to my touring schedule…places like France and Ireland and Scotland. I really want to travel through France. My sister lived there in a tiny village for a few months and I envy all the stories she has about her time there and the pictures of all the quaint towns and people she met along the way.

I long to see Paris, and Marseille, and Nice, and Lyon, and Nouveau Monde. Say what? Nouveau Monde? Yes, that’s right. It’s that picturesque city where the Otherworlder community has congregated. Vampires and lycans and witches, and even humans live in relative peace and harmony in the beautiful progressive city. It has much of the same look and feel of Lyon, with a long and wide river winding its way through the bustle of the city. You should go there. It’s gorgeous. Just watch out for the nightlife…they just might bite.

Nouveau Monde is the city in France that I constructed for three of my books in my Valorian Chronicles series. I love when authors make up new places, or give new life to familiar places.

What kind of settings do you love? Europe? Asia? Good old America? What kind of settings do you long for?

Floating Fireworks

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Carmen Shirkey

The plane touched down on December 31, 2005 in Sydney, Australia. 22 hours on a plane is a really, really long time. Plus, I’d given up a whole day by crossing the international dateline. Still, it didn’t seem real. I couldn’t believe that I had finally arrived in my dream destination, just in time for the huge New Year’s Eve celebration.

I’ll admit, I checked into my hotel and took a nap first – and it was hard to resist getting to the Harbor. I knew, however, that I’d probably never make it if I kept running on empty.

Once I woke up, I walked the four blocks to the place where music (and fireworks, on NYE) floats – Sydney Harbor. It was only noon on a very hot, humid day, but crowds had already started to gather and stake out a prime location for the fireworks display that would take place on that evening. New Year’s Eve banners flapped from light posts, traffic signs flashed directions to parking and entrances to the viewing locations, and I snapped photos like a person possessed.

I had decided not to fight the crowds and to grab my front-row seat on a harbor cruise. When it came time to board, I ran on board like a bride-to-be at a half-off wedding gown sale, and staked my claim on the best viewing spot I could get. I’d also arranged in advance – I’d booked this trip a year earlier – with the captain to be allowed on the boat’s bow with my camera and tripod when the fireworks action started.

The theme for Sydney’s New Year’s 2006 celebration was “Heart” and as we passed under the Harbor Bridge just after sunset, I got a glimpse of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, decorated with lights in the shape of a heart, and the lights were “beating” to underscore the theme. It made my own heart skip a beat from the anticipation. Just under the bridge was the Opera House, decked out in its party duds. It glowed purple and blue and white, and seemed to pulse in its own right.

All of the boats in the Harbor participated in a parade, decorated with the theme in mind. As midnight approached, each boat found its spot facing the Bridge, so the effect made the water look like a Christmas tree with heart-shaped ornaments in its reflection.

The boat captain started the countdown, and I joined in with him. 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1. Then, the heart that was beating in me stood still, while the heart that was beating on the bridge did the same – only for a moment. Then, like it had been given new life, it burst into bright lights from the fireworks that originated on each side of the bridge and met in the middle. For the next 10 minutes it sounded like a war zone, as we watched the display that our host city had prepared for us.

It died down for a while, but one of the boat hands said to me, in that soothing Aussie accent, “Mate, that bridge? She’s not even warmed up yet.”

I then watched another fifteen minutes, and after it was all over I joined in with a resounding “Woot!” with the crowd of thousands as we all reacted with a heart-felt round of applause.

That night followed me around Australia for the next two weeks of my country tour, and I was pleasantly surprised to see when I circled back to Sydney that the bridge still bore the heart decor. It was there when I climbed to the tippy-top of it to get the best view of Sydney I’d seen. There couldn’t have been a more perfect theme for my Sydney New Years experience, as my heart fills with joy every year at this time when I remember.

Getting the Deal

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Carmen Shirkey

Friends and family (and sometimes complete strangers!) how I find the travel deals that I use. If you were to sit down and really think about it, you’d probably figure it out on your own (eventually) but I don’t mind sharing my secrets to save you the time.

The most important thing to know is how to do your reserach. Would you buy a car without doing your research first? Your destination and deals should be no different.

Find out all you can about the place you want to visit. When are the best times to go? What’s the weather like in the different seasons? When does everyone else want to go? If there’s a high-season, consider booking what they call a “shoulder season” – the time right before or right after the “most happening” time to visit. For example, if you want summer weather, but don’t want to pay summer prices, consider traveling just after summer starts to wind down. You’ll get similar weather for much less money – plus, you can avoid the crowds.

Then – and you should love this part – start shopping! But you should really shop around. Did you find a great deal on one Web site? Check it against another Web site (and another.) Did you find a hotel deal that you think can’t be beat? Think again, and call the hotel directly. Tell the booking agent about the rate you found, and they may meet or exceed it. Never, ever, take the first deal you find, unless it’s free, and even then, I’d look around to see if you could get a spa credit or something thrown in.

You’ll get better deals if you can be flexible. For example, each time I book a trip to Las Vegas, I look at the prices the week I really want to go, and then the week before and the week after. You’d be amazed at the extreme swings between the deals. If it doesn’t matter about the “when” you could find yourself excited about the “how much”.

Las Vegas is one of my favorite destinations, so I have signed up for every email, alert and Tweet I could find for Vegas. Your favorite hotel or airline might give you an incentive to travel with them – exclusive promotions make you feel like a high-roller. And it works for more places than Vegas.

If you’ve done your research, you should be prepared. But just in case, I’ll warn you to be careful when you book in “off” times to save money. If you book a trip to the Caribbean in the U.S. summertime, for example, yes, you’ll save lots of cash because it’s hurricane season. However, you may want to spend a bit of that savings on trip insurance, because the same reason that the trip costs less – the hurricane threat – could cause you to lose your shirt if you’re not covered. Shopping around for insurance, however, is another way to save.