The Temporary European
Description
Write guidebooks, make travel TV, lead bus tours? Cameron Hewitt has been Rick Steves' right hand for more than 20 years, doing just that.
The Temporary European is a collection of vivid, entertaining travel tales from across Europe. Cameron zips you into his backpack for engaging and inspiring experiences: sampling spleen sandwiches at a Palermo street market; hiking alone with the cows high in the Swiss Alps; simmering in Budapest's thermal baths; trekking across an English moor to a stone circle; hand-rolling pasta at a Tuscan agriturismo; shivering through Highland games in a soggy Scottish village; and much more.
Along the way, Cameron introduces us to his favorite Europeans. In Mostar, Alma demonstrates how Bosnian coffee isn't just a drink, but a social ritual. In France, Mathilde explains that the true mastery of a fromager isn't making cheese, but aging it. In Spain, Fran proudly eats acorns, but never corn on the cob.
While personal, the stories also tap into the universal joy of travel. Cameron's travel motto (inspired by a globetrotting auntie) is "Jams Are Fun"-the fondest memories arrive when your best-laid plans go sideways. And he encourages travelers to stow their phones and guidebooks, slow down, and savor those magic moments that arrive between stops on a busy itinerary.
The stories are packed with inspiration and insights for your next trip, including how to find the best gelato in Italy, how to select the best produce at a Provençal market, how to navigate Spain's confusing tapas scene, and how to survive the experience of driving in Sicily (hint: just go numb).
And you'll get a reality check for every traveler's "dream job": researching and writing guidebooks; guiding busloads of Americans on tours around Europe; scouting and producing a travel TV show; and working with Rick Steves and his merry band of travelers. It's a candid account of how the sausage gets made in the travel business-told with warts-and-all honesty and a sense of humor.
For Rick Steves fans, or anyone who loves Europe, The Temporary European is inspiring, insightful, and fun.
More details
Person
Content
Foreword by Rick Steves
Preface
About this Book
I've Been in Your Hotel Room: A Day in the Life of a Guidebook Writer
II. THE TEMPORARY EUROPEAN
Hey! I'm in Europe! | Kraków, Poland
The Permanent Residents of Vacationland | Croatia's Dalmatian Coast
The Artisanal Life | Tuscany, Italy
My Travel Origin Story | Europe, 1999
Jams Are Fun: When Travel Plans Go Sideways
III. DECONSTRUCTING CLICHÉS
Velkomin til Íslands! | Reykjavík, Iceland
The Soggy, Sunny Highland Games of Taynuilt | Scottish Highlands
D'oh! A Deer! | Salzburg, Austria
Loving the French (What's Not to Love?) | France
That Wonderful Language Barrier | Europe
Jams Are Fun: How to Drive in Sicily: Just Go Numb
Like All Things, This Tour Shall Pass: Confessions of a Tour Guide
IV. FOOD IS CULTURE
Come On, Have Some Guts | Palermo, Sicily
These Pierogi Are Perfect | Kraków, Poland
Seven Markets in Seven Days | Provence, France
The Trouble with Tapas | Spain
Where the World's Food Comes to You | London, England
Jams Are Fun: There's a (Gastrointestinal) Bomb on the Bus!
V. ALL ALONE; NEVER ALONE
An Introvert in the Land of Extroverts | Italy
High in the Mountains with Tina's Dad | Slovenian Alps
What Lies Beneath | Dartmoor, England
Waiting for Luciano's Knock | Val d'Orcia, Italy
Acorns and Corncobs: A Semester Abroad | Salamanca, Spain, 1996
Jams Are Fun: It's Gonna Be a Noisy Night | Europe
In Romania, Everything Is (Not) Possible: Making Travel Television
VI. MEANINGFUL HEDONISM
Pistachio Gelato Never Lies | Florence, Italy
Making Hay While the Sun Shines | Above Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Up to My Earlobes in Hot Water | Budapest, Hungary
Ghosts and Skeptics | Great Britain
Jams Are Fun: A Rough Day on the North Sea
The Merry Band of Travelers: The Cult of Rick Steves
VII. CHANGES AND CHALLENGES
The Sublime and the Ridiculous | Cinque Terre, Italy
One Day I Met Some Refugees | Zagreb, Croatia
Blood, Toil, Tears, Sweat, and Surrendering to Brexit | South England
Hallstatt Never Changes...Except When It Does | Hallstatt, Austria
Jams Are Fun: In Rome, You Can Never Get a Taxi When It Rains
EPILOGUE: After the World Changed, a New Hope for Travel; Or: Shutterbugs Miss the Lion
LUMPENSAMMLER: Favorites (and Least Favorites)
Acknowledgments
