May 02 2010
Lisa Wins Travel Writing Contest!
Lonely Planet recently held a contest to publicize the release of its new Discover series of guidebooks. Booksellers picked five books about a place of their choosing and briefly described why travelers should read their recommendations. And we’re pleased to announce (and brag!) that our very own staffer and blog favorite, Lisa, has won!
Lisa chose five book suggestions about France. Her selections and descriptions about the books are posted below and can also be read on Lonely Planet’s website. Not only were Lisa’s answers published on the Lonely Planet site, but she won a $1000 American Airlines gift card – that she has already spent on a flight to France. And, well, most of the rest of Europe. “I spent the money on my flight to Paris-Brittany-Timisoara, Romania,-Belgrade,Serbia-Sarajevo, Bosnia-Dubrovnik, Croatia-Dublin, Ireland ticket.”
Since Lisa’s reading list impressed Lonely Planet so much, we asked her to give us an idea of what her reading list will look like this summer when she heads off to France, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Ireland. “I will read Every Man Dies Alone, the three installments of the Stieg Larsson’s books – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy, Let The Great World Spin, The Skeptical Romancer, and, I don’t know, probably gossip magazines in Croatian to try to learn something.”
While we’re bragging about Lisa, we’ll mention that she spends every summer in Dubrovnik and speaks nearly-fluent Croatian. And, being the expert traveler that she is, Lisa has “been preparing for Icelandic volcanos” by reading The Budget Traveller Guide to Sleeping in Airports online.
What else does she want to do with her winnings? “I plan on eating lots of Breton gallettes (pure butter), crêpes, seafood, and different Balkan sausages. I might try to go to the Ritz Paris and order a cocktail.” As long as she blogs about it. Congratulations, Lisa!
Lisa’s five winning titles, with summaries:
Paris Underground, by Mark Overden
Graphic history of the Metro that is perfect for map geeks, Paris aficionados or anyone who wants to know where they are going in Paris.
The Cocktails of the Ritz Paris, by Colin Peter Field
All about the cocktails that have been invented, served, enjoyed, and even named after famous patrons of the Ritz Paris. And super-cute illustrations as well.
Between Meals, by A.J. Liebling
Liebling went to Paris to study, but instead he ate and ate. And then he wrote about it. Then he ate again.
Memoirs of Montparnasse, by John Glassco
In 1929 Canadian-poet Glassco had one hell of a year living in Montparnasse and at one point compares Gertrude Stein to a burlap sack.
My Life In France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
Julia loved France. Julia loved food. I love Julia. We both love butter. Everyone loves her book.
Nicole -- Nicole hails from metropolian Conway, South Carolina. While she's not busy doing Southern things like eating biscuits and heavily buttered grits (often together), she likes to travel to other countries and eat their food. Her favorite exotic treats include: Icelandic Skyr, South Indian dosa, British Jaffa Cakes, and Austrian strudel.
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