Tasting India by Christine Manfield is clearly a labour of love.

With India, it’s difficult to know where to start, how best to capture its essence.

So reads the opening line of the book. But the same could be said about reviewing Tasting India itself.

Tasting India spills over nearly 500 pages, peppered with sumptuous photography from Anson Smart that captures the details of India. You’ll find accommodation listings at the back, a ribboned bookmark in the middle and pages and pages of beautiful essays about the regions of India, from Kolkata and Darjeeling to Rajasthan, Mumbai and Goa.

It’s a love song  – or sonnet – to India and a publication that certainly stays far from the real-life grit and grime of the streets. Yet before I veer into discussing the portrait of India it paints, I shouldn’t forget to talk about the whole driving force behind the book: the food.

Tasting India provides recipes for almost every taste, although they’re not from the Quick Cheat’s School of Cooking, that’s for sure. I couldn’t find more than half the ingredients listed (although I was in Seville at the time,) so in the end I plumped for “sweet and sour tomatoes” for my first trial run.

With only two bullet points worth of instructions, the recipe seemed ideal for maintaining my “amateur” status, should making Indian (or indeed any) Food one day become an Olympic Sport. (Gymnastics, by now, is probably out of the question after all.)

But back to the tomatoes.

My tastebuds shiver at the memory of it. Fresh coriander, a sharp syrupy tang, an easy dish to make…I’m hooked. This would normally be the point where I should introduce a staggeringly mouth-watering picture of my own culinary efforts…but one look at the state of my kitchen could put you off food for life. I’m working on it. New Year’s Resolutions and all that…

In the meantime…Thank you Christine Manfield for introducing me to this wonderful piece of work and reawakening my enthusiasm, if not proficiency, for cooking – and for India.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Tasting India by Christine Manfield for review purposes on the understanding that I was free to review it independently. As usual. As always.

Tasting India by Christine Manfield RRP £40

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Ell-jubble-jana.

Leu-yoop-leeyana.

Lovely-jubbly. Longing. Lingering. Ljubljana.

Ljubljana

Along with Timbuktu, this place stole my heart because of its name, its mystery, and its canny knack for camouflage in the face of the world wide press. Something the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelilna Jolie never managed even in the midst of the Namib Desert.

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is a city that belongs to the EU. It uses euros (unlike, say, Prague, Budapest, Stockholm and London) and it sits within a stone’s throw of household names like Italy, Austria and Switzerland. It was never behind the iron curtain; it’s a fully paid-up member of NATO and it’s a shorter drive from Venice to Ljubljana than it is from Paris to Bordeaux.

Yet Ljubljana, and its country Slovenia, might as well be Atlantis as far as many are concerned. A point picked up first by Paulo Coelho, rather than my humble self, in his staggeringly powerful book Veronika Decides to Die.

This uplifting novel, despite its unpromising title, contains this passage early on:

No-one, anywhere in the world, would begin an article asking where Mount Everest was, even if they had never been there. Yet in the middle of Europe, a journalist on an important magazine felt no shame at asking such a question, because he knew that most of his readers would not know where Slovenia was, still less its capital, Ljubljana…

The final act of her life would be to write a letter to the magazine, explaining that Slovenia was one of the five republics into which the former Yugoslavia had been divided

The letter would be her suicide note. She would give no explanation of the real reasons for her death.

It was a passage – and a book – that left a lasting impression.

After all these years of wonder, my arrival in Slovenia was about as unremarkable as they come.

From Trieste to Ljubljana

The original plan involved heading north from Bulgaria, through Serbia and then on to Croatia before sidestepping west into Slovenia. Bulgarian rail strikes, however, introduced a swift redirect via Venice to Trieste in northern Italy, where I picked up the trail again.

Trieste Railway Station

From Trieste to Ljubljana

From the outside, the Trieste Railway Station resembles a stately home, dressed in columns, arches and a top tier balcony, guarded by leafy trees and lanterns. Inside seems even grander, with ornamental statues and a profusion of pink panels and even more columns.

Although it’s peace time, the Italian and Slovenian rail companies are having something of a squabble right now. Direct trains between Trieste and Slovenia have been cancelled, prompting many customers to note that “TrenItalia and the European Union have achieved what the Cold War failed to do for more than 40 years: block transport across the border.”

Luckily, the alternatives aren’t too tricky, particularly when armed with knowledge gleaned from the Lonely Planet forums. I hand over the princely sum of about two euros for a twenty minute bus journey to the small border town called Sezana.

It’s one of the most anti-climactic border crossings I’ve ever known. In that there wasn’t one.

Sezana, A Border Town

The bus pulled up on an unremarkable stretch of tarmac and the driver gestured that I, rather than the others, should get out.
I did – and waited on the side of the road, not entirely sure whether we’d reached Sezana, and hence Slovenia, or whether I was still in Italy somewhere and needed to be walking to somewhere else.

My mangled Italian decodes a direction or two and I plod towards Sezana’s station.

If I didn’t know better, I could be in England. So could the roads, the low grey sky, the muted winter sound of birds chirping in the fields.

It’s exciting how familiar it is. Except, it’s not.

The differences are subtle but they’re certainly there, particularly when I reach the station.

I don’t know whether it’s the wild punk graffiti that laces over the carriage of each train. Or the pleasure of a lilting, rapping rhythm of a language that I can’t begin to decipher. Or the fact that at first glance this station looks so much like home and yet tastes so much of adventure.

I’m probably too old to think things like this, but perhaps it’s because it’s my first time in Slovenia.

I’m on a train towards a place called Ljubljana. And I’m a child in search of Atlantis.

To be continued…

This article forms part of the #IronRoute series, a journey from Istanbul to Berlin by train, sponsored by InterRail. Find out more about the whole project here and read the last post about Trieste and the Iron Curtain here.

Longing for Ljubljana – Travel From Trieste first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

It’s not because I don’t like it. It’s because I’ve fallen in love with it.

How to Take Great Pictures

There are plenty of books, blog posts, manuals and videos out there that will walk you through the basics of photography (and I should know, I’ve read enough of them.) This one takes you by the hand, lights some candles, whispers in your ear and seduces you into the world of photography.

Inside the Book

Section One talks about exposure and what it takes to get it right. Section Two covers the traditional rule of thirds, sprinkling in some thoughts on blur, self-timers and depth of field. Section Three talks about light – and if this sounds a bit too abstract for you, don’t worry, it’s full of practical advice. Finally, Section Four talks about tips & tricks and comes with tear-off cheat sheets.

Why I Love It

The Soulless Way to Learn About Exposure: The Camera Manual

Yet the real heart of the book comes from Bethany’s passion for her subject, her incredible photographs, and her clear and easy writing style. Not to mention some great graphics and quotes that manage to make reading about physics feel like indulging in a hot fudge sundae.

Can you find this information elsewhere? Yes, of course, like most things these days. Your camera manual probably has half of it and you could spend hours and hours online (or take a degree in photography yourself) to find the rest. Yet, why bother, when it’s collected together so beautifully here?

Don’t be put off by the “travel” part of the description – the advice is just as good for enthusiastic photographers who never leave home.

Getting Out of Auto Teaches You How to Take Great Pictures

If you’ve struggled with getting out of auto, never quite got around to it or keep meaning to ask for a few more photo tips, then this is the book for you. If you want a little more information before you buy, check out Bethany’s excellent blog Beers and Beans.

Photographers are storytellers, journalists, documentarians and artists. They are the purveyors of absolute beauty and the seers of the ugliest terrors human nature can imagine.

Photographers are historians.

$9.99 Available 1st August

Buy Now Disclosure: I don’t know Bethany and I don’t make any money from writing this review. I am off to find an affiliate link (a kind of commission) for it, though, as I think it’s just that good!

UPDATE:Found it! If you’d like to buy the book and support this blog at the same time then please buy it through this link. Cheers – and enjoy!

How to Take Great Pictures – Getting Out of Auto – A Book Review first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

The Seville Communion takes readers into two different worlds. It starts with the priests who guard the Pope’s personal computer in the Vatican. Then we meet Quart, a priest with more than a hint of James Bond and Luca Brazi, who works for the Pope and, well, Christianity at large. He is a faithful servant to his cause, even though he doesn’t have faith in his cause.

With this unusual beginning, our story starts.  Quart travels to Seville to track down a hacker who has been stirring up trouble in the Vatican.  A small but beautiful church, with lofty aristocratic connections, is under threat; a local bank has realised how much the land beneath it is worth; and now two people have died under suspicious circumstances.

From our hero, the unconventional priest with the Hollywood smile, to the faded flamenco singer, the bungling private detective, the sleazy journalist and beyond, The Seville Communion introduces a fun and fascinating cast.

From our hero, the unconventional priest with the Hollywood smile, to the faded flamenco singer, the bungling private detective, the sleazy journalist and beyond, The Seville Communion introduces a fun and fascinating cast.

It also manages to discuss world philosophy and the meaning of life (in between accidental arson and over-enthusiastic  prostitutes.) Such a book deserves to be read.

The Seville Communion as a Travel Guide to Seville

Our Lady of the Tears - Seville

The Seville Communion doesn’t describe normal life in the suburbs of Seville, that’s for sure.

However, it does describe the centre well, adding extra flavour and nuance to the barrio Santa Cruz, the Triana district and the streets alongside the Guadalquivir. It also illuminates the fading icons of Seville: aristocracy and wealth, doomed matadors, tormented flamenco singers and Catholicism itself.

It also manages to discuss world philosophy and the meaning of life

To get a feel for Seville’s past and the themes that still flavour Andalucia, The Seville Communion is a flamboyant and yet thought-provoking  read.

Travel to Seville Through Fiction first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

I’ll be honest. I’d never normally pick up this book. Not because I don’t want to create a better world, I desperately do. But over the years I’ve grown cynical of others who say they want to (and yes, I’m aware of the irony.) Too many agendas. Too many false promises. Worst of all, too many well-meaning but harmful projects.

When the blurb said “No religious or political standpoint,” my curiosity was nudged. When it went on to say “Essays from Nobel Prizewinners, Bush and Blair,” I was hooked. What would they have to say? As men at the centre of a number of ongoing conflicts, how did they manage to escape a political standpoint and talk about creating a better world?

And what was even more tantalising: if the author had managed to round up this pair, who else had he spoken to?

Book Review: How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth

Despite the blurb, the first thing to mention is that this book does have a religious standpoint (it opens with not one but two quotes from the bible.) The second is that it’s pretty US-centric (“People from faraway countries can look very strange…on television. They always seem to be doing things we don’t do in the United States: throwing rocks at a tank, rioting, starving with distended bellies.”)

The third thing is…don’t let that stop you from reading it.

Heaven has sections on Peace, Security, Freedom, Democracy, Prosperity, Spiritual Harmony, Racial Harmony, Ecological Harmony, Health and Moral Purpose and Meaning. Despite that long list, it’s easy to dip in and out of despite the hefty topics under discussion. Scientists, journalists and cooks mingle with lawyers, politicians and campaigners. Each has a different topic, each has a different point of view.

Some I rolled my eyes at, some got me thinking and a couple nearly moved me to tears. Even the ones I hated, made me think, I suppose. Given that the world is made up of different people, each with their own opinion, perhaps I should read about beliefs I disagree with a little more often. Not that I’ll necessarily change my mind, but it’s always good to challenge my thoughts and to make sure that I’ve thought through the ideas and ideals that drive me.

“I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end.” Albert Schweitzer.

Words well said, in my opinion.

And as for what Bush, Blair & Obama had to say? You’ll have to read the book to find out…

A Cup of Tea with Bush, Blair & Obama first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

Tuscany – by Dimitri

Guest author Robin Locker explains why she recommends The Reluctant Tuscan.

One of my favourite places on Earth is Italy, specifically Tuscany.  The most well known book starring Tuscany, the one responsible for my first trip to Italy, is the popular Under the Tuscan Sun. However, many other books offer a slightly different perspective on this beautiful region.

One of those books is The Reluctant Tuscan.  For me, this book title is a bit unlikely.  I can’t imagine being reluctant to travel or live in Tuscany, but author Phil Doran drags his heels, kicking and screaming all the way.

The basic premise resembles Frances Mayes’s memoir, whereby wealthy Californians who seem to have gobs of money buy and restore historic, run-down properties. The trials and tribulations that result from adjusting to a different culture and overcoming the Italian bureaucracy that stalls reconstruction projects are present throughout both books.

Honestly, though, I’d have to say that I’d be more inclined to spend time in Doran’s Tuscany.  The Reluctant Tuscan’s stories seem a bit more realistic and above all, humorous. The book has a breezy, down-to-earth feeling, similar perhaps to the atmosphere one finds in Tuscany, an area famous for its laid-back lifestyle.

The descriptions of the Tuscan countryside and Doran’s dilapidated house transport you to verdant green landscapes, old dirt paths, crumbling stone structures and fields blanketed with poppies.

The best moments in the book, though, are his stories involving neighbours and villagers, the locals you would encounter if you travelled there. The neighbour with a yard full of chickens, the one that gives you the evil eye and the crazy landlord who wants his property back.  You feel as if you know them intimately and you learn their secrets, like how to get anything you want by making it all about your “Mama“.

This book would make a wonderful travel companion as you’ll learn things about Tuscan travel that aren’t listed in any of the popular guidebooks.

Robin Locker is a France and Italy travel consultant, freelance travel writer and photographer, who hopes to one day realize her dream of living La Dolce Vita in her beloved Italy. She writes about travel for MNUI travel insurance and on her own site, My Melange. She is addicted to social media – you can follow her on Twitter at @MyMelange.

The Reluctant Tuscan first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

Set in the streets of Barcelona around the time of the Civil War, The Shadow of the Wind delivers poetic melancholy, gothic description and a bookworm’s thriller.

Daniel Sempere is just 10 years old when his father takes him to Barcelona’s “Cemetery of Forgotten Books.” Inside this library, near-mythical bookkeepers have rescued and preserved obscure titles and discontinued lines. Daniel is allowed to choose just one – and feels himself drawn to The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax.

Young, impressionable and infatuated with the novel, Daniel searches for other titles by the same author. So far, so normal.

However, despite being the son of a bookseller, this proves much harder than expected. Carax’s novels have all but disappeared in blazing fires and crazy auctions from Paris to Barcelona. What’s more, Daniel is being stalked by a faceless man, Lain Coubert, namely the devil in Carax’s original book. Thus begins a mystery that consumes Daniel’s life (and the rest of the book, naturally.)

The Shadow of the Wind has been immensely popular – and I’m not just basing this on my own anecdotal evidence (recommendations from a Czech, an Englishwoman and a stranger on an aeroplane.)

The language drips with poetry, which I enjoyed, however,  the story dragged for me and I couldn’t really understand why the women took the sexual risks they did, given the formulaic and violent reactions from almost every man around.

I want books to grab my attention on page one and never let up, not even for a second before tumbling, breathless to the end. But I already know I’m an adrenaline junkie.

To emphasize that point, the main character even says:

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”

The Shadow of the Wind as a Guide to Barcelona

With the exception of brief forays into Paris, Barcelona stars as the setting for The Shadow of the Wind. However, it’s a rainy, chilling, forlorn Barcelona, in the age of police brutality, war and oppressive ideas. So although the characters bring the streets and landmarks alive and the book itself includes a guided walk around Barcelona, I found it bore little resemblance to the vibrant 21^st century city I visited.

Read it if you love gothic stories, not if you’re looking to recreate the feel of Barcelona today.

“The city is a sorceress, you know, Daniel? It gets under your skin and steals your soul without you knowing it…”

The Shadow of the Wind: A Book Review first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

So begins Jay McInerney’s Ransom – a thriller set in and around 1970s Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Although the title may lead you to expect some sort of kidnapping scenario, Ransom in this case refers to the name of the central character – and a more complex interpretation of lost identity, negotiations and the price of freedom and atonement.

As a thriller, I enjoyed this book almost until its conclusion, however as a travelogue I loved it all the way through.

McInerney brings to life the streets of Japan as he covers the intricate traditions of the Geisha, collaborative business etiquette, Kyoto’s temples, the principles of martial arts and the blaring reality of screechingly-loud television. He then turns the tables on the expats by exploring and gently mocking their reasons for being there.

If you want to get a taste of Japan – or relive your time there – then I would highly recommend this book.

By the way, if you do decide to buy this book through the link above then I will receive (an incredibly small) commission. At the moment that will go back into covering the costs of this website but if I ever hit the big time by doing this then I’ll be sure to let you know.

Ransom – A Travel Book on Japan first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

By Gidzy

Without a doubt, Wild Swans influenced my travels more than any other book.

Wild Swans describes the lives of three women living in China over the course of the last century: the author, her mother and grandmother. Detailed, intense and unflinching, it tells the story of girls with bound feet, Mao’s revolution and the famines and doctrines that came to characterise the land.

Wild Swans

Yet, with place names like Tiger Leaping Gorge, I also imagined a world of beauty, a world so different to mine that I ached to try to understand it. Since China holds a quarter of the world’s population within its borders, I felt both ashamed and awakened at the level of ignorance this book revealed in me. I also began to appreciate the freedom I had grown up with and taken for granted in my own life.

The trouble was, no-one else I knew wanted to go there. My quest to find a travel partner resulted in me exploring Peru, Mexico, Italy and Thailand, before Mr Spider finally agreed. We headed there with only a plane ticket and a Rough Guide in 1999 – and the experience did not disappoint.

If I read Wild Swans now, it would probably have less of a profound effect. I am older and, hopefully, a little wiser. But the fascination with delving below the metaphorical tip of the global iceberg, of hearing as many sides of the story as there are people involved, has not left me.

Nor has the gratitude at being able to do so.

Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China
As a Travel Guide – Wild Swans provides a fantastic introduction to understanding China, although as Jung Chang left in 1978 it misses the changes of the last 30 years.

Wild Swans – Jung Chang first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...

The Lollipop Shoes delivers a thriller, wrapped in the shiny foil and sugar-dusted facade of a tale about a chocolate shop. For those who have read (or watched the film) Chocolat, this sequel catches up with Vianne Rocher and her
daughter Anouk now living in disguise in Montmartre, Paris.

The book opens on Halloween night with a woman who steals the identities of the dead. This time she has cast herself as Zozie de l’Alba, a suspiciously charming woman who sees in Anouk the simmering powers of a child on the edge of adulthood and rebellion. So the psychological war games begin.

Rich sensory detail could qualify as a Harris trademark – and the Lollipop Shoes contains lashings of it. But the heart of this story deals with mother-daughter relationships and the fear of losing a child.

Children are knives, my mother once said. They don’t mean to, but they cut. And yet we cling to them, don’t we, we clasp them until the blood flows.


The magic isn’t to my taste, but the story engages and the trip through confectionery and the narrow streets around the Sacré Coeur rewards like one of Vianne’s homemade truffles.

And the real Sacre Coeur

AS A TRAVEL GUIDE -

The Lollipop Shoes only shows Montmartre and – despite a few gritty comments –the district emerges as a fairytale land of blue tin signs, painted shutters and neat café-lined squares.

Enjoyable for nostalgia or for curling up with a mug of hot chocolate (though prepare to feel inadequate if, like me, yours involves powder from a sachet rather than vanilla and cardamon pods stirred on the stove.) Hardly gives you a realistic portrait of Paris as a whole.

The Lollipop Shoes, Montmartre, Paris first appeared on Inside the Travel Lab. Head over there for more juicy fresh travel goodness. Or, you know, something you might like to read...