Unabridged Audiobook
Wonderful travelogue of three American women touring Europe in the 19th century. Clearly semi-autobiographical with many fascinating authentic details (being able to “watch” and listen to an opera performance in Italy while dressed for bed in their adjacent hotel room because the backstage was in full view, cavorting with St Bernard dogs at the Swiss monastery that bred them, etc.) My favorite takeaway is Alcott’s final point: she meant it for Victorian era women but it’s still resonant: don’t be afraid to travel without a man; take your sister, take your women friends, go on your adventures as independent women and see the world.
A lovely ramble through Europe with three American ladies. Their thoughts and experiences of country places and cities alike. Fascinating to discover what Europe was like in the later part of the 1800’s. And amusing at times to see these places through the eyes of Americans being American about their opinions of the customs of places, comparing them with the customs they valued as “better “. I would recommend reading the book with its descriptions of places before the World Wars left their mark. The narrators were good, though it might have been better if the younger reader had better knowledge of the pronunciation of words with a French origin. Even the older ones could have brushed up on the proper pronunciation of historical places. But, on the other hand, perhaps it lends another facet to the idea of Americans in Europe!
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