'If you had to pick two things you wanted - if you had to - what would you pick?' I hesitated. This was a bigger question than usually got asked at these post-match debriefs. 'I suppose the honest answer would be,' I said, still accessing the last pieces of required data from a jumbled mind, 'meeting my soul mate, and finding an idyllic house abroad somewhere.' Inspired by breathtaking views and romantic dreams of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys a house in the French Pyrenees. Here, he plans to finally fulfil his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, untroubled by the problems of the world. In reality, the chaotic story of Tony's hopelessly ill-conceived house purchase reads like the definitive guide to how not to buy a house in France. It finds him flirting with the removal business in a disastrous attempt to transport his piano to France in a dodgy white van; foolishly electing to build a swimming pool himself; and expanding his relationship repertoire when he starts co-habiting, not with an exquisite French beauty, but with a middle-aged builder from West London. As Tony and his friends haplessly attempt to fit into village life, they learn more about themselves and each other than they ever imagined.

Successfully navigate the rich world of travel narratives and identify fiction and nonfiction read-alikes with this detailed and expertly constructed guide. Just as savvy travelers make use of guidebooks to help navigate the hundreds of countries around the globe, smart librarians need a guidebook that makes sense of the world of travel narratives. Going Places: A Reader's Guide to Travel Narratives meets that demand, helping librarians assist patrons in finding the nonfiction books that most interest them. It will also serve to help users better understand the genre and their own reading interests. The book examines the subgenres of the travel narrative genre in its seven chapters, categorizing and describing approximately 600 titles according to genres and broad reading interests, and identifying hundreds of other fiction and nonfiction titles as read-alikes and related reads by shared key topics. The author has also identified award-winning titles and spotlighted further resources on travel lit, making this work an ideal guide for readers' advisors as well a book general readers will enjoy browsing.

Countless British visit France each year and over 100,000 live there permanently, successors to generations of their countrymen. This book, starting with the brief and poignant Peace of Amiens, 1801-1803, studies who they were - ranging from businessmen and artisans to rentiers, invalids and tourists - where they went and the reasons why. While some went for fun, to Paris 'where the social arts are carried to perfection' or to Monte Carlo, Biarritz or Deauville, the invalids favoured the Pyrenees or Savoy, making Pau the 'ville anglaise'. Bordeaux was an example of another town where the British attained great influence because of the wine trade. Many also settled in France to save money. The Channel Coast becoming popular with those who fled creditors or disgrace at home (Beau Brummell and Oscar Wilde are examples of this group). Food, architecture and the arts more generally attracted many, as did the climate of the Riviera. The revolutions in travel brought about by railways, motoring and aircraft provide a constant theme. Another very important aspect covered is the relationship, both in general and personal terms, between the French and the British. How, for instance, the local British stimulated a passion for sport in France. A variety of sources including British and French books, letters, journals and periodicals, supply background, as do Foreign Office archives particularly in times of crisis such as 1848, 1870 and 1940.

Inspired by breathtaking views and romantically dreaming of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks buys a house in the Pyrenees. And here, he imagines, he will finally fulfill his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, all the while overlooking spectacular views as the troubles of the world pass by unnoticed.

Recounts the author's experiences hitchhiking on a bet all the way around Ireland with a small refrigerator, and shares his impressions of the people and places along the way.