Travel Adventures

Alice Steinbach, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Baltimore Sun, took a year off and wrote an entertaining travel memoir taking place in glamourous European cities. A divorced mother of two grown sons, she wanted to learn to "take chances. To have adventures (and) to see if I could still hack it on my own, away from the security of work, friends, and an established identity." She traveled alone and the book is light on the details of each city she visited but it contains some warm and enticing tales of the kindred spirits she meets, including a romance with a Japanese businessman, a connection with a young American girl about to get married, several women in London who care for her when she becomes sick, and her experiences while taking a course in English Village life while in Oxford. While not as wise as Gift From the Sea and not characterized by the spiritual and psychological searching in Eat, Love, Pray, it's worthwhile on its own terms. I admired her independent spirit, skillful writing, and the people connections she discovered in these wonderful cities. If you enjoy travel memoirs, or are soon to head to Europe, Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman is a worthy companion.