Write guidebooks, make travel TV, lead bus tours? Cameron Hewitt has been Rick Steves' right hand for more than 20 years, doing just that.
The Temporary European is a collection of vivid, entertaining travel tales from across Europe. Cameron zips you into his backpack for engaging and inspiring experiences: sampling spleen sandwiches at a Palermo street market; hiking alone with the cows high in the Swiss Alps; simmering in Budapest's thermal baths; trekking across an English moor to a stone circle; hand-rolling pasta at a Tuscan agriturismo; shivering through Highland games in a soggy Scottish village; and much more.
Along the way, Cameron introduces us to his favorite Europeans. In Mostar, Alma demonstrates how Bosnian coffee isn't just a drink, but a social ritual. In France, Mathilde explains that the true mastery of a fromager isn't making cheese, but aging it. In Spain, Fran proudly eats acorns, but never corn on the cob.
While personal, the stories also tap into the universal joy of travel. Cameron's travel motto (inspired by a globetrotting auntie) is ""Jams Are Fun""-the fondest memories arrive when your best-laid plans go sideways. And he encourages travelers to stow their phones and guidebooks, slow down, and savor those magic moments that arrive between stops on a busy itinerary.
The stories are packed with inspiration and insights for your next trip, including how to find the best gelato in Italy, how to select the best produce at a Provencal market, how to navigate Spain's confusing tapas scene, and how to survive the experience of driving in Sicily (hint: just go numb).
And you'll get a reality check for every traveler's ""dream job"": researching and writing guidebooks; guiding busloads of Americans on tours around Europe; scouting and producing a travel TV show; and working with Rick Steves and his merry band of travelers. It's a candid account of how the sausage gets made in the travel business-told with warts-and-all honesty and a sense of humor.
For Rick Steves fans, or anyone who loves Europe, The Temporary European is inspiring, insightful, and fun.
By:
Cameron Hewitt
Imprint: Travelers' Tales, Incorporated
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 203mm,
Width: 133mm,
ISBN: 9781609522049
ISBN 10: 1609522044
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 10 May 2022
Recommended Age: From 16 years
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
I. GETTING STARTED Foreword by Rick Steves Preface About this Book I’ve Been in Your Hotel Room: A Day in the Life of a Guidebook Writer II. THE TEMPORARY EUROPEAN Hey! I’m in Europe! | Kraków, Poland The Permanent Residents of Vacationland | Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast The Artisanal Life | Tuscany, Italy My Travel Origin Story | Europe, 1999 Jams Are Fun: When Travel Plans Go Sideways III. DECONSTRUCTING CLICHÉS Velkomin til Íslands! | Reykjavík, Iceland The Soggy, Sunny Highland Games of Taynuilt | Scottish Highlands D’oh! A Deer! | Salzburg, Austria Loving the French (What’s Not to Love?) | France That Wonderful Language Barrier | Europe Jams Are Fun: How to Drive in Sicily: Just Go Numb Like All Things, This Tour Shall Pass: Confessions of a Tour Guide IV. FOOD IS CULTURE Come On, Have Some Guts | Palermo, Sicily These Pierogi Are Perfect | Kraków, Poland Seven Markets in Seven Days | Provence, France The Trouble with Tapas | Spain Where the World’s Food Comes to You | London, England Jams Are Fun: There’s a (Gastrointestinal) Bomb on the Bus! V. ALL ALONE; NEVER ALONE An Introvert in the Land of Extroverts | Italy High in the Mountains with Tina’s Dad | Slovenian Alps What Lies Beneath | Dartmoor, England Waiting for Luciano’s Knock | Val d’Orcia, Italy Acorns and Corncobs: A Semester Abroad | Salamanca, Spain, 1996 Jams Are Fun: It’s Gonna Be a Noisy Night | Europe In Romania, Everything Is (Not) Possible: Making Travel Television VI. MEANINGFUL HEDONISM Pistachio Gelato Never Lies | Florence, Italy Making Hay While the Sun Shines | Above Gimmelwald, Switzerland Up to My Earlobes in Hot Water | Budapest, Hungary Ghosts and Skeptics | Great Britain Jams Are Fun: A Rough Day on the North Sea The Merry Band of Travelers: The Cult of Rick Steves VII. CHANGES AND CHALLENGES The Sublime and the Ridiculous | Cinque Terre, Italy One Day I Met Some Refugees | Zagreb, Croatia Blood, Toil, Tears, Sweat, and Surrendering to Brexit | South England Hallstatt Never Changes...Except When It Does | Hallstatt, Austria Jams Are Fun: In Rome, You Can Never Get a Taxi When It Rains EPILOGUE: After the World Changed, a New Hope for Travel; Or: Shutterbugs Miss the Lion LUMPENSAMMLER: Favorites (and Least Favorites) Acknowledgments
Cameron Hewitt moved from Ohio to Seattle in 2000 to help Rick Steves research and write America's bestselling guidebooks. Cameron has traveled to and written about more than 35 European countries, coauthoring books on Croatia, Budapest, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Berlin, and more. Cameron also guides Rick Steves tours in Europe; contributes to Rick's television series and radio program; regularly presents travel talks; and blogs about his travels at www.cameronhewitt.com. He writes with a deep passion for travel, keen cultural insight, and a sense of humor. Cameron married his high school sweetheart and favorite travel partner, Shawna, and lives in Seattle, Washington.
