-
A Year in the World
- Journeys of a Passionate Traveller
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
A Year in the World is vintage Frances Mayes, a celebration of the allure of travel, of serendipitous pleasures found in unlikely locales, of memory woven into the present, and of a joyous sense of quest. An ideal travel companion, Frances Mayes brings to the page the curiosity of an intrepid explorer, remarkable insights into the wonder of the everyday, and a compelling narrative style that entertains as it informs.
With her beloved Tuscany as a home base, Mayes travels to Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, and to the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa. In Andalucia, she relishes the intersection of cultures. She cooks in Portugal, gathers ideas in the gardens of England and Scotland, takes a literary pilgrimage to Burgundy, discovers an ideal place to live in Mantova, and explores the essential Moroccan city of Fez. She rents houses among ordinary residents, shops at neighborhood markets, wanders the back streets, and everywhere contemplates the concept of home. While in Greece, she follows the classic Homeric voyage across the Aegean, lives in a bougainvillea-draped stone house in Crete, and then drives deep into the Mani. In Turkey with friends, she sails the ancient coast, hiking to archaeological sites and snorkeling over sunken Byzantine towns.
Weaving together personal perceptions and informed commentary on art, architecture, history, landscape, and social and culinary traditions of each area, Mayes brings the immediacy of life in her temporary homes to the reader. An illuminating and passionate audiobook that will be savored by all who loved Under the Tuscan Sun, A Year in the World is travel writing at its peak.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Place in the World
- Finding the Meaning of Home
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on the idea of home, from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends’ homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. From her travels across Italy to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she’s inhabited.
-
-
Lovely meditation on the meaning of home
- By Pamela F Roper on 02-19-23
By: Frances Mayes
-
See You in the Piazza
- New Places to Discover in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Frances Mayes
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling and beloved author Frances Mayes discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine.
-
-
Bravo Cassandra Campbell
- By John Genzale on 05-20-19
By: Frances Mayes
-
Women in Sunlight
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille, and Susan - all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany.
-
-
Enchanting
- By Jan Harris on 04-14-18
By: Frances Mayes
-
Bella Tuscany
- The Sweet Life in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy.
-
-
Audiobook version muffled
- By Jen K on 05-01-21
By: Frances Mayes
-
For the Love of Europe
- My Favorite Places, People, and Stories
- By: Rick Steves
- Narrated by: Rick Steves
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Rick as he's swept away by a fado singer in Lisbon, learns the dangers of falling in love with a gondolier in Venice, and savors a cheese course in the Loire Valley. Contemplate the mysteries of centuries-old stone circles in England, dangle from a cliff in the Swiss Alps, and hear a French farmer's defense of foie gras. With a brand-new, original introduction from Rick reflecting on his decades of travel, For the Love of Europe features 100 of the best stories published throughout his career.
-
-
Glad I got the audio version
- By Simon Altus on 01-14-21
By: Rick Steves
-
Bella Figura
- How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way
- By: Kamin Mohammadi
- Narrated by: Kamin Mohammadi
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the bella figura, the Italian concept of making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be, that Kamin Mohammadi discovered when she escaped the London corporate media world for a year in Italy. Following the lead of her new neighbors, she soon found a happier, healthier, and more beautiful way of living.
-
-
More than memoir or instruction
- By PrincessDiana on 11-23-18
By: Kamin Mohammadi
-
A Place in the World
- Finding the Meaning of Home
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on the idea of home, from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends’ homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. From her travels across Italy to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she’s inhabited.
-
-
Lovely meditation on the meaning of home
- By Pamela F Roper on 02-19-23
By: Frances Mayes
-
See You in the Piazza
- New Places to Discover in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Frances Mayes
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling and beloved author Frances Mayes discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine.
-
-
Bravo Cassandra Campbell
- By John Genzale on 05-20-19
By: Frances Mayes
-
Women in Sunlight
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille, and Susan - all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany.
-
-
Enchanting
- By Jan Harris on 04-14-18
By: Frances Mayes
-
Bella Tuscany
- The Sweet Life in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy.
-
-
Audiobook version muffled
- By Jen K on 05-01-21
By: Frances Mayes
-
For the Love of Europe
- My Favorite Places, People, and Stories
- By: Rick Steves
- Narrated by: Rick Steves
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Rick as he's swept away by a fado singer in Lisbon, learns the dangers of falling in love with a gondolier in Venice, and savors a cheese course in the Loire Valley. Contemplate the mysteries of centuries-old stone circles in England, dangle from a cliff in the Swiss Alps, and hear a French farmer's defense of foie gras. With a brand-new, original introduction from Rick reflecting on his decades of travel, For the Love of Europe features 100 of the best stories published throughout his career.
-
-
Glad I got the audio version
- By Simon Altus on 01-14-21
By: Rick Steves
-
Bella Figura
- How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way
- By: Kamin Mohammadi
- Narrated by: Kamin Mohammadi
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the bella figura, the Italian concept of making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be, that Kamin Mohammadi discovered when she escaped the London corporate media world for a year in Italy. Following the lead of her new neighbors, she soon found a happier, healthier, and more beautiful way of living.
-
-
More than memoir or instruction
- By PrincessDiana on 11-23-18
By: Kamin Mohammadi
-
These Precious Days
- Essays
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
-
-
Heartfelt Essays, Beautifully Performed
- By Brent Holcomb on 11-23-21
By: Ann Patchett
-
Joy for Beginners
- By: Erica Bauermeister
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At an intimate, festive dinner party in Seattle, six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them. To celebrate her new lease on life, she'll do the one thing that's always terrified her: white-water rafting. But if she goes, all of them will also do something they always swore they'd never do-and Kate is going to choose their adventures.
-
-
Great listen
- By Amazon Customer on 03-14-12
-
Dinners with Ruth
- A Memoir of Friendship
- By: Nina Totenberg
- Narrated by: Nina Totenberg
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four years before Nina Totenberg was hired at NPR, where she cemented her legacy as a prizewinning reporter, and nearly twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, Nina called Ruth. A reporter for The National Observer, Nina was curious about Ruth’s legal brief, asking the Supreme Court to do something revolutionary: declare a law that discriminated “on the basis of sex” to be unconstitutional. That call launched a remarkable, nearly fifty-year friendship.
-
-
Not quite what I expected
- By Debra Malone on 09-23-22
By: Nina Totenberg
-
Enchantment
- Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age
- By: Katherine May
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of us feel trapped in a grind of constant change: rolling news cycles, the chatter of social media, our families split along partisan lines. We feel fearful and tired, on edge in our bodies, not quite knowing what has us perpetually depleted. For Katherine May, this low hum of fatigue and anxiety made her wonder what she was missing. Could there be a different way to relate to the world, one that would allow her to feel more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet?
-
-
But what is she trying to say?
- By Kraig on 06-20-23
By: Katherine May
-
Heartburn
- By: Nora Ephron
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is it possible to write a sidesplitting novel about the breakup of the perfect marriage? If the writer is Nora Ephron, the answer is a resounding yes. For in this inspired confection of adultery, revenge, group therapy, and pot roast, the creator of Sleepless in Seattle reminds us that comedy depends on anguish as surely as a proper gravy depends on flour and butter.
-
-
Be the Heroine , Not the Victim
- By Cynthia on 07-12-13
By: Nora Ephron
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
Wintering
- The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
- By: Katherine May
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a breakup, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered. Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times.
-
-
I look forward to my next time of Wintering!
- By bgilmore on 01-12-21
By: Katherine May
-
In the Weeds
- Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain
- By: Tom Vitale
- Narrated by: Tom Vitale
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the nearly two years since Anthony Bourdain's death, no one else has come close to filling the void he left. His passion for and genuine curiosity about the people and cultures he visited made the world feel smaller and more connected. Despite his affable, confident, and trademark snarky TV persona, the real Tony was intensely private, deeply conflicted about his fame, and an enigma even to those close to him. Tony’s devoted crew knew him best, and no one else had a front-row seat for as long as his director and producer, Tom Vitale.
-
-
Even more than I expected
- By DA1234 on 11-25-21
By: Tom Vitale
-
An American in Provence
- Art, Life and Photography
- By: Jamie Beck
- Narrated by: Jamie Beck
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Let Jamie Beck transport you to the South of France with An American in Provence: part art book, part travelogue, part memoir, and part cookbook, and perfect for art lovers, Francophiles, and armchair travelers alike.
-
-
Illuminating
- By Amazon Customer on 11-10-22
By: Jamie Beck
-
Why the Dutch Are Different
- A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands
- By: Ben Coates
- Narrated by: Ciaran Saward
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A personal portrait of a fascinating people, a sideways history, and an entertaining travelogue, Why the Dutch Are Different is the story of an Englishman who went Dutch. And loved it.
-
-
Good Start, Then He Goes Dark
- By amazonnance on 12-17-21
By: Ben Coates
-
The Secret Life of Sunflowers
- By: Marta Molnar, Dana Marton
- Narrated by: Kendra Murray
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.
-
-
Nothing like a expected…
- By LOVETOQUILT on 05-06-23
By: Marta Molnar, and others
-
The Librarian Spy
- A Novel of World War II
- By: Madeline Martin
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence. Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
-
-
Good story, disturbing narration.
- By John on 09-22-22
By: Madeline Martin
Critic reviews
Winner - AudioFile Earphones Award, 2006
"Mayes' prose shines with evocative imagery, bringing life to every subject she encounters across her peripatetic year." (Booklist)
Related to this topic
-
At Home in the World
- Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
- By: Tsh Oxenreider
- Narrated by: Tsh Oxenreider
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes from a Blue Bike, chronicles her family's adventure around the world. Seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way, she discovers what it truly means to be at home.
-
-
Having traveled the world as a kid myself.....
- By kmk on 07-31-17
By: Tsh Oxenreider
-
Black Dog of Fate
- A Memoir
- By: Peter Balakian
- Narrated by: Peter Balakian
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians.
-
-
Great book!
- By Lm on 06-27-13
By: Peter Balakian
-
The Hundred-Foot Journey
- A Novel
- By: Richard C. Morais
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.
-
-
Great details & writing in a flawed story
- By David Shear on 02-12-14
-
Breakfast in Burgundy
- A Hungry Irishman in the Belly of France
- By: Raymond Blake
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laced with compelling writing about French food and its ways, Breakfast in Burgundy is part travel memoir, part foodie detective story, and part love song to Raymond's adopted home. This audiobook tells the story of the Blake's decision to buy a house in Burgundy. Raymond describes the moments of despair such as the water leak that cost a fortune and the fantastic times too. Blake has admitted to being fascinated by flavor and how it is created."
-
-
surprisingly lulz and interesting
- By Amazon Customer on 12-02-21
By: Raymond Blake
-
Sahara
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Palin is off again, this time to the seemingly desolate Sahara Desert. There's no easy way across, as he and his team discover on their most challenging expedition yet.
-
-
A wonderful journey.
- By David on 05-22-05
By: Michael Palin
-
Home Sweet Anywhere
- How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World
- By: Lynne Martin
- Narrated by: Lynne Martin
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reunited in love after 35 years and suffering from a serious case of pre-retirement wanderlust, Lynne and Tim Martin made a life-altering decision: They sold their house and possessions and hit the road to live internationally full-time. Now tethered to nothing but their suitcases, each other, and their next exotic location, they've never looked back. From sky-high pyramids in Mexico to monkeys in Marrakech, this delightful, inspiring memoir is a romantic tale of derring-do for grown-ups and a road map for anyone who dreams of turning the idea of life abroad into a reality.
-
-
She makes it sound SO unappealing!
- By Barbara on 05-18-14
By: Lynne Martin
-
At Home in the World
- Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
- By: Tsh Oxenreider
- Narrated by: Tsh Oxenreider
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes from a Blue Bike, chronicles her family's adventure around the world. Seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way, she discovers what it truly means to be at home.
-
-
Having traveled the world as a kid myself.....
- By kmk on 07-31-17
By: Tsh Oxenreider
-
Black Dog of Fate
- A Memoir
- By: Peter Balakian
- Narrated by: Peter Balakian
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians.
-
-
Great book!
- By Lm on 06-27-13
By: Peter Balakian
-
The Hundred-Foot Journey
- A Novel
- By: Richard C. Morais
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.
-
-
Great details & writing in a flawed story
- By David Shear on 02-12-14
-
Breakfast in Burgundy
- A Hungry Irishman in the Belly of France
- By: Raymond Blake
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laced with compelling writing about French food and its ways, Breakfast in Burgundy is part travel memoir, part foodie detective story, and part love song to Raymond's adopted home. This audiobook tells the story of the Blake's decision to buy a house in Burgundy. Raymond describes the moments of despair such as the water leak that cost a fortune and the fantastic times too. Blake has admitted to being fascinated by flavor and how it is created."
-
-
surprisingly lulz and interesting
- By Amazon Customer on 12-02-21
By: Raymond Blake
-
Sahara
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Palin is off again, this time to the seemingly desolate Sahara Desert. There's no easy way across, as he and his team discover on their most challenging expedition yet.
-
-
A wonderful journey.
- By David on 05-22-05
By: Michael Palin
-
Home Sweet Anywhere
- How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World
- By: Lynne Martin
- Narrated by: Lynne Martin
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reunited in love after 35 years and suffering from a serious case of pre-retirement wanderlust, Lynne and Tim Martin made a life-altering decision: They sold their house and possessions and hit the road to live internationally full-time. Now tethered to nothing but their suitcases, each other, and their next exotic location, they've never looked back. From sky-high pyramids in Mexico to monkeys in Marrakech, this delightful, inspiring memoir is a romantic tale of derring-do for grown-ups and a road map for anyone who dreams of turning the idea of life abroad into a reality.
-
-
She makes it sound SO unappealing!
- By Barbara on 05-18-14
By: Lynne Martin
-
Walking the Kiso Road
- A Modern-Day Exploration of Old Japan
- By: William Scott Wilson
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Take a trip to old Japan with William Scott Wilson as he travels the ancient Kiso Road, a legendary route that remains much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The Kisoji, which runs through the Kiso Valley in the Japanese Alps, has been in use since at least 701 CE. In the 17th century, it was the route that the daimyo (warlords) used for their biennial trips - along with their samurai and porters - to the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo).
-
-
Definitely recommended
- By John S. on 06-28-16
-
Buddhaland Brooklyn
- A Novel
- By: Richard C. Morais
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in a quaint mountainside village in Japan, Seido Oda spent his boyhood fishing in clear mountainside streams and helping his parents run their small inn. At the age of 11, Oda is sent to study with the monks at a nearby Buddhist temple. This peaceful, quiet refuge in the remote mountains of Japan becomes home for the introverted monk - until he approaches his 40th birthday and is ordered by his superior to cross the ocean and open a temple in Brooklyn. Ripped from the isolated, serene life of his homeland temple, Oda receives a shock to his system in New York - a motley crew of American Buddhists with misguided practices.
-
-
engaging listen
- By connie on 07-25-12
-
Letters from Paris
- By: Juliet Blackwell
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After surviving the accident that took her mother's life, Claire Broussard worked hard to escape her small Louisiana hometown. But these days, she feels something lacking. Abruptly leaving her lucrative job in Chicago, Claire returns home to care for her ailing grandmother. There, she unearths a beautiful sculpture that her great-grandfather sent home from Paris after World War II. At her grandmother's urging, Claire travels to Paris to track down the centuries old mask-making atelier where the sculpture was created.
-
-
love story, a mystery, a historical novel, or all
- By Bonnie on 11-15-16
By: Juliet Blackwell
-
Habibi
- By: Naomi Shihab Nye
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 14-year-old Liyana Abboud, life in St. Louis, Missouri is perfect. She loves shopping in the nearby stores and walking down streets where she knows everyone. Even better, she has just had her first kiss. But her father is moving the family to Jerusalem - the land where he was born. Suddenly Liyana finds herself a stranger in a threatening world.
-
-
Very good Performance
- By Muhammad on 04-07-15
By: Naomi Shihab Nye
-
A Year in Provence
- By: Peter Mayle
- Narrated by: Peter Mayle
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Mayle and his wife had been to Provence as tourists. They had dreamed of one day trading the long, grey winters and damp summers of England for the blue skies and sunshine of the coast of southern France. And then they made it happen. They moved into an old farmhouse at the foot of the Luberon mountains and embarked on a wonderful, if at times bewildering, new life.
-
-
Ban abridged versions
- By marlowe on 03-30-15
By: Peter Mayle
-
Almost French
- By: Sarah Turnbull
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After backpacking her way around Europe journalist Sarah Turnbull is ready to embark on one last adventure before heading home to Sydney. A chance meeting with a charming Frenchman in Bucharest changes her travel plans forever. Acting on impulse, she agrees to visit Fredric in Paris for a week. Put a very French Frenchman together with a strong-willed Australian girl and the result is some spectacular - and often hilarious - cultural clashes.
-
-
Almost Terrific
- By Elizabeth on 02-05-13
By: Sarah Turnbull
-
Full Circle
- A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the hugely popular and successful Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole, Michael Palin set off to meet another challenge: an anti-clockwise circumnavigation of the world's largest ocean, the Pacific.
-
-
Excellent, per usual
- By Enroute8 on 06-03-07
By: Michael Palin
-
Beautiful Animals
- A Novel
- By: Lawrence Osborne
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a hike during a white-hot summer break on the Greek island of Hydra, Naomi and Samantha make a startling discovery: a man named Faoud, sleeping heavily, exposed to the elements, but still alive. As the two women learn more about the man, a migrant from Syria and a casualty of the crisis raging across the Aegean Sea, their own burgeoning friendship intensifies. But when their seemingly simple plan to help Faoud unravels, all must face the horrific consequences they have set in motion.
-
-
please offer more of this author's books
- By S. Liskey on 07-20-17
By: Lawrence Osborne
-
Come to the Edge
- A Memoir
- By: Christina Haag
- Narrated by: Christina Haag
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Christina Haag was growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was just one of the boys in her circle of prep-school friends. A decade later, after they had both graduated from Brown University and were living in New York City, Christina and John were cast in an off-Broadway play together. It was then that John confessed his long-standing crush on her, and they embarked on a five-year love affair.
-
-
Thoroughly enjoyed Come to the Edge
- By CapeCodLady on 11-15-19
By: Christina Haag
-
A Russian Journal
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steinbeck and Capa's account of their journey through Cold War Russia is a classic piece of reportage and travel writing.Just after the Iron Curtain fell on Eastern Europe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck and acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa ventured into the Soviet Union to report for the New York Herald Tribune.
-
-
Extremely Interesting
- By Jean on 12-04-14
By: John Steinbeck
-
Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
-
-
ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
-
Street Without a Name
- Childhood and Other Misadventures in Bulgaria
- By: Kapka Kassabova
- Narrated by: Emily Gray
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kassabova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and grew up under the drab, muddy, gray mantle of one of communism’s most mindlessly authoritarian regimes. Escaping with her family as soon as possible after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, she lived in Britain, New Zealand, and Argentina, and several other places. But when Bulgaria was formally inducted to the European Union she decided it was time to return to the home she had spent most of her life trying to escape. What she found was a country languishing under the strain of transition. This two-part memoir of Kapka’s childhood and return explains life on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
-
-
Good start, but ended up not liking the author
- By Giselle on 11-02-21
By: Kapka Kassabova
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
See You in the Piazza
- New Places to Discover in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Frances Mayes
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling and beloved author Frances Mayes discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine.
-
-
Bravo Cassandra Campbell
- By John Genzale on 05-20-19
By: Frances Mayes
-
Under the Tuscan Sun
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 20 years ago, Frances Mayes - widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer - introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys.
-
-
Under the Tuscan Sun
- By Alicia on 09-19-03
By: Frances Mayes
-
A Place in the World
- Finding the Meaning of Home
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on the idea of home, from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends’ homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. From her travels across Italy to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she’s inhabited.
-
-
Lovely meditation on the meaning of home
- By Pamela F Roper on 02-19-23
By: Frances Mayes
-
A Great Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar, Will Watt, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does a great romance make a great marriage? Dara Willcox, up in New York for a weekend, meets Austin Clarke at an art gallery. If love at first sight can happen, it happens to them. These two vivid, ambitious people are on different trajectories—he’s British, working temporarily in New York. She’s set on law school. They don’t care. They will make their lives together happen. At their engagement dinner at Dara’s family home, her mother Lee sets a beautiful table and the family and close friends gather to celebrate.
-
-
A story that is not for our time
- By Helen M. Metzger on 09-17-24
By: Frances Mayes
-
Women in Sunlight
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille, and Susan - all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany.
-
-
Enchanting
- By Jan Harris on 04-14-18
By: Frances Mayes
-
Every Day in Tuscany
- Seasons of an Italian Life
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Mayes offers her listeners a deeply personal memoir of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany appeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless beauty and vivid pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes explores are how her experience of Tuscany dramatically expanded when she renovated and became a part-time resident of a 13th century house with a stone roof in the mountains above Cortona.
-
-
Travelers Guide
- By Ron Brown on 03-23-10
By: Frances Mayes
-
See You in the Piazza
- New Places to Discover in Italy
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Frances Mayes
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling and beloved author Frances Mayes discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine.
-
-
Bravo Cassandra Campbell
- By John Genzale on 05-20-19
By: Frances Mayes
-
Under the Tuscan Sun
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 20 years ago, Frances Mayes - widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer - introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys.
-
-
Under the Tuscan Sun
- By Alicia on 09-19-03
By: Frances Mayes
-
A Place in the World
- Finding the Meaning of Home
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on the idea of home, from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends’ homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. From her travels across Italy to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she’s inhabited.
-
-
Lovely meditation on the meaning of home
- By Pamela F Roper on 02-19-23
By: Frances Mayes
-
A Great Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar, Will Watt, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does a great romance make a great marriage? Dara Willcox, up in New York for a weekend, meets Austin Clarke at an art gallery. If love at first sight can happen, it happens to them. These two vivid, ambitious people are on different trajectories—he’s British, working temporarily in New York. She’s set on law school. They don’t care. They will make their lives together happen. At their engagement dinner at Dara’s family home, her mother Lee sets a beautiful table and the family and close friends gather to celebrate.
-
-
A story that is not for our time
- By Helen M. Metzger on 09-17-24
By: Frances Mayes
-
Women in Sunlight
- A Novel
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille, and Susan - all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany.
-
-
Enchanting
- By Jan Harris on 04-14-18
By: Frances Mayes
-
Every Day in Tuscany
- Seasons of an Italian Life
- By: Frances Mayes
- Narrated by: Frances Mayes
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Mayes offers her listeners a deeply personal memoir of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany appeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless beauty and vivid pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes explores are how her experience of Tuscany dramatically expanded when she renovated and became a part-time resident of a 13th century house with a stone roof in the mountains above Cortona.
-
-
Travelers Guide
- By Ron Brown on 03-23-10
By: Frances Mayes
What listeners say about A Year in the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Sonia
- 10-30-06
Enjoyable escape (mostly)
Overall, this book is quite a nice way to escape to Italy, Spain, Portugal, UK, Morocco, etc. for a few hours. The narrator is good -- immeasurably better than the author (who narrates her other books - disasterously). The prose is simple and the author does a good job of illustrating scenes in lovely places, with the occasional and very awkward attempt to insert something "deep" or personal that just ends up sounding off. Overall a nice, light listen -- probably better than reading the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Julie
- 02-15-11
On and on and on and on....
I should have listened to the other reviewers but I was so excited to have a nice long travel book to be immersed in. Well, 4 chapters in I feel I'm drowning in never ending – albeit beautiful – travel rants. There seems to be no flow of start & finish to each chapter/story, just on and on and on. It *is* a beautiful book though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Audy Davison
- 05-08-20
A Heady, sensual, beautiful tourist adventure
I would like to read more books like this. It is full of rich detail, exotic places, delicious food, wonderful buildings and views. An altogether lightness and jpy of being that is too rare. There is no danger, no suffering, no drama, just the pleasures of the senses, the experience of new places and ancient cultures and shopping and eating and making new friends and pleasnt dreams of newly discovered details of a forgein place. Just delectable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Elizabeth
- 09-24-08
Disappointing
Having enjoyed Under the Tuscan Sun - and being a passionate traveler myself - I looked forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, it is so poor that I gave up halfway through - a rare occurrence. At its best, Mayes's writing can be lyrical and seductive, and there are flashes of that here. But there are also flashes of turgid, self-important, and precious prose. Most of it is just boring. I also realized partway through that there is virtually NO humor in this book.
For travel writing from now on, I'll stick with Bryson or Troost or Rob Gifford.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- C Jones
- 12-26-08
A Year In The World (Frances Mays)
I was so very disappointed in this book. It's a rambling, non-original and not well presented. It plods along in a manner that defies holding the interest of the reader. I read (heard) one of Frances Mays short stories about overseas travel and it was excellent - but it was a single short story and perhaps she should stick to that genre where there is a clear destination for the narrative (or even a focused snapshot). The content is weak - I do not know how this was published. I agree with a prior reviewer - someone should stop this - I know I will never buy another of her books/stories and I LOVE travel books but this does not qualify as a narrative that leaves the reader with insights of the places traveled, The focus clearly on the writer not the subject.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful