Washington Irving's "Tales of the Alhambra" is really two books in one. The first section chronicles Irving’s 1829 visit to the crumbling Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Irving was permitted to reside within the palace grounds. His beautifully detailed descriptions of the deteriorating palace and its inhabitants fit well within the romantic vision that was beginning to sweep Europe. One can only imagine Irving's influence in shaping the popularity...

"Not an everyday travel book, but an intimate study of the picturesque poetic charm of the peninsula and the graciousness of Spanish manners. Spain like no other country is a land of contrasts, oriental and Christian civilization blend into a kaleidoscopic pattern. In this unusual book the backwardness of the villages and the refined culture of the cities with their priceless masterpieces of art are pictured with sincere feeling as one whole revealing...

Winner of the 2017 IACP Award: Literary or Historical Food Writing Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner: Culinary Travel Amazon Best Book of November (2016): Cookbooks, Food and Wine Financial Times Best Books of 2017: Food and Travel Crafted in the same style that drove Rice, Noodle, Fish, Roads & Kingdoms again presents a book that will change the way readers eat and travel abroad. The second in their series of unexpected and delightful gastro-tourism...

The Nobel Prize–winning author explores his homeland in "this monumental work, a literary hybrid" of cultural history, literary nonfiction, and travelogue (Publishers Weekly). In 1979, José Saramago decided to write a book called Journey to Portugal-and dedicated himself to obtaining the fullest meaning of his title. More than merely journeying in or through his native country, he wanted to achieve a deep encounter with it, foregoing the...

A firsthand chronicle of a brutal season of bullfights. In this vivid account, Hemingway captures the exhausting pace and pressure of the season, the camaraderie and pride of the matadors, and the mortal drama as in fight after fight the rival matadors try to outdo each other with ever more daring performances.

Beginning with a vivid description of his wedding in the splendid medieval ceremonial chamber in Barcelona's city hall, Hughes launches into a lively account of the history, art, and architecture of the storied city. He tells of architectural treasures abounding in 14th-century Barcelona, establishing it as one of Europe's great Gothic cities, while Madrid was hardly more than a cluster of huts. The city spawned such great artists as Antoni Gaudi,...

Explores the rich history of Granada, a region historically known for its religious tolerance and intellectualism, and describes the region's decline after the unification of Spain.

In July 1776 a pair of Franciscan friars, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, were charged by the governor of New Mexico with discovering a route across the unknown Southwest to the new Spanish colony in California. They had other goals as well, some of them secret: converting the indigenous natives along the way to the true faith, discovering a semi-mythical paradise known as Teguayó, hunting for sources of gold and...