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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have in Rome!, July 9, 2010
This review is from: Good Night and God Bless: A Guide to Convent & Monastery Accommodation in Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy (Paperback)
As I was travelling in 2009 throughout Italy, I found the section of this book on Rome particularly helpful, informative and saved me lots of time. As I was travelling alone, this book gave detailed sightseeing guides with interesting history that enabled me to plan my days discovering the eternal city. I visited more places and learned about the background and what to look out for before I went to the basilicas, cathedrals, museuems, other places of of interest, including the 100 year old gelati parlour - that I would not have been aware of otherwise. While I had already booked my accommodation before I found this book, it is a valuable guide to travel with. I highly recommend it and I look forward to the next two volumes as well. I noticed the range of accommodation options was extensive, from very cheap convent accommodation to more up market. There is something for everyone. I wish I had the second volume when I travelled to France but it wasn't in print at the time. The author has researched thoroughly and it's a credit to her.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellently Presented, Beautifully Researched, August 25, 2009
This review is from: Good Night and God Bless: A Guide to Convent & Monastery Accommodation in Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy (Paperback)
Staying with the sisters or mixing with the monks may not be everyone's idea of a home-stay or a hotel vacation, but hang on a minute, how many people actually know that you can? Well Trish Clark's excellently presented and beautifully researched little 'bible', Good Night and God Bless, has news for you. In this, her first book, she looks at monasteries and Christian run hotels in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy and ensures that this hitherto 'niche market' will now become much better known to many more intrepid travellers, who are looking for cheap, clean, comfortable, and centrally located lodgings throughout Europe. And they all come with a take-it-or-leave-it religious fare which allows the lodger to partake in age old ceremonies, prayer or pilgrimage, or simply as a place to stay for a night or four, in single, double multiple rooms - and generally within a bell-ring of attractions that every tourist wants to see.
Good Night and God Bless is well set out with brief but generally more practical and helpful information on places of lodgement than you would find in most tourist guides. But there is more. There is information on spiritual retreats and pilgrimages as well as a potted history of each facility, but there are also introductory passages on cities and regions and a further section on the attractions of each locale including sites, hikes and ski-trails, spas and health facilities, and of course a very useful good food guide, There are practical tips for travellers including guidance on customs, when best to visit, and shopping. It is a delightfully easy and chatty read with a good index and well set out references, addresses and telephone numbers, and best of all, it fits easily into a carry-on or a back-pack.
Good Night and God Bless has pioneered an insight into a different sort of travel and surely, given the spread of religious institutions over many centuries, and now the propensity of people to travel as never before, the old role of monasteries taking in travellers will now appeal to a whole new group of 'pilgrims'. Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy are but a new beginning and I am sure that a whole host of countries beckon a similar treatment from Trish Clark's great knowledge of religion and its institutions, and her keen eye for detail.
Winfred Peppinck
Bahrain
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique travel guide to Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic, January 11, 2010
This review is from: Good Night and God Bless: A Guide to Convent & Monastery Accommodation in Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy (Paperback)
Traveling around Europe on a budget doesn't have to mean skimping on accommodations. Sure, you could stay at a youth hostel, but you might find it more cozy at one of the many convents and monasteries who accept overnight guests. And you'll be surprised by the many health spa amenities they offer, in addition to lodging.
In Good Night and God Bless, Trish Clark provides a guide to travel in Austria, the Czech Replublic, and Italy. Within each geographic section, there are open houses who welcome everyone, some that are only open to women or men, and those who also offer spiritual refreshment to travelers. Descriptions and contact information for each of the convents and monasteries is provided, along with some interesting sites to see while visiting.
Overall, this is a great travel guide with lots of information that would be hard to find anywhere else. But there were two things this book lacked, in my opinion. I would have loved to see some photos of the accommodations offered, and website addresses would have been helpful, even though many of the sites are written in other languages.
Trish Clark clearly did a lot of research on this subject, and has created a helpful and comprehensive travel guide. If you're thinking of visiting these countries and are interested in great, inexpensive lodging or a spiritual retreat, I highly recommend this book.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
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