Customer Reviews

Moleskine City Notebook: London

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I try not to be too materialist a person, and am seldom afflicted with "object lust." But as a long-time Anglophile and newly-minted Moleskine addict, when I read about the then-forthcoming City Notebook series, and specifically the London edition, my initial reaction could be described as: "waaaaaannnnt!"

After what seemed like a very long wait, this product finally showed up here, and I can say it fulfills all my expectations. It is not only to my mind the perfect medium for memorializing my sabbatical trip to the UK last spring, but it's also a great tool for collecting ideas for what to do on my (hopefully not-too-long-from-now) return trip. And it will be a most handy resource to have while I'm there. Before, during, after.

If that makes the Moleskine City Notebook sound like the Swiss Army knife of guidebooks, that is intentional. The idea that drives this notebook is captured in the quotation from Aldous Huxley's 1925 essay collection Along the Road: Notes and Essays of a Tourist (Ecco Travels) that's printed on the Moleskine's second page: "For any traveler who has any taste of his own, the only useful guide-book will be the one which he himself has written." The London City Notebook contains a comprehensive set of maps (with index), followed by a bunch of blank pages and a section of tabbed pages with interesting icons. Perforated pages allow for handy notes and reminders, and there are also tracing pages "for your itineraries and whatever." The reliable Moleskine back pocket contains label stickers for creating your own tabbed sections, and to help you remember where you wrote things, there are three bookmark ribbons instead of the usual single one.

London and Moleskine have a special connection for me because it was in a fairly well-known legal and business bookstore on High Holborn where I saw a Moleskine display for the first time. I'm looking forward to filling this one with memories, notes, and references from that first trip and starting to put together thoughts for what to do the next time. As guidebooks go, I will definitely give "the one which I myself have written" pride of place on my travel bookshelf ... and if I make plans for Paris or Amsterdam, say, then their City Notebooks will show up there too.

This is a very unusual product and I would strongly encourage anyone considering getting one to be completely aware of what it is before they purchase it. First, if you are looking for a single travel guide to prepare you for your trip to New York (or anywhere else there is a guide for), this is very close to worthless, if not entirely worthless. I would call one's attention to the title of the product. It is a "Notebook." That means that most of the pages are blank. This literally is a book for taking notes in.

So what do you get when you buy this? Every book in the series follows the same format. First there is a personal information page with address, phone, allergies, family doctor, passport number, then map information with public transportation maps. Then follows information on the various forms of transportation with phone numbers and websites, including cabs, buses, other forms of public transportation, and airports. There are some blank itinerary pages, measurement and speed conversion charts, size conversion charts (for shoppers), then a long series of neighborhood maps, including an index. And that's it. The final two-thirds of the notebook are blank. The next 20 or so pages are completely blank and unlined for whatever use you want to put them to. Next come several pages intended for writing down names of restaurants, bars, museums, historical sites, hotels, or whatever. The book also comes with unlabeled tabs with stickers to use as desired (for theaters, concert halls, or whatever you desire) as well as tracing paper for, as the label says, "Itineraries or Whatever." Finally, there is the usual pocket at the back that is found in all Moleskine products.

For some people this is going to be an absolutely useless product. But for many this will be remarkably useful. In fact, I can envision two uses for this notebook. First, those who are planning a trip to one of the places for which Moleskine has produced a book. Let's say one has consulted the Blue guide, the Eyewitness Guide (by DK), a Rough Guide, the Michelin guide, and the Let's Go guide. Maybe you've bought all of these, making for five guides. No way do you want to drag all of these on your trip or more than one on your flight. So what might you do? You might take the Moleskin Notebook, record into it all the places you want to see, restaurants you want to dine at, museums you want to stroll through, and anything else you want to do while in your destination of choice, and record it there. So the Moleskine City Notebook can serve as a distillation of all the various travel guides, web sites, and other resources you have consulted. And instead of hauling about a large Fodor's guide, you can carry about this small Notebook that can easily fit into a backpack, purse, should bag, or even pocket.

The only downside is that the Moleskine City Notebook is only as good as you make it. If you do a good job of planning your trip, it will be filled to the brim with useful and helpful information. If not, it will be as unhelpful as you have made it.

There is a second use to which the City Notebook can be put to use, though it is not one for which it was primarily designed. You could use it for the city in which you live, should you live in one of the cities for which one is made. I live, for instance, in Chicago. I have bought one of these so that I can over time use it to record every bit of helpful information that I might find useful or helpful. I can record what hours the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore (the real one, not the trade version on 57th Street) is open. The hours for the Chicago Public Library and the Newberry Library. Phone numbers of restaurants and addresses of bars. And so on and so forth. Granted, these books will only benefit those who live in one of those cities, but for the U.S. New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are pretty populated areas.

So this is a very well conceived product though it absolutely has to be stressed that it is a specialized one. Please note: THIS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE. If you don't want to use the Notebook to plan your trip it is going to be very close to worthless. I'll emphasize again: this is only as good a product as you make it. But if you use it to help you plan your trip, it could be the single item you would most loathe to be without after your notebook.

I took the book with me to London a few weeks ago. Made a note of every little local pub I found as well as tidbits of information that will prove useful next time I'm in town. It's just so much more manageable than a clunky old tour book half of the items you never use.

This notebook came in handy. LOVE the tube map, since we hopped on and off. I also loved to use the book and write down all kinds of notes. Was able to write directions and times spots were open before we'd leave the hotel in the morning-got to write notes about things I wanted to remember...its a useful book but its not just information...that you need your tour books for, but its small, light and handy to carry around during the day while you're out to help you make your travels easier.

Excellent layout, maps, easy to read, complete index, informative yet concise, answers most questions I had along the way. Am looking forward to buying notebooks of other cities!

I was very disappointed in this product. The print is tiny and very pale grey on cream pages. I find it impossible to read except in very strong light. That wouldn't be much help in London! I would certainly not be taking this item with me. I emailed the manufacturer several weeks ago and have not heard back.

These books are a good idea for the repeat visitor to a city-- basically just a place for notes in the lovely (I think) Moleskine format. The maps, though, can be found better and cheaper on other places. MORE IMPORTANT, this seller has claimed a falsely inflated list price and consequent discount that is misleading. The list price for these books is 17.95. Check in any book store. Shame on the seller.