Travel Writers Online

Back to Black Book Review Back to Black is a Martin Mesnil enquiry written in French by François-Michel Dupont and published by L'Aure Écarlate, 19 Quai Aristide Briand, 14230 Isigny-sur-Mer. I’ve been trying to work out a way of reviewing this intriguing crime novel since I started reading it after my fieldwork in Normandy in 2024. It is rich in plot right from the start, but I do not want to include any spoilers. This makes reviewing a challenge, but then, aren’t all book reviews about the reviewer rather than the book?  Tatihou So, for me, then, this is a perfect read for literary travellers who are improving their French. F-M.D provides lots of new vocabulary in French and even some « préchi »  which is still heard on the coast in the Cotentin. Again, without giving away any of the plot, the novel brings to life the canton of the Val de Saire with its tiny island of Tatihou for the visitor, making the mystery ideal holiday reading.   Cherbourg For me, too, the t...

 Slow Tourism The ports on the English Channel, or La Manche if you're sailing from France, remain unexplored by motorists so we began a research project to slow down the tourism to enjoy the journey itself. First, leave the car behind and take the train. Brittany Ferries sail from three key ports on the south coast of England: Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth with 5 destinations: Roscoff, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Ouistreham and Le Havre. As researchers, we settled on Cherbourg since my only recollection of the port was driving through it very quickly from the ferry. First, though, was the library research. The outcome from this study of archives was a book chapter on Cherbourg and perry for Palgrave Macmillan. Cherbourg - Perry and Roland Barthes Derek uncovered archive material on the production of a regional drink in Normandy made from pears. As a speciality drink, perry seems missing from the ethnobotany of Cherbourg. Although during the research we did find a company called M...