For members of the social elite in 18th-century England, extended travel for pleasure came to be considered part of an ideal education as well as an important symbol of social status. Italy, and especially Rome - a fashionable, exciting, and comfortable city - became the focus of such early tourists' interest. In this book, historian Jeremy Black recreates the actual tourist experiences of those who travelled to Italy on a Grand Tour. Relying on the private diaries and personal letters of travellers, rather than on the self-conscious accounts of literary travellers who wrote for wider audiences, the book presents an authentic picture of how British tourists experienced Italy, its landscapes, women, food, music, Catholicism, and more. illustrations, the book highlights the discrepancy between the idealised view of the Grand Tour and its reality: what people were meant to do was not necessarily what they did, what the guide books described as splendid was not always so perceived. Black quotes British visitors as they reflect on their trips, and he discusses what their Italian experiences meant to them. And he considers the intriguing effects of tourism on British culture during this most exciting of centuries.

For members of the social elite in eighteenth-century England, extended travel for pleasure came to be considered part of an ideal education as well as an important symbol of social status. Italy, and especially Rome--a fashionable, exciting, and comfortable city--became the focus of such early tourists' interest. In this distinctive book, historian Jeremy Black recreates the actual tourist experiences of those who traveled to Italy on a Grand Tour. Relying on the private diaries and personal letters of travelers, rather than on the self-conscious accounts of literary travelers who wrote for wider audiences, the book presents a fresh and authentic picture of how British tourists experienced Italy, its landscapes, women, food, music, Catholicism, and more. Using material from archives across Britain and a generous selection of illustrations, the book highlights the discrepancy between the idealized view of the Grand Tour and its reality: what people were meant to do was not necessarily what they did, what the guide books described as splendid was not always so perceived. Black discusses what Italian experiences meant to British visitors, and he considers the effects of tourism on British culture during this most exciting of centuries.

In this innovative study of the Grand Tour, Black relies on archival sources to provide an exploration of the real tourist experience rather than, as for the majority of studies of the Grand Tour, an account that is essentially based on travel literature. While sensitive to wider cultural dimensions, the author demonstrates his interest in the experience of tourists, particularly the circumstances they encountered, and the impact of the Grand Tour on British Society.

This book provides substantial background on what Adam Smith did during his stay in Toulouse and the Languedoc region of France during the 18th century. This is a crucial period in Smith’s life for at least two reasons: i) it is during this time that Smith began to work on The Wealth of Nations; and ii) it is generally understood that although some of his ideas about political economy were already formed before his trip, his encounters with many French political economists during his time in France helped him to further develop them. As such, this book provides a rich resource to further understanding Smith's world, his travel experiences and the people he met during this time and situates these within the broader context of Smith's life as a whole, and within the British aristocracy. This work will be of value to students and researchers in the history of economic thought, travel studies and Scottish studies.

The long awaited ultimate performance cookbook, a modern classic, a must-have for all cycling aficionados serious about nutritional intake. Translated from the original in Danish, Hannah Grant s unmissable cookbook takes you through a 3 week, with 350-pages of easy-to-prepare recipes containing allergy friendly, natural, un-processed foods, The Grand Tour Cookbook is the ultimate companion in the kitchen for athletes. Based on actual food prepared for professional cycling s grueling 3-week Grand Tours including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and the Vuelta, this book is a guide on how to cook, what to eat and how to maximize athletic performance throughout the year. Hannah Grant has a background in modern sports nutrition and The Grand Tour Cookbook focuses on the challenges presented by the caloric requirements of an endurance athlete: solutions are presented that comprise a beneficial carbohydrate intake, a bounty of ideas to keep vegetables, proteins and good fats captivating and mouth-watering. Maximise your performance by changing the way you eat - lose weight, get more energy, conquer those goals and become a successful rider. Acknowledged by the world s best restaurant executive head chef Rene Redzepi (NOMA, Copenhagen), the book also features insight and experience from Exercise Physiologist-Nutrition Scientist Stacy T Sims, MSc, PhD, World Tour riders: Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan, Michael Rogers, Nicholas Roche, Ivan Basso, Roman Kreuziger, Matti Brechel, Michael Valgren, Michael Mørkøv, Christoffer Juul, Chris Anker, Sports Director Nicki Sørensen and Body Therapist Kristoffer Glavind Kjær. Read opinions on food and nutrition for body and mind and how they optimise performance through eating intelligently.

"According to the 1747 publication The Art of Governing a Wife, women in Georgian England were to "lay up and save, look to the house, talk to few and take of all within." However, some women broke from these directives and took up the distinctly male privilege of traveling to the Continent to develop mind, spirit, and body. For many the Grand Tour -- often undertaken in great parades of coaches laden with servants, trunks, and furniture -- became an intellectual and romantic rite of passage. The landscape, health spas, salons, and social scene of Enlightenment Europe provided a wealth of glamorous, revolutionary, and therapeutic experiences from which many ladies returned "the best informed and most perfect creatures." Brian Dolan leads us into the hearts and minds of the ladies through their stories, thoughts, and court gossip, recorded in journals, letters, and diaries. Ladies of the Grand Tour creates a mesmerizing portrait of a previously overlooked slice of eighteenth-century life."

Sex and travel have always been intertwined, and never more so than on the classic Grand Tour of Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today the Continent is still littered with salacious remnants of that golden age, where secret boudoirs, notorious dungeons, and forbidden artifacts lured travelers all the way from London to Capri. In The Sinner’s Grand Tour, celebrated historian and travel writer Tony Perrottet sets off to discover a string of legendary sites and relics that are still kept far from public view. In southern France, an ancient text leads him inside the château of the Marquis de Sade, now owned by fashion icon Pierre Cardin. In Paris, an 1883 prostitute guide helps him discover the Belle Époque fantasy brothel Le Chabanais and the lost “sex chair” of King Edward VII. Renaissance documents in the Vatican Secret Archives point the way to the Pope’s very own apartments in Vatican City, wherein lies the fabled Stufetta del Bibbiena, a pornography-covered bathroom painted by Raphael in 1516. With his unique blend of original research, sharp wit, and hilarious anecdotes, Perrottet brings us a romping travel adventure through the scandalous backrooms of historical Europe.

In France, 1940, an unlikely pair team up to evade the approaching Nazis. Little Jacobowsky, a Polish Jewish intellectual, has been one step ahead of the Nazis for years. Stjerbinsky is an aristocratic, anti-Semitic Polish colonel who's trying to get to England. Jacobowsky has a car but can't drive; the colonel can. And so begins their adventurous journey - set against a backdrop of lively and lovely songs and dances - that takes them to a carnival, a Jewish wedding, and, when the car breaks down, onto a train. Accompanying them is Marianne, the colonel's girlfriend with whom Jacobowsky falls in love. But it is not to be.

I was Top Gear's script editor for 13 years and all 22 series. I basically used to check spelling and think of stupid gags about The Stig. I also got to hang around with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. It didn't feel like something you should get paid for. From the disastrous pilot show of 2002 to the sudden and unexpected ending in 2015, working on Top Gear was quite a rollercoaster ride. We crossed continents, we made space ships, we bobbed across the world's busiest shipping lane in a pick-up truck. We also got chased by an angry mob, repeatedly sparked fury in newspapers, and almost killed one of our presenters. I realised that I had quite a few stories to tell from behind the scenes on the show. I remembered whose daft idea it was to get a dog. I recalled the willfully stupid way in which we decorated our horrible office. I had a sudden flashback to the time a Bolivian drug lord threatened to kill us. I decided I should write down some of these stories. So I have. I hope you like them. And now, a quote from James May: 'Richard Porter has asked me to "write a quote" for his new book about the ancient history of Top Gear. But this is a ridiculous request. How can one "write a quote"? Surely, by definition, a quote must be extracted from a greater body of writing, for the purpose of illustrating or supporting a point in an unrelated work. I cannot "write a quote" any more than I could "film an out-take". 'Porter, like Athens, has lost his marbles.'

The Tour de France is still very much a men's only bicycle race but that didn't stop this amateur cyclist from pursuing her dream of riding all 21 stages of the famous course one week before the professional peloton. She set off to discover the beauty of a country and sport that she loves and ended up discovering more about herself in the process