French Ghosts, Russian Nights, and American Outlaws: Souvenirs of a Professional Vagabond. Susan Spano

      

       French Ghosts, Russian Nights, and American Outlaws

      “A diverse and entertaining adventure! In short bursts of sparkling, honest, and emotional prose, Susan took me fly-fishing in Mexico, to the Icehotel in Arctic Sweden, to Fellini’s Rome. I got a peek into Julia Childs’ world in Paris and Butch Cassidy’s in Utah. I took language classes in China and ate in a French/Vietnamese restaurant in Hanoi. We went on foot, on buses, in taxis, on boats, on subways . . . to shacks and castles, temples and cemeteries. There are a lot of valuable examples here on how to travel alone while constantly connecting with others.”

      — Rita Golden Gelman, Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World

      “Urged on by a lively curiosity and a large dose of courage, Susan Spano introduces us to unusual destinations, often tempting and invariably interesting.”

      — Mary Taylor Simeti, On Persephone’s Island

      “Susan manages that most important travel writing feat: making you want to pack your bag, grab your passport, and go! I’m ready to jump on my bicycle and hit the backroads of County Clare or tie up my walking shoes and set foot on that coastal trail in France’s Brittany. In the right car, I’d be happy to wind down Mulholland Highway as well … although I’m not so sure about chasing speeding tickets with a Hummer in Arizona.”

      — Tony Wheeler, founder of the Lonely Planet series

      “An easy-to-read travel writer”

      — Fodor’s Travel

      Susan Spano has received three Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers

      

      Copyright © 2014 by Susan Spano

      Roaring Forties Press

      1053 Santa Fe Avenue

      Berkeley, CA 94706

       www.roaringfortiespress.com

      All rights reserved.

      Interior and cover design by Nigel Quinney.

      Cover photograph: © iStockphoto.com/shaunl.

      Author photograph by Susan Schiffer.

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Spano, Susan.

       French ghosts, Russian nights, and American outlaws : souvenirs of a professional vagabond / Susan Spano.

      pages cm

      ISBN 978-1-938901-26-3 (ePub)

      1. Spano, Susan--Travel. 2. Spano, Susan--Philosophy. 3. Voyages and travels. 4. Women travelers--Biography. 5. Travel--Psychological aspects. I. Title.

      G465.S668 2014

      910.4--dc23

      2014003609

       To Sarah, may she travel far

      “No manner of living would have interested

      me so much and so long and I will surely

      go on until I drop trying to see more of the

      world and what’s happening in it.”

       — Martha Gellhorn,

       Travels with Myself and Another

      CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1: Unforgettable

1. The Emerald Coast

2. Lost Canyons

3. Sunrise at Borobudur

4. Across the Top of L.A.

5. These Vagabond Shoes

6. A Bad Night’s Sleep

       7. The White Horses of Wiltshire

       8. French Hanoi

       9. A Mexican Fish Story

       Part 2: Footsteps

       10. The Two Georges

       11. Colette’s Ghost

       12. Finding Fellini

       13. Butch and Sundance

       14. René Magritte’s Brussels

       15. Julia’s Paris

       16. The Chairman

       17. Of Sword Fights and Stolen Kisses

       18. Happy Endings on the Fairy Tale Road

       Part 3: Souvenirs

       19. My Mother’s Boots

       20. How Do I Say “I’m Lost”?

       21. The Ineluctable Allure of Lost Places

       22. Into the Snow Globe

       23. On the Plateau

       24. Proust and Trader Joe’s

       25. Slippin’ Down to the Seaside

       26. Cooking with Capers

       27.