On Saturday we received a surprise delivery of Rough Guides’ The Most Underrated Places in Europe.
We had spent the morning working at our desks, and the past hour or so, slowly broiling in the postage-stamp-sized front garden, grappling with overgrown hedges, knee-high grass and a giant buddleja, to restore some semblance of order. It was time for a break.
We were in the back garden having a sneaky G&T when the delivery man came. Jack went to the door. He walked back into the garden carrying a cardboard box and tore it open.
‘That’s a ridiculously large box for a tiny packet of rubber seals for the coffee pot,’ I remarked before launching into a speech about wasted resources. Jack peered into the box, then turned it over to check the address.
‘Is it for next door?’ I asked. We regularly receive parcels for our neighbour because either there’s no-one home or they haven’t heard their doorbell.
‘No, it’s for you…’
I was confused. We were expecting a delivery, here was a delivery addressed to me, what was the problem?
‘…but it’s not the replacement seals. I’m going to open it inside and see if I can throw any light on the mystery.’
‘It’s probably an early birthday present from Jo,’ I proffered. ‘She’s being uber efficient because she’ll probably be away on the day.’
When he came back into the garden, Jack handed me the box. ‘It’s definitely for you but it’s not an early birthday present.’
I opened it to find a copy of Rough Guides – The Most Underrated Places in Europe. I laughed and rolled my eyes. ‘I’d completely forgotten I’d even done that!’
The Most Underrated Places in Europe
Presented as ‘an unfiltered guide’ to where to go to avoid the crowds and discover Europe’s most underrated places, the premise of the book is that Europe has myriad corners that thrive away from the tourism spotlight. In short, you don’t have to elbow your way around Lisbon, Barcelona, Vienna or Dubrovnik to find beauty, architectural gems and hidden delights. And it’s not just cities.
There are six categories: Urban Gems; Wild Retreats; Coastal Escapes; History, Art & Culture; Food and Wine – 50 underrated destinations alongside their better-known hotspots.
For those (and there are many, me included) who wish to see both the over-visited and the underrated, there’s also good advice about how to see Europe’s most popular destinations and still avoid some of the excessive crowds and overcharging. In short, it’s a really handy, and rather elegant volume that you’ll want to dip into time and again.
Getting a surprise delivery of a copy in the post on Saturday was a lovely reminder of a piece of work I’d completely forgotten I’d done.
If you would like to buy a copy of The Most Underrated Places in Europe, or indeed of any other Rough Guide book, as a contributor, I can offer a 30% discount. Just follow the link to Rough Guides online store and use the code AUTHOR0043 at checkout. Full disclosure – if there are enough sales, I get a small commission.
I’d send you a G&T too if I could find some low-impact-packaging way to do it.
