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

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

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

Roaring Forties Press

1053 Santa Fe Avenue

Berkeley, CA 94706

www.roaringfortiespress.com

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