I prefer to think of Ms. Steinbach as Alice, for I feel that through her story I have in someway connected with the person that she is. I believe that Alice would feel quite honored to know that her story is as inspirational as some of the “greats” that she turned to during her travels through Europe. Alice has written a wonderful travel story. I will not pretend that her story is one that everyone would want to read, as I can picture several male friends of mine shaking their heads at the overwhelmingly feminine nature of her story. Yet, her story rather than being some stereotypical feminine narrative is actually the story of a person in search of a sense of meaning. The physical journey that she takes is wonderfully recounted, but the sense of peace that she finds through out her travels is even more delightful to read. The best thing about this more spiritual journey is that it can transcend age and gender much better than her physical actions.
The beginning of both journeys is found when Alice examines her life as a journalist. Like so many of us, Alice realizes that she no longer is sure of whom she is without the definitions that society had placed upon her. Rather than accept the categorizations that other people had given her, Alice decides that she needs to go out in search of the person that she had once been. Unlike a midlife crisis, Alice does not have unreal expectations for her journey, she just hopes that she can reconcile the image she use to have of herself with the person that others say she has become into an authentic realization of who she is. The agenda of the physical aspect of her journey is not so clearly stated. Yet, it seems that she does have a way of connecting the different places of her journey together. Perhaps as a way to help rediscover herself, perhaps as merely a show of respect, Alice searches for connections to the great authors that she loves in the various places that she visits. This adds a bit of continuity to her travels and in every city she finds someway to connect to those authors that have impacted her life. My personal favorite moment comes at the beginning of the book as she sits in a Parisian café. “I sat sipping my second café, imagining the time when Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir practically lived at the Flore…I could imagine doing it myself.” (Steinbach p. 14) Moments like this seem to be a reoccurring theme through out Alice’s book, but she never seems to recognize this pattern.
One of the things that affected both her physical and spiritual journey was the people she met. As a person traveling alone, she was faced with many opportunities to connect with fellow travelers. Sometimes she was even fortunate enough to develop a relationship with a native. Both groups of people seemed to provide valuable insights into who she was as a person, and helped her to travel to places she might not have visited otherwise. Perhaps the only drawback to the book is the overwhelming optimism that Alice seems to express towards people. It seems she extends her sense of Europe as an adventure to the way she views people. While she does suffer a few slight mishaps in her choices of companions, it almost feels unreal that so many people could be so kind to her, without a few corresponding negative experiences. This omission may be due, again, to the way that she is viewing her trip. Since it is an adventure and a chance for renewal, Alice accepts the negative experiences and focuses instead on all of the positive things that occurred. This attitude is expressed by Alice herself in her willingness to follow a mantra proposed by one of the people she meets: “M=EA (Mishap equals Excellent Adventure)” (Steinbach p.161) It is also shown in her actions, when she, without qualms, hastens her departure from Rome when she realizes that it is not the place for her.
As Alice is reconciling her views on Europe with the reality that she experiences, she also is attempting to hold on to the memories that she forms. The most obvious way that she does this is by sending postcards home to herself, as a way to snapshot her feelings at that particular moment. These postcards help her account to us, as it gives the reader a more complete picture of what Alice was experiencing as she traveled. In recounting her story, Alice also focuses a lot on the relationships that she forms. The spiritual journey comes out more when she focuses on the places that she has traveled to, and many of her revelations seem to be oriented on a particular place or item. The story of her relationships with people is a very interesting one to read, but the revelations that she gains from them are still tied more to a place than to the person. Perhaps this is because it is easier to hold onto the memory of a place than it is to hold onto the memory of a living breathing person. When the details of a person’s voice and words have faded, the pictures and words describing a place remain.
The thing that really makes Alice’s story unique, however, is her emphasis on interpersonal relationships with other people. Another popular travel writer, Bill Bryson, who also travels around Europe as an older person, focuses more on the unique characteristics of a place. He seems more interested in providing a witty commentary on the state of the various cities he visits, while Alice will visit the same city and discuss the people that she met and the things that she did. The most interesting thing about this difference in style is that each person focuses on an aspect of travel that corresponds with the stereotypical attitudes of their gender.
A discussion of the differences in their gender roles leads right back to my original statement that this is definitely not a book for everyone. As much as I treasure the information recounted within, I must recognize that many people will find Alice too interested in interpersonal relationships and her own spiritual journey. Yet if you enjoy sharing in other people’s life experiences and gleaning lessons for your own life, Alice’s book is a treasure trove of wisdom. I would be careful who I recommend it too, but hope to utilize it as I commence my own journey to Europe.