Book : Driving Over Lemons An Optimist In Spain - Stewart,..

-Titulo Original : Driving Over Lemons An Optimist In Spain

-Fabricante :

Vintage

-Descripcion Original:

From the Inside Flap Driving Over Lemonsis the contagiously entertaining account of one couples beginning a new life as they turn a rundown peasant farm in southern Spain into a home.When Chris Stewart first sees El Valero, hes willing to overlook its lack of electricity, running water, or access road. Assured that hes bought a paradise for pennies, he phones his wife, Ana, still in England, whose enthusiasm is a little more tempered. Together they embark on an undertaking that includes rebuilding the house, feeding and housing a former owner reluctant to leave, the threat of drought (and flood), a cultural misunderstanding, and the creation of a whole new, fulfilling, enviable life A funny, generous, wonderfully written account of a family making a life and home in remote but enchanting southern Spain-from the first drummer of the rock band Genesis. No sooner had Chris Stewart set eyes on El Valero than he handed over a check. Now all he had to do was explain to Ana, his wife, that they were the proud owners of an isolated sheep farm in the Alpujarra Mountains in Southern Spain. That was the easy part.Lush with olive, lemon, and almond groves, the farm lacks a few essentials-running water, electricity, an access road. And then theres the problem of rapacious Pedro Romero, the previous owner who refuses to leave. A perpetual optimist, whose skill as a sheepshearer provides an ideal entree into his new community, Stewart also possesses an unflappable spirit that, we soon learn, nothing can diminish. Wholly enchanted by the rugged terrain of the hillside and the people they meet along the way-among them farmers, including the ever-resourceful Domingo, other expatriates and artists-Chris and Ana Stewart build an enviable life, complete with a child and dogs, in a country far from home. Review Take half a cup of Bill Bryson, mix with three tablespoons of Peter Mayle, then add just a pinch of Monty Python, and what you get is Driving Over Lemons.- Chicago TribuneA wonderful antidote to...modern electronic life. I love this book.-Peter Mayle, author of A Year in ProvenceThis funny book is required reading for anyone who has ever dreamed of taking up the pastoral life in a foreign country.- Travel & Leisure The ability to write hilarious travelogues... may well be a national characteristic [of the English]. Its certainly possessed by Chris Stewart.- The New York Times Book Review From the Back Cover Driving Over Lemons is the contagiously entertaining account of one couples beginning a new life as they turn a rundown peasant farm in southern Spain into a home. When Chris Stewart first sees El Valero, hes willing to overlook its lack of electricity, running water, or access road. Assured that hes bought a paradise for pennies, he phones his wife, Ana, still in England, whose enthusiasm is a little more tempered. Together they embark on an undertaking that includes rebuilding the house, feeding and housing a former owner reluctant to leave, the threat of drought (and flood), a cultural misunderstanding, and the creation of a whole new, fulfilling, enviable life About the Author Chris Stewart lives in Spain with his wife, Ana, and daughter, Chloe. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1El ValeroWell, this is no good, I dont want to live here! Isaid as we drove along yet another tarmac road behind a rowof whitewashed houses. I want to live in the mountains, for heavens sake, not in the suburbs of some town in a valley.Shut up and keep driving, ordered Georgina, the woman sitting beside me. She lit another cigarette of strong black tobacco and bathed me in a cloud of smoke.Id only met Georgina that afternoon but it hadnt taken her long to put me in my place. She was a confident young Englishwoman with a peculiarly Mediterranean way of seeming at ease with her surroundings. For the last ten years she had been