A Year of Sundays, by Edward Webster

If you have a passion for love stories past the blush of youth, this is a reality tale you don't want to miss. Ed Webster & his wife of 28 years take their 16 yr. old cat on the sort of Grand Tour many people wish they could take but never get around to. The fact that Ed's wife, Marguerite, is blind adds unexpected layers to their relationship & their travel experience.

You will be submerged in medieval villages, meet the local grocer in Tuscany, and accompany Ed & Marguerite as they sample grilled octopus on the island of Syros. Museum docents & shopkeepers fall for Marguerite and entice her to touch & experience everything. Hikers marvel at this blind woman who treks with Ed along precipitous trails of Cinque Terre, Italy. Waiters smile discreetly as Ed helps Marguerite sort throught he eyeballs & tails attached to her bouillabaisse.

And through it all, in France, Holland, Austria, Greece, Italy & Spain, the Websters prove the adage that wherever you go there you are, and the cat named Felicia makes each place a home.
At the end of last summer I went on a Title Wave (the library's used-book retail outlet) buying binge. The first time through I nabbed almost every travel paperback of interest, and on the 60%-off day I cleared out most of the hardbacks, as well.

This book was a great addition to my vicarious travel collection. I wouldn't saw it was awesome all the way through, but it was really interesting and there were many good bits, especially about the blind wife and their cat.

For example, their super mellow cat would be taken out in one of those belly-hugging baby slings into the countryside to see sheep and cows in France & Austria, but never in Greece or Italy where other cats were ubiquitous (since cats are so territorial).

Did you know that the Louve in Paris has a special portion of its museum dedicated to the blind? Students make replicas of statues and, during posted hours, patrons are invited to feel-up reduced sized facsimiles. The day Marguerite was there it wasn't open, but a dedicated employee opened it just for them. (I cried when I read that part.)Another thing I really liked about the book was what a good team they were. It was a really good example of two invested, committed, mature, loving people working together, contributing what they had, to work for the good of each other & their overall relationship. It was quite heartening.

It also continued my own sense of spark about travel, although (a) I don't see myself as brave enough to drive in all those countries, (b) I won't be bringing my cat, and (c) especially since I have no partner to take with me, but generally true anyways, I'm more of a few-week, one-country-at-a-time visitor than a one-year-marathon tourist.