Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This is the touching memoir of Derek Phillips and Klaske Muizelaar and the life of love and travel they shared together. Derek, an American, had been living in Amsterdam since 1971. Klaske, born in the north of the Netherlands, had been there since 1972. Their life together centered on maintaining dignity, self-respect, and, most importantly, mutual love. At home in Amsterdam, they shared passions for work and reading, good food, music, art, walking, and travel.
Despite their love of travel, such sojourns were often beyond their means. But this was to change in 1988 when, by happenstance, they learned about the phenomenon of house exchanges. Thus began their good life “at home” on foreign soil, spending five or six weeks each year living in the homes of strangers in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Costa Rica, the United States, and elsewhere. They describe in detail thirty of the more than fifty house exchanges they experienced.
Weaving together topography, accounts of daily life, personal observations, and social commentary, this memoir offers an intimate portrait of two people enjoying their life and love together before time runs out.
About the Author
Derek Phillips is emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and has published books in the fields of sociology, philosophy, and history. Klaske Muizelaar (1947–2009) was an independent scholar, accomplished furniture maker, and weaver. Together they coauthored the book Picturing Men and Women in the Dutch Golden
Table of Contents
Prologue
Retracing Our Steps
Saint David’s, Wales
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Narbonne, France
Crolles, France
Degioz, Italy
Etna, California, United States
Point Arena, California, United States
Stoke Newington, England
Plan-de-la-Tour, France
Escazú and Elsewhere, Costa Rica
Levkás, Greece
Nebbiuno, Italy
Photo Insert
Quimper, France
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
Fraser, Colorado, United States
Colle Val d’Elsa, Italy
Leukerbad, Switzerland
Firenze (Florence), Italy
La Muddizza, Sardinia, Italy
Rome, Italy
Tourtour and Nice, France
Venice, Italy
Escoulin, France
Gap, France
Bormio, Italy
Intermezzo Braunwald, Switzerland
Budapest, Hungary
Aubord, France
Es Castell, Menorca, Spain
A Few More Days on Foreign Soil: Lisbon, Portugal
Our Last Few Days on Foreign Soil: Paris, France
Our Last Night Away from Home