Dogs n Dracula – a book post

Through Booksprout I was lucky enough to get a review copy of Jackie Lambert’s wonderful new book: Dogs n Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania (Adventure Caravanning with Dogs Book 3). While I am a big fan of Jackie’s blog; World Wide Walkies and I did receive a free copy of the book I can honestly say that I would recommend this book to anyone interested in travel, with or without dogs. Or even just looking for a relaxing read. It is simply a very entertaining account of travel through Eastern Europe, informative and humorous.

You don’t need to be into caravanning to enjoy this book, although it does give insight into the experience of travelling by van in places like Europe. The joys of steep, narrow roads, dodgy bridges, tight spaces of all kinds and sat. nav. that interprets its task creatively. Then there are the dogs, four gorgeous cavapoos who travel everywhere with Mark and Jackie. As anyone who travels with a dog knows, they can add a whole other set of challenges to your experience.

I love travel literature but I don’t think I have ever read a book about caravan travel before, so I suspect there is a gap in the travel literature market that Jackie can admirably fill with her Adventure Caravanning books, this is the third in the series and I enjoyed it so much I have added the other titles to my list of books to get. I must say I am especially interested in Jackie and Mark’s decision to give up wage slavery and take to the road.

I was quite intrigued by the idea of travel in Romania and after reading the book, I know I want to visit. This book is certainly a useful and inspiring guide if you are planning a trip into Eastern Europe. There is loads of information on touristy highlights, especially on the quieter usually more rewarding locations. Information on underrated UNESCO world heritage sites, including the legenday Sarmizegetusa Regia and other Dacian sites.  Lots of castles and beautiful villages and for the horse lovers, there are visits to Lipizzaner studs. Accounts of great camp grounds and local shopping and lots of history all told with humour, Jackie is always entertaining in her narrative. I learnt things; I had no idea that Prince Charles had ties to Romania and the Dracula mythology, read the book to find out more.

One of the nicest parts of this book involves the story of Blade. Romania apparently has a bit of a problem with stray dogs and it was on their travels that Jackie and Mark encounter one such stray that they could not just abandon, so the fab four becomes the fab five. Blade’s Eat Play Love letters are some of my favourite parts of the book, funny and touching, Jackie has a genuine talent. I can highly recommend this great read, it is an absolutely delightful book. Here in Australia Jackie’s books are available through Amazon in both kindle and paperback versions they are well worth checking out, they make for perfect holiday reading.