Rick Steves’ Pocket Travel Journal

Avalon Travel

As a writer and a traveler, I was overjoyed to be getting Rick Steves’ Pocket Travel Journal. When it arrived, I must admit that it looked an awful lot like a Moleskine notebook. It is the same size: approximately six inches by four inches. There is a small pocket in the back cover and a black ribbon attached as a bookmark. It’s navy blue with a hard-bound cover. The clearest differentiation is an imprint of Rick Steves’ signature on the back of the book.

The journal seems to be rather Eurocentric; the color map of Europe inside the front cover is the only map in the book. I realize that if I wanted maps of every country, I’d get an atlas, but it still seemed a bit focused. There is a handy calling chart with country codes and dialing instructions, but they are all for European countries.

I was very excited to see the calendar section for 2009 to 2012. There’s also a cute and handy section titled “Foreign Phrases Cheat Sheet” where travelers are recommended to include their favorite and helpful key words and phrases. The section is blank; travelers have to find their own phrases.

Before the cheat sheet is a message from Rick Steves, and he beautifully sums up the necessity of having a journal nearby when traveling: “Without capturing your thoughts on paper, the lessons of travel are like shooting stars you just missed...and butterflies you thought you saw.” The book has 182 lined pages and ten blank pages for sketching. It fits neatly into a purse or backpack or in the pocket of a hooded sweatshirt. It has a quality to it where I know that it’s not going to fall apart over the years. While perhaps not the most original product, it’s a good deal ($9.95) for something every traveler needs.

Review by Kristin Conard