Sip, savor, and get the most out of every bite with Rick Steves! With this fun and practical guide to eating well in Italy, you'll: * Indulge in the best of Italy's cuisine, from tantalizing antipasti and saucy pastas to luxurious gelato * Get a taste of the coffee culture and vibrant wine scene * Discover what to eat where with food and wine specialties from the country's 20 regions * Find lists of Rick's favorite restaurants in every region * Follow Rick's tips to find restaurants for any budget, smartly navigate the menu, and decipher the check * Hurdle the language barrier with the ultimate Italian food glossary * Enjoy full-color, inspiring photos throughout * Commemorate your culinary adventures with a foldout souvenir poster mapRick Steves and co-author Fred Plotkin have devoted decades to traveling through Italy. In this book, they pass along those lessons to you. Appreciate good food the way Italians do with Rick Steves Italy for Food Lovers.

Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you."Opera 101" is recognized as the standard text in English for anyone who wants to become an opera lover--a clear, friendly, and truly complete handbook to learning how to listen to opera, whether on the radio, on recordings, or live at the opera house. Fred Plotkin, an internationally respected writer and teacher about opera who for many years was performance manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduces the reader (whatever his or her level of musical knowledge) to all the elements that make up opera, including: A brief, entertaining history of opera;An explanation of key operatic concepts, from vocal types to musical conventions;Hints on the best way to approach the first opera you attend and how to best understand what is happening both offstage and on;Lists of recommended books and recordings, and the most complete traveler's guide to opera houses around the world. The major part of "Opera 101" is devoted to an almost minute-by-minute analysis of eleven key operas, ranging from Verdi's thunderous masterpiece "Rigoletto" and Puccini's electrifying "Tosca" through works by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, to the psychological complexities of Richard Strauss's "Elektra." Once you have completed "Opera 101," you will be prepared to see and hear any opera you encounter, thanks to this book's unprecedentedly detailed and enjoyable method of revealing the riches of opera.