Growing Old Outrageously: A Memoir of Travel, Food and Friendship

by Hilary Linstead, Elisabeth Davies

A delightful memoir of a later-life friendship and what happens when two ladies of a certain age decide to test the maxim Leap and the net will appear!

When two old school friends reconnected unexpectedly after 35 years, they discovered that they both love traveling—and the more exotic and far-flung the location, the better! Not having a clue whether they would get along, the eccentric pair embarked on a trial journey to Morocco. That tentative beginning turned into a series of wonderfully unusual trips, and Hil and Liz have been circumnavigating the globe ever since. Among many other destinations, they have taken in Marrakech, Fez, and the Atlas Mountains; Patagonia and the Galapagos Islands; Istanbul and Cappadocia. They've been on safari in Namibia, Botswana, and the Serengeti, attended music festivals in Naples and Prague, and made a pilgrimage to the western isles of Mull and Iona. Along the way they have encouraged, enraged, and entertained each other, while living through countless adventures. This is a book for thrillseekers and armchair travelers alike, a celebration of friendship and laughter, and an inspiration for anyone who has longed to venture outside their comfort zone and travel to exotic places.

Genres: Travel, Biography

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting memoir of two old friends holidaying together around the world, interspersed with tha occasional interesting memoir.

A book that shows you are never too old to have fun.

Recommended.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Easily one of the most irritating books I've picked up this year. The author and her travel companion come across as arrogant, ignorant, spoilt women who travel the world in a bubble of white privilege, being rude, demeaning, and occasionally disgusting to the people they meet.

Additionally, the writing drones on and on, providing no interesting information about the places they travel to, the people they meet, or the interactions they have. Instead, the reader is tortured with endless descriptions of the constant fighting between the lead characters, with occasional descriptions of food or itineraries thrown in.

For something with such a fabulous premise, this was a complete waste of time. I was bored by the end of the first chapter, irritated by the end of the second, frustrated by the end of the third, and infuriated enough by the end of the fourth to give up on finishing it.

Also, who pees on a public chair and then leaves it for someone else to clean?! No. No no no.

[Caz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, Hilary - I did not enjoy your book - I stopped half way through and felt let down. It wasn't what I had hoped for, - I had felt misled with all the hype given it. I do think it could be good televised and it would be then much more enjoyable. I just wasn't feeling the experiences you were trying to talk about. I hope Liz and Hilary continue to enjoy life and their many travels together

[Angus Sprout · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I read this on the strength of hearing the two ladies being interviewed on Woman's Hour but the book is lightweight and instead of growing to like the ladies I grew to dislike them the further into the book I got.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough but not as funny and "outrageous" as I would have liked it. A light holiday read.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun read. I liked reading about these two women and the traveling shenanigans they get themselves into. Each chapter was written about a new place they went too. If you like cooking, Hillary includes recipes in some of the chapters as well.

I am definitely adding Patagonia to one of the places to visit in my life after reading the chapter on Patagonia.

These women are crazy and it was interesting to see their perspective and how they traveled around the world.

[Heather Browning · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was entertaining enough - a set of travel stories from two older women who were just out for fun and adventure - but nothing I'd go back to. Still, there is something inspirational about hearing from people who don't let age dictate their choices.

[Karen Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idiosyncratic book about shared travels of two sorta-cranky older ladies. That doesn't sound very good. But I kept reading. I was always curious about what was going to happen next. It's a gentle book- to be enjoyed with a slow cup of tea.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book. Some chapters were much more difficult to get through than others. That being said the good chapters were interesting and humorous.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. Since I cant travel this is the way to go.

[Mandy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book,there were interesting facts and I liked the photos and recipes. The other reviews were a bit harsh I thought,sometimes places are a disappointment,brochures and the Internet make places look amazing but do not show the bad bits,also Hilly and LIz are older and when you get older you do expect more and need more luxury! I know I need a constant supply of tea everywhere I go now!

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up in the library, as it promised adventure and looked fun. It was, as the stars indicate, 'ok' there was good humor throughout and certainly plenty of travelling, I just found the author and her friend to be a little- not sure what-maybe spoiled? Like their age / social status allowed them to act a certain way. On a positive note they include several recipes for meals they ate while travelling, and I often wish more books would do this!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing Old Outrageously is a celebration of travel and life. It is the story of two older adults who travel around the world, going on fantastic voyages to places like South Africa, Europe and the Outback, among many others. Hilary and Liz have very different personalities, and it is interesting to see how the make their travel-buddy-relationship work when they face the challenges that travel inevitably presents to any globe-trotter. Their spontaneity and love of adventure is inspiring, and I aspire to go on adventures like them when I am their age! The only criticism I have of this book is that it the storytelling style does become a little bit repetitive, and sometimes it goes into details that I found a bit boring. But overall, it's still a great, fairly light read, that is sure to give you some laughs. Happy travelling!

[Tiia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had great hopes for the book, but it let me down. They obviously have great time on their travels, but I couldn't catch that feeling from the book. For me it sounded more like two older ladies just complaining about everything, not any of the places they visit seemed to actually pleased them, nor people they met. The way they treat people on their travels, didn't seemed too polite for me, or maybe it just written text that made me feel so. After reading all those places they visited, I didn't get feeling that I would like to go any of them, for some reason they couldn't catch any amazing things to describe for these wonderful countries or cities. Instead of getting know this women during the story and like that they still are so into traveling on their old age, I just couldn't even sympathies them nor like them.

[Jeff Patchett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book after hearing the ladies on the radio some years ago when the book was released. The subject matter should have made for more interesting reading. While entertaining, it lacks sparkle. More like a travel dairy of each holiday.
An insightful look into growing old and retirement. Glad they chose holidays instead of sitting in a retirement home watching television. Hope they continue to travel and enjoy their life.

[Christine Bowker Osborne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly, ignorant, even vulgar when she writes of wetting a chair and covering the patch up with a table napkin. And how can you write about countries as diverse as Morocco and Ethiopia in the same chapter? I did not read much further than this as found it an utterly vapid account of these two ladies' misadventures.

[Sharon Webb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book and found it difficult to finish reading. When I selected this book it promised so much but instead of being entertained I found myself cringing at the negativity, bickering and rudeness of the two authors.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too much about meals eaten. Would have preferred more about the places visited.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, did not finish

[Juliette]

Quirky, funny and fascinating insight into a friendship and some vicarious travel.

[Sonia]

A little too daily journal like for my taste but an interesting insight into travelling with someone with whom travel appears to be the one and only joint interest.

[Faith McLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and inspirational.

[Rasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow inspiring.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book at all. I only read about a third of it and then decided to call it quits.

[Birgit]

DNF

[Mike Pearce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dissapointing

[Sue Hoddinott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and not well written

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not live up to my expectations at all.

[Jodes · Rating 2 out of 5]

half arsed stories with no real story telling