A Cluster of Grapes

A Cluster of Grapes is not a standard travel book; it is an adventure story. The adventure took place more than fifty years ago. Duffy had come home after two years of travelling in northern and eastern Europe. He wanted to go to university but had several months before he needed to apply. And so, unable to rest from roaming, he took off again, heading south this time. He travelled alone through southern France and north-eastern Spain, Andorra, Corsica, Sardinia, and Italy from Naples to Pisa. No ordinary traveller, Duffy rode a bicycle, slept in a tent, lived rough and loved it. Each day he filled a diary with details of his exploits, describing landscapes and cityscapes, architecture and art, wind, rain and storms with the flourish and flair of an artist, the perception and wordplay of a novelist. He tells it as he sees it, not always with kindness but with accurate, honest, and perceptive observation. He often slips into the side roads of humour and whimsy, allowing his imagination wings, inviting the reader to join him in his frequent flights of fancy. As did travel writers of the past, Duffy seeks to entertain, excite, educate and inspire his readers of today. A Cluster of Grapes will do all of those.