Peter Mayle "A year in Provence" and any of the sequels including "Encore Provence" and "A Dog’s life." He’s a British food and travel writer who bought a house in Provence and writes memoir-type novels about living there.

Very similar is Frances Mayes "Under the Tuscan Sun" (much better than the movie)and the sequels.

If you like detective story type mysterys, anything that sounds like travel in the title by Elizabeth Adler: "Hotel Riviera," "The House in Amalfi" "The last time I saw Paris." Interesting combination of travel and scenery, food and romance with a mystery thrown in for the plot line.

If 900 page novels don’t put you off and you’re going to Scotland try Diana Gabaldon: The first in the series is "The Outlander." There are 5 more — about 900 pages each, but they’re real page turners. I’m anxiously awaiting # 7.

I’m liking The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova so far. There’s a lot of travel done by the characters too (France, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, etc.)

I’ll second the suggestion of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. If reading a long series doesn’t interest you, I think this one works well on its own.