Beach reading season 2019 officially begins…

Last weekend was the first weekend of spring. The sun was shining. The temperatures were rising. And a trip to the beach was far too tempting… My younger son and I took off to one of our favorite beach hangouts south of Rome – the beautiful, medieval beach town of Sperlonga. And …. it was…

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A day in elegant Bayonne, France

We loved our family holiday in France’s Pays Basque region – on France’s southwestern Atlantic coast. While there, we explored many interesting Basque cities and towns – and Bayonne was a great place to wander for a day during our travels. Bayonne, slightly north and inland from Biarritz , is worth a visit when you’re…

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Book review: Middle England

I somehow missed this novel by Jonathan Coe, and only learned about it when a colleague suggested I read it, and lent me her copy. This novel is set in London and ‘Middle England’, which I learned to be Birmingham, opens in 2010, in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis, and as London is…

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Morocco’s stunning coastal fortress of Essaouira

Morocco’s spectacular Atlantic Ocean coastal town of Essaouira – formerly known as Mogador – has witnessed much over its long history. Founded as a base in the 7th century B.C. by the Phoenecians, six centuries later it had grown into an important commercial center for the manufacture of purple dye. By the 15th century A.D.…

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Libri come … liberta’ – Rome

Books are like … freedom. This is the title of the literature festival taking place in these days in Rome, Italy. Held at Rome’s Auditorium – Renzo Piano’s structure located in Rome’s Flaminio neighborhood, this literature festival has a lot on the agenda, including scheduled book talks with Italian and foreign authors. Each author taking…

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An urban oasis in New York’s Morningside Park

While most people know (or know of) New York’s spectacular Central Park, fewer know its less famous sibling – Morningside Park. Morningside Park was designed soon after its more famous neighbor, by the celebrated landscape architects who had designed Central Park – Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvin Vaux. Olmsted and Vaux produced a design for…

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On Women’s Day, celebrating women writers

Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate, I thought I would play homage to some of my favorite female authors. Of course, there are my perennial favorites – Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Edith Wharton. But I decided to celebrate some of my favorite contemporary authors, by including some of the book reviews I’ve written…

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Lavender & medieval charm in Simiane la Rotonde, Provence

I always love returning to France’s idyllic Provence region. On a family holiday two years ago, we enjoyed exploring the Haute Provence region, and stumbled upon the medieval town of Simiane la Rotonde. The location is perfect – surrounded by fields of lavender. Sadly, during our August visit, the blooms had long ago been harvested…

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Chasing perfection

“None of my work has met my own standards.” -William Faulkner Hard to believe one of my favorite authors could be so critical of his masterpieces. William Faulkner (1897 – 1962), one of the great American writers in the southern tradition, was a prolific novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. He was the recipient…

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