Taking time to spot the gnomes

Friday musings during a grey and rainy month in Rome. I saw this photo and thought of when I took it – during a hiking trip I took with my younger son during a hot September weekend. This was out in Ovindoli, in the mountains of Abruzzo – about 1.5 hours east of Rome. We…

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New York’s City Island and Orchard Beach

After writing about various islands you can visit when you’re passing through New York – Governor’s Island , Randall’s Island and Roosevelt Island – I’m following it up with another (new for us) island we visited during our last visit – City Island in the Bronx. City Island is easily reached by NY public transport.…

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Book review: The Summer We Lost Her

I did not know this author or this novel. I picked it up mostly for its cover, and the storyline set in New York’s Adirondack Mountains – an area I know well. I enjoyed this dual storyline of an imploding marriage, set mostly in a grand but rustic cabin along the shores of Lake Placid.…

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Escaping one island to visit another: Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island

There’s so much to do when visiting the island of Manhattan, that visitors don’t often venture to “neighboring” islands. Who knew that New York was such an “island paradise”? I’ve already written about why you should go explore nearby Governor’s Island and peaceful, sports-packed Randall’s Island. I, myself, was guilty of never having been to…

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On your mark, get set, GO all you NaNoers!

It’s November 1st. Do you know what that means to writers? It’s the start of the crazy, marathon challenge known as National Novel Writing Month. Each year, writers around the world accept the challenge to write a novel in a month. More precisely, throughout the month of November, writers challenge themselves to write every day,…

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