Posts by Kimberly Sullivan
Are you NaNoing?
It’s that time of year again – when all you crazy writing marathoners take up the challenge to write a fifty-thousand word novel in just 30 days as part of the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Then there are the people like me, who stand on the side lines and cheer you on as you…
Read MoreHangin’ out with the iguanas … in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Last week, I was in the coastal city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. It was my first time there, and though work didn’t allow me as much time as I would have liked to explore, I did get a nice introduction to Ecuador’s largest city. I also had the chance to make “friends” with some of the…
Read MoreSheep, cows and horses, oh my! The perils of mountain biking in Abruzzo
My older son plays Varsity tennis each fall and is often traveling around Italy for matches on weekends. My younger son and I often use this as an excuse for a solo escape to the little town in the mountains of Abruzzo for some fall foliage and mountain biking. This year was no exception. Earlier…
Read MoreAfter the hiatus
Hiatus – a break or gap. Since I returned from summer holidays, I have not been keeping up my blog. The return to work and kids’ school and daily life kept things more hectic than I anticipated, and then my trusty home laptop died … and I was super slow about replacing it. But I…
Read MoreFar above Cayuga’s waters … revisiting Cornell University
Many, many years ago, I spent a very happy four years at this beautiful university campus in Ithaca, (upstate) New York, studying political science and history. Even if I adored my time at Cornell, its location in western New York’s Finger Lakes region makes it a little off the beaten track for my infrequent trips…
Read MoreHiking the Celano Canyon in Abruzzo, Italy
Earlier this summer, during a particularly steamy Roman week, I found myself daydreaming constantly about a weekend escape to Abruzzo. I often get out for weekend to the town of Ovindoli, about 1 1/2 hour drive from Rome. Since the town at 1400 meters from sea level it is much, much cooler than Rome ……
Read MoreWriters, stop making excuses …
“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” —E. B. White In the always brilliant words of author E.B. White – stop slacking off, and get writing! Not much to add to these perfect words of advice. I am certainly guilty of waiting for…
Read MoreA Provence base in Reillanne, France
On the way back from a holiday trip in Pays basque, France, my family and I decided to break up the long drive back to Rome with a short stay in Provence. We made the little town of Reillanne our base to explore the region for a few days and stayed in a pretty gite,…
Read MoreBook review: The Stars are Fire
Author Anita Shreve is a master at penning realistic characters and delving deep into their psyches, and The Stars are Fire is a brilliant illustration of her significant talent in bringing her characters to life. Grace Holland is a young mother of two toddlers in post World War II Maine. Her husband, Gene, has retruned from…
Read MoreArt deco overload in Arcachon, France
I’ve already written about our visit to the Dune du Pyla – at 105 meters high, officially Europe’s highest sand dune. Very close to this impressive natural wonder in France’s Gironde region is the pretty seaside town of Arcachon. This sleepy Atlantic coastal town became a destination of the international jet-set in the mid 19th…
Read More