Posts by Kimberly Sullivan
We don’t have wi-fi. We talk to one another
Okay, so I love this sign posted (in English) outside a bar – the Italian word for ‘café’ – close to my home in Rome. The first time I noticed it I enjoyed a hearty chuckle. Soon I’ll be back in NY, and there you can find plenty of cafés where people are completely zoned out,…
Read MoreReason #5389 to love Rome: Golden Gala 2018
I’ve been going each year to this annual international track meet, a part of the Diamond League competitions, ever since my track-obsessed younger son began running at seven years old. This has become a tradition for us each May or June when this international meet arrives in the Eternal City – at the Olympic stadium…
Read MoreMarket day in Forcalquier, France
We loved visiting the medieval town of Forcalquier in France’s Provence region on its bustling market day. Forcalquier is in eastern Provence, to the north of the larger town of Manosque. We visited on market day, which is a busy and bustling time for what must otherwise be a sleepy town. Forcalquier’s heyday was back in…
Read MoreMore beach reading
I’ve already written about my first beach visit-beach reading session of this spring, back in April after my younger son’s running race on the seaside near Rome. But somehow, it never seems ‘official’ to me until I visit the seaside town of Sperlonga, south of Rome. Finally, last weekend I managed to get there for…
Read MoreBooks and more in Banon, France
We loved discovering this pretty, medieval town in the French region of Alpes de Haute Provence, in eastern Provence. We had already discovered western Provence’s Luberon Valley on an earlier trip, but on our visit last summer we based ourselves in the eastern town of Reillane and explored the nearby region. There are still plenty…
Read MoreWhy women’s stories are so engaging
“I deem as heroic those who have the harder task, face it unflinchingly and live. In this world women do that.” —James Salter How can I not love this quote by American novelist and short story writer James Salter (1925-2015)? I’ve always been a great reader, and grew up reading all the (mostly male-authored) classics.…
Read MoreA birds’ eye view of Gent, Belgium
I’ve already written about the visit with my youngest son to visit the charming, medieval town of Ghent, in Belgium. It was my first time in that picture-perfect town, which was rendered even more beautiful by the warm spring sunshine. My son and I did what we always do when we visit a new town…
Read MoreAvoid regrets in life – write!
“If I don’t write I feel, well, a kind of remorse, no?” —Jorge Luis Borges I love these wise words by Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). And if there are any fighting words to pull a writer back from the abyss of endless procrastination and back on the path of productive writing, these seem…
Read MoreBasking in the spring sunshine in Gent/Gand, Belgium
On a recent trip to Brussels with my younger son, we took advantage of the spectacular spring weather to make a day trip to a Flemish city I’d never visited – Gent in Flemish, Gand in French. It’s only a short train trip from Brussels’ Central Station. Of course, the advantage of tiny Belgium is…
Read MoreBook review: The Dinner
I had never heard of Herman Koch’s novel The Dinner before picking it up in a bookstore. I admit I was attracted by the cover and the interesting back cover description, and I’m so happy I took a chance on this novel, since I was very quickly engrossed in this disturbing tale. Originally published in…
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