Posts by Kimberly Sullivan
Admiring dramatic sunsets in Athens
I went to Athens with my family this past December, and we lucked out with sunny skies and balmy temperatures – I even returned to Rome slight suntanned. : ) Athens is a great city to explore, and the Acropolis is perched at a dramatic high point where it can be enjoyed across the entire city…
Read MoreFavorite reads of 2015 (at least so far…)
I’ve had a good reading start to 2015, and I’d like to share some of my favorites. I’m a big supporter of #Readwomen, and so far this year I’ve read five novels by women and two by men. It just so happens that my favorites so far have all been by female writers, giving me…
Read MoreWhen in Naples … eat pizza!
No trip to Naples, Italy is complete without eating pizza. For although pizza has a much longer history, our modern-day pizza is most associated with this southern Italian city. Today’s Naples is filled with famous pizzerias. You’ll spot them by the huge lines outside of clients patiently waiting for a table. Although precursors to pizza,…
Read MoreAre you monogamous (to your writing projects)?
I was as surprised as anyone to learn that I struggle to stay monogamous … to my writing projects. In the first blush of romance, I set off with abandon, writing, plotting in my mind (I’m a pantser, so my plot lines never make it to paper/computer). I only have eyes for my new WIP,…
Read MoreA solitary, early morning walk on Brussels’ Grand’ Place
I was recently in Brussels for a conference. I haven’t been to Brussels for years, and was curious to return to its central Grand’ Place to see its whimsical architecture, but my work schedule and flights made that difficult. So I woke up early one morning, took a walk, and made the startling discovery-well, perhaps…
Read MoreWriting inspiration from Vladimir Nabokov
I’d click into anything with a title like that. : ) The Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov is one of my favorite writers, and sometimes I feel somewhat like a type of (accidental) groupie. I studied at Cornell, the university where he taught until he made his name with Lolita and happily gave up academia to write…
Read More5000-year-old modernity at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
It was a rainy Monday morning in Athens on a recent visit there, and my family and I decided it would be a good time to dry off and explore a museum a Greek colleague had suggested to me – The Museum of Cycladic Art. The museum is located in the upscale residential neighborhood of…
Read MoreHow do you feel when you wrap up a writing project?
This week, I’m wrapping up a writing project I should have concluded long ago. This is a contemporary story I’ve loved writing about three very different expat women living in Rome, Italy. Their lives cross when they meet up at a 1950s movie night at an Italian seaside resort off-season. Although my contemporary characters are…
Read MoreThe splendors of Naples’ renovated San Carlo Opera
I’ve always been curious to see Naples’ Teatro San Carlo – the oldest continuously active public opera in the world. On a recent visit to Naples, I went on a guided tour to see the recent renovations that restored this historic opera house to its former splendor. San Carlo Opera was commissioned by the Bourbon…
Read MoreWriting inspiration in the mountains
Although I live in Rome, I love to escape when I can to the nearby mountains of Abruzzo. I have a small place in a little town up in the Apennine mountains, and I enjoy going out there to escape the chaos of Rome – to hike and mountain bike and ski. I was out…
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