Padova’s spectacular San Antonio Basilica
This past winter, my son and I took a few weekend trips to Padova, in Italy’s northern Veneto region. It was also a great opportunity to see the Sant Antonio basilica once again. This spectacular basilica was constructed beginning in 1232, a year following the death of St Anthony. It was completed in 1310. Like…
Read MoreHave library card, will travel
I’m always thrilled to come back to New York, because … obviously. But in addition to enjoying the city, I’m also happy to whip out my handy NY library card and to start borrowing away. I love public libraries, and I love wandering them and disovering all the interesting books I’ve been menaing to read…
Read MoreWatching over Ancona’s port each morning
These past years, I’ve gotten to know the Marche’s region’s capital of Ancona. I came here regularly because the small city hosts an indoor track, and my sprinter son would compete here. Whenever we would stay, I would book my favorite hotel, with its views over the Ancona port. Ports are interesting places, and it’s…
Read MoreMy July 2023 reads
In July, I had another great month in books. First I traveled back to New York’s Hudson Valley during the 1920s as an ambitious young woman tries to carve out a niche for herself in a society changing rapidly around her. Afterwards, I traveled to a remote location on the moors of northern England, on…
Read MoreArt, architecture and sport in Tuscany’s Grosseto
We had a great weekend at the end of July in the Tuscan town of Grosseto. It was my first time there, but I enjoyed the old town (even because, on a Saturday at around 2 pm, the hottest hour of the day), we had it almost to ourselves… Grosseto is a small city of…
Read MoreHammering my latest dual timeline manuscript into shape
Super excited to be preparing my fifth book, and fourth novel, for publication this autumn. I’ve already had useful feedback from beta readers, and now I have my manuscript back from my editor. I’ll be incorporating these changes before getting it off to my proofreader. I will then review once more before working with my…
Read MoreSoaking in the atmosphere in Prague’s cafés
Prague, like so many of Central European cities, has a vibrant café culture. If you’re visiting the Czech capital, you definitely need to set aside some time to visit the storied art deco cafés. A café in which I used to spend a lot of time is Prague’s spectacular Obecní dům. Back then, it was…
Read More(More) Real life locations of my stories … in Bosnia
I had fun taking photos of my newest short story collection, Drink Wine and Be Beautiful, in some of the locations I write about in my book. You can find some of those Roman and Abruzzo locations and corresponding passages of my stories here. Because thoughts of travel are never far from my mind when…
Read MoreTraces of the past in the Roman countryside
One of the (many) things I love about Italy are the brushes with the past no matter where you go. We came upon the remnants of this Ancient Roman aqueduct in the fields between Tivoli and Castel Madama. Even though you see these all the time, it never fails to put me in a good…
Read MoreReal life locations of my short stories
I love anything associated with travel, so it’s not a surprise that a strong sense of place is important to me as a reader and writer. My latest short story collection, “Drink Wine and Be Beautiful”, is largely set in Italy. I thought I would share some of the locations that play a role in…
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