Lake views, grand hotels, and jazz in Montreux, Switzerland
I’ve already written about how I was able to explore around Lake Geneva this past summer while dropping off and picking up my son from camp in beautiful Leysin, Switzerland . One of the places I visited with my son was beautiful, lakeside Montreux. Montreux is wonderfully picturesque, with its stately grand hotels and idyllic…
Read MoreIl rientro…la rentrée
September is well underway, and even if the weather is still beautiful in my part of the world, those crisp evenings provide us with a hint of what’s to come. Summer is almost over. The kids are back to school, and we’re back to work. Holidays are fading into pleasant, but distant memories. This is…
Read MoreTake me out to the ball game…in Washington, D.C.
What’s an American mom raising soccer-crazed boys in Italy to do? I grew up loving baseball, always thrilled when my dad took me to see the Red Sox play when I was a kid growing up in Boston. I religiously filled in my scorecard, followed the cheers, thrilled when a home run sailed high over the…
Read MoreReading as a means to slip into another’s skin…
Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul. -Joyce Carol Oates I love this quote by the talented and prolific writer Joyce Carol Oates. I was lucky enough to hear Oates speak about writing on a visit she had to Rome, see my earlier…
Read MoreReason #5376 to love Rome: Volpetti delicatessen
If you’re visiting Rome and doing it right, there is no reason you should be feeling hungry between meals. Nevertheless, to be fully versed in Rome’s food culture, no visit to the Eternal City is complete without a stop at Volpetti, on Via Marmorata in the Testaccio neighborhood. Be sure to stop in and have…
Read MoreWhat’s your writing inspiration this summer?
Summer days are great for lots of things – getting out and enjoying your city or town, meeting up with friends, spending more time with family, taking holidays and slipping out of the rhythms of the daily grind. For writers, it can also be a time for inspiration. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a period…
Read MoreThree A-list towns in Provence: Avignon, Arles, and Aix
Provence’s interior has so many lovely hill towns, and stunning nature, that visitors are forgiven for not wanting to jeopardize a tranquil holiday with the hustle and bustle of larger towns. Yet the following three towns make the A-list of any planned visit to Provence – there’s simply no excuse not to visit Avignon, Arles, and…
Read MoreSeven essential elements of a bestselling novel
The ever-helpful Writer’s Digest fuels the imagination of aspiring authors with their handy checklist: Seven essential elements of a bestselling novel. Some – like readability and reasons to care – are obvious. Others, like seeking out controversy are interesting suggestions. The example provided uses as an example Scarlett O’Hara of Gone with the Wind. By any…
Read MoreGallipoli : The “beautiful city”
Gallipoli is a lovely town in the region of Puglia – the heel of the Italian boot – and is just along the Ionian Sea. This part of Puglia is known as the Salento, an absolute must-see region and one of my favorite southern Italian destinations. Salento is best known for its beautiful, unspoiled beaches and…
Read MoreFavorite summer reads? Part 2
Last week I wrote about summer reading in general, those distant memories of long summer holidays and stacks of good books I’d devour as a child. Seems that, despite work, and family obligations, and-ahem-the tiny amount of time I (should) eke out for writing, some things simply don’t change. I still love summer reading, and…
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