For the holiday season, I can only think of one photograph to share with my readers that represents the essence of holiday travel. While I could slap up a picture of squawking people at the airport or pushy shoppers edging you out of the latest deal, I selected this particular photograph showcasing the ultimate holiday journey. The baroque creamy buildings look almost as if they are glowing. Gazing down from my Sicilian balcony, I think the buildings really are radiating light. Streaming lines of uniformed men follow an angelic statue to Mary. It is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Continue Reading
Closet Italian Designer Keeps Her Designs in the Closet
Lounging on sapphire-blue colored sofas while watching countless hours of Italian game shows, movies, and jewelry infomercials, a former Italian designer modestly but willingly entertains my unending questions about her life. One question after another she responds almost as though no one has ever asked her about herself before me. Her chatter fills the unbearable humid air of a summer day in Florence, Italy. She may not be as well known as Roberto Cavalli, Gucci, or Dolce & Gabana, but she easily could have been 40 years ago. Sharing the famous street in Florence that could be named Continue Reading
Sorrento Serenades and Charades
For a month in Italy’s hot Sorrento sun, I woke to vespas whizzing down the narrow streets outside my window and occasionally what sounded like a number of Italians yelling when really they were just excited to begin their day. I rose to shower, however, I found my shower resembled that of a large sink-like chair with a long hose attached. I stepped outside my narrow room to my balcony. I faced another apartment building where a little grey haired lady always hung up her laundry and where neighborhood kids would practice their soccer skills in the ally below. I would head to the kitchen for my Continue Reading