I am grateful to my mom and her dear Aunt, whose modest legacy upon her recent passing allowed my mother and I and my sisters and our daughters to tour the Mediterranean coasts of Italy and France this past week. It was an amazing trip, daily kissed by the sun and gentle breezes, and we learned so much about so many things, like how Sorrento artists make those beautiful wood inlays, why so many in Pompeii refused to evacuate when Vesuvius was roaring, the level of Michelangelo’s genius as displayed in the Sistine Chapel and within his statues of David and the Pieta, the power of the Medici family and why the beautiful promenade in Nice is named after England.
I have returned refreshed (albeit a bit jetlagged) and am ready to launch myself into the nitty gritty of the book I am writing, due in a mere 10 weeks (gasp), and which will command my all my attention over the remainder of the summer. I imagine my posts between now and the end of August might be a bit random and scattered as I usually have a hard time concentrating on real life when I am immersed in the heart of a novel. You have been warned.
And since today is a major relaunch day (I wrote nothing while on vacation) I leave you to get right to it, but I close with a few more photos of the beauty of the Mediterranean coast. Above is me and my daughter taking a self-portarait from the ship with the lovely town of Villefranche in the background. Next is me at Positano trying to look chic. Below that is the drop-dead gorgeous Amalfi coast, followed by me at the Trevi fountain (taking care of the little details that assure me a return trip to Rome) and lastly my daughter and I in Marseilles. See you on Friday!