Wordless Wednesday

A little early...
Sculptures from the Hilton Hawaiian Village on the island of Oahu. I was truly amazed to see the amount of detail and realized emotion of this artist's renderings of the hula.

Review of An Italian Affair

I thought I would finish the book before I gave you my thoughts, but I really don't see that the tempo or depth of this book will change in the next 18 pages.

Generally, I don't comment if it's a negative reaction, but some of you expressed an inkling to maybe reading it based upon my initial excitement about this book. So, here goes.

From the first line of the book, this memoir quickly went downhill. It's hard for me to read a book written in the third-person (or is it second-person: /you/). This autobiographical travelogue is written in the same vein as Eat, Love, Pray, which I thoroughly enjoyed as light reading. But it lacks the multi-dimensional writing and descriptive prose of Elizabeth Gilbert.

Sorry to be such a downer on this one. Hopefully my next selection, The Sixteen Pleasures, will be a better read.

PhotoHunt: Fresh

Zabar's in New York City - Upper West Side. The largest, freshest assortment of cheeses, among other things, in the city. A unique market designed European style - "a gourmet emporium". I can even smell the aroma of coffee brewing as I type. Their babka is to die-for.

Gratitude Friday: Aging

Well let me define that a little further. I am very grateful for the wisdom one gains from aging contently. It has given me a fresher and more genuine perspective on life, unencumbered by societal influences and other people's expectations. Yes, even the newly formed lines and wrinkles seem to give a dimension to the experiences that I've encountered along the way and define me in this mid-life body.

As Carl Jung has stated, "We cannot live in the afternoon of life according to the program of life's morning - for (often) what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true at evening becomes a lie."

From Wayne Dyer's daily dose (Wednesday: I appreciate all that I am and all that I have.

Have a joyful weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

A bit late but so goes my week.

Window box from Beacon Hill, Boston, MA: 2009
A typical scene from our 'Hill'.

An Italian Affair

Sounds like a sensational, sensual pleasure, si?

Candi's blog entry about Florence, Sandra's entry on in-flight entertainment are making me itchy to travel again. October was the last of my ventures. Italy in September can't come soon enough.

To assuage my hunger, I developed a list from researching SlowTravel, Amazon and a few other sites for books set in Italy. Currently reading An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser, an autobiographical memoir and travelogue about Florence, Ischia and a few other places around the world. I'm just getting into the book, but it had me at the first line - Mi hai spaccato il cuore. (You have broken my heart.)

PhotoHunt; Three

The doors of Orvieto.