Recently, I was in the San Francisco area. I was by the ocean, went into a very small book store. Small bookstores are wonderful, they have a more interesting choice of books. Usually, many local authors, which I like.
As I went to purchase The Cat Who Saved Books, they had the Italian Baci candies at the check out. What a treat! I haven’t had them for so long. I thought it was a lovely idea to buy a book, a few Baci chocolates, then head to the ocean and start reading. I bought three!
This story sounded interesting about a boy who is depressed when his grandfather dies. He meets a talking cat and goes on quests to “save books.” I was curious about the talking cat and saving books, how/where and what kind?
I’m at the beginning stages of reading this book, so no book review yet. Summer is coming, I think this will end up in the beach bag for summer reading. Life is so busy right now, no time to read.
What small bookstore have you found lately? We do need to support them, I try!
Sometimes a photograph is all we need to brighten our day. Winter in Italy.
My friend recently took this beautiful picture of Cinque Terre. I haven’t been there. It looks like we would definitely get our hiking/steps in, right.
Spring will be here soon. Time to go on an adventure somewhere.
Whenever I’ve traveled to Italy, it’s usually been in the Spring right before heavy tourist season in June. My daughter was able to find a good flight to Italy, winter rates, so was just there. We’ve learned there are pros/cons to traveling off season.
She noticed not very many tourists, that’s a pro. She could take pictures of special places with no people around. However, major con, many shops and restaurants closed. They had signs on their windows, back in March. I told her, she would have to ask the locals where they go. Also, find grocery stores, she could make sandwiches herself. We chuckled, we like pizza, but not every day for 10 days.
I thought this was a beautiful photograph of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I didn’t crop the photo, because the sky is amazing. The light behind the clouds, above the Vatican, it gives us pause to think.
She also took this photograph of the Virgin Mary. I was pleasantly surprised to see she was able to light a candle. In most Italian churches they use the electric candles. Have you seen that? You flip a switch and the electric candle lights up. It’s not very spiritual, prevents fires, so I understand.
I have a few more photos I’ll share of Italy in the next posts.
Right now, airlines are having low fares on winter travel until end of March. BOOK NOW!
Signs from loved ones in Heaven are powerful. We know without a doubt exactly “who” the message is from! We are overcome with emotion. I received a sign. I’m still in awe of how this occurred.
The holidays can be a roller coaster of feelings/memories. After Christmas, where we had below zero temps, I was anxious for a walk and fresh air. I decided to go downtown, it was still festive with the lights up. The display in a toy store window caught my attention. My desire to go in was strong.
It was joyful, families shopping for deals. As I continued to the back of the store, I saw the puzzle area. I enjoy puzzles, so stopped to explore. I sighed, the usual puzzles of flowers, Monet, etc. Disappointing.
However, on the bottom shelf, behind another puzzle, I found FLORENCE. I smiled -> F-L-O-R-E-N-C-E. My mother’s home town in Italy. Of course, I had to have it. I clutched it close, it was mine!
Walking home, I kept thinking how strange it was to find this puzzle. Why, what was the meaning? I was overcome with memories of visiting my grandmother in Florence. I thought, perfect timing. Long weekend for New Year’s Eve, I would do the puzzle.
I started with the Duomo. Proud when it was done. As I continued, I found yellow and green pieces. Putting them together, I looked down and got teary-eyed. What a memory! Take a look at the photo. The pieces of this particular puzzle area, looked exactly like my grandmother’s building. Amazing!
Back then, we did not have cell phones. When I would go out my grandmother and grandfather would rush to open the window. I would hear the green shutters crackling as they opened them. They would yell down to me in Italian (they didn’t speak English), Ciao, baci (kisses), a presto (see you soon). I felt so much love every time they did this. There are more memories, of course.
A friend of mine is traveling in Norway right now. She climbed a mountain and was able to capture this beautiful photo of the northern lights. Amazing!
Are you looking for ideas on places to explore? I received this MT. SOBEK adventure magazine in the mail. It’s really wonderful. They have trips all over the world. They’ve been in business since 1969. If you’re interested, I’ve put a link to their website. They also have a travel Blog.
Here’s what you would see in the magazine. Trips are in this format. I’m not sure what’s included in the price. I read online they take small groups for each trip, approximately 10 people.
On the website the About section explains how the company got started and who the founders are. This was interesting, the name SOBEK is the Egyptian God of crocodiles. They didn’t say why they chose this name, they just explained where the name came from.
This was an enjoyable catalog/magazine to go through. So many exciting trips.
There is a trip called, “Mongolia Horse Trek.” OK, I don’t ride horses daily, but this trip piqued my interest. I’ve always wanted to go to Mongolia. LOL – Don’t shake your head yet.
I’M OFF TO RESEARCH, LEARN MORE…. WHO KNOWS!
Aren’t we supposed to go out of our comfort zone?!
That reminds me, the Lottery is SKY HIGH again, I better get ONE ticket – that’s all it takes, right!
Yesterday, I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 2:30 AM CT. Annoyed, I turned on the TV.
I GOT SO LUCKY!
My annoyance was short lived. Suddenly, I was watching the BBC Channel, so many amazing back stories about the Queen and her generosity. Heart warming to hear them all.
I was able to see the Bagpipers. They were INCREDIBLE! If I had not been up, I would have missed them.
The funeral had so many amazing moments. We have not seen something so regal like this in years.
The weather was beautiful too. I found this picture of The Queen in yellow. How perfect since the sun came out for her yesterday. Someone interviewed said there was a rainbow the day before.
I LOVED how she had her signature style. ALWAYS the same hat / dress / coat, but in a variety of vibrant colors. Just wonderful! We always knew it was her!
She had two funerals yesterday. They were absolutely beautiful. This gave us time to be at peace.
One young man who was in the procession said he met King Charles. The interviewer asked, “What did he say?”
The young man, not used to being on camera, was nervous, but finally shared, “The King said his mother liked drills and precision, so to be precise.”
AND BY GOSH – THEY WERE ALL PRECISE!!
The young men who carried the coffin were incredible. I’ve moved furniture with another person, it’s hard going up stairs with a heavy load. They did it perfectly!
I wish she could have seen it!
The Queen would have have given her beautiful smile, waived and been PROUD!
I know, you are thinking what I thought. What’s the catch? We need more specifics. Sardinia is the second largest Island (after Sicily) in the Mediterranean Sea. The Island is in green on the map.
When I was there a few years ago, there were not many American tourists. Mainly they were British and German. Also, I noticed that the Sardinians look very Spanish. They speak Sardo, not Italian. I mean, it’s Italian, but the dialect is very very different. In fact, if you read the history of the Island, through the wars, they have a strong Spanish influence.
Fast forward to now. The Sardinian Government wants to attract young people to remote areas of the Island. Goal – increase population and economic fabric of those towns. Small towns, less than 3,000 people, are in decline. People have been moving to bigger cities.
SOLUTION: Offer a grant of €15,000 to attract young people to those small towns. The grant amount must be used toward the purchase / refurbishment of a house, not to exceed half the cost of the house.
The grant is a non-repayable grant. I wonder, is a time limit for “trying” this process out? Living in a small town of 3,000 might seem claustrophobic if you came from a big city.
BIGGEST QUESTION, will Wifi work? Also, if these are small towns, I would imagine they want people who can own shops, work the land, etc. Are they open to remote technology workers?
The Sardinian Government is devoting a total of €45 million for this project; there will be enough for at least 3,000 new inhabitants.
Now, if Sardinia is not appealing, I was reading that Spain and Scotland are offering similar programs.
Time to open a map of the world — throw a dart — see where life takes us.
When was the last time you sent a postcard? For me, it’s been years. It’s so easy to snap a photo and send it via text or email. DONE! Taking time to write a postcard, buy the stamp and mail it seems “archaic.” Real EFFORT would have to be put into that process, right!
At my hotel, they had a small entry way. There were people ahead of me to check in. I was standing next to — drum roll — a bunch of postcards. To pass the time…
I started looking them over, remembering how my daughters send me postcards when they are on a trip. I always enjoy the surprise card in the mail. EFFORT = LOVE
So, I decided, I should surprise them in return. I bought two Trevi Fountain postcards.
I wrote:
Just threw THREE COINS in Trevi Fountain. ONE was mine. ONE was your Sister’s. ONE is YOURS! MAKE YOUR WISH! Love, Mama XOXO
Hopefully, they receive the card, so they can make their wish.
When I asked where to buy a stamp, I was told to go to the newsstand. At the newsstand, the fellow gave me my stamps and when I asked WHERE to mail the cards, he pointed to this little yellow mailbox below the postcards.
I had a BIG smile, going back in time.
I admit, I wondered if it was legitimate. It looked cute, but it was in such an odd place.
I asked for confirmation.
The fellow nodded his head — YES!
So, in the box, my postcards went.
Now, to see if they will be delivered!
I made MY WISH! They need to make THEIRS!
I enjoyed THINKING of something clever to write.
Oh, I learned that the Vatican area has it’s own stamps. So, if you mail something through a Vatican mailbox, it must have a Vatican postage stamp on it.
GPS mail — I think on the receipt there was a bar code to scan. If I can find that, I might be able to track my postcards. That would be interesting… right!
I’ve ALWAYS enjoyed the Italian pizza, but this time. NOPE! In Florence, the pizza crust was terrible. Maybe it was meant to be a healthy version, don’t know, but it’s texture was like cardboard. I could barely eat it. This is a place I have frequented over the years, so it should have been delicious. My heart sank.
In Rome, the pizza crust was so thin it made the pizza soggy, I could barely eat it. Also, they had big chunks of mozzarella cheese on top. When I took a bite and tried to swallow, I thought I would choke. My daughter said the same thing happened to her when she was in Rome. She could not eat their mozzarella cheese. This has never happened before. Soooo… has the texture of mozzarella cheese changed?
I felt the SAME about the sandwiches. I used to LOVE and CRAVE salami, prosciutto, mortadella. It’s the BEST in Italy. We would have this with my grandmother at home at lunch. Put the bread on the table, cut slices and open all the different lunch meat packages, pick and choose what we wanted.
What sadness, really!
I had to think. Had the food changed or did COVID change my taste buds? I’ve never tested positive for COVID, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have it over the past 2 1/2 years. Was it the weather, high 90s, little interest in food?
Oh… it GETS WORSE!
I didn’t care for gelato either. My gosh, this is a major Italian taste bud issue, right! Who doesn’t enjoy a gelato. I did eat it, but I had no sense of this is so fantastic, like I did BEFORE COVID.
GOOD NEWS — Drinking a Fanta with ice cubes was enjoyable and my tastes buds were working. PHEW, so it wasn’t a COVID issue.
Oh, and my FAVORITE cookies — Atene, my grandmother would have these. My taste buds were GOOD. Thank goodness!! I would have been sad to have those memories taken away. Here is what they look like. They are a heavier type of cookie, good with coffee or tea.
I do think that the taste of food is changing around the world. They, whomever they are, keep trying to genetically enhance meat, fruit, vegetable products and more. There are constantly fraud issues with prosciutto. If you Google, you can read about it.
So — I’m hoping it was the extreme heat that changed my taste buds. I was happy that my daughter said she experienced the same feelings on her trip to Italy, so it wasn’t just “me.”
Soon we will all start having our own organic gardens, so we can trust our produce!
Brilliant Viewpoint 