Being in the Garden of Eden… This is how I felt the first time I came here years ago, and this how I feel again today. A warm, bright, soothing day in the heart of the Maremma. A soft breeze blowing down from the hills. Seagulls dallying with the waves. Jurassic-looking turtles basking in the sun. Intoxicating scents and vapors floating in the air… Paradise! Continue Reading →
The sanguine enthusiast who was sitting next to me in the stands clapped his hands in a burst of joy and glanced at me briefly:
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle, he exclaimed. Don’t you agree?
– Well… yes, maybe, I modestly replied.
– Winston Churchill said that, not me. Is it the first time you’re attending this horse race, young lady?” Continue Reading →
“No man is lonely eating spaghetti: it requires so much attention!”
I could easily appropriate these words by Christopher Morley, an American writer and journalist (1890-1957). Pasta do require attention. Well, some.
Sunday morning. I’m having a lie-in and am sleeping like a log. Sheer bliss.
My mobile phone, on my bedside table, rings. I wake up with a start and answer the call.
“ Hello? Continue Reading →
A room with a view… This is what I would like to share with you this week: a room with a view which I had fantasized about for years before discovering it, at long last. Continue Reading →
“So, where do we go now?” my friend asked with a wry smile as our car stopped for the third time at the same crossroads.
We had been driving around the country roads of the Veneto for more than an hour – even asked for directions several times, – unable to find our way to our destination. Continue Reading →
Each time he comes over to fix something, our plumber always says: “Heaven on earth is a pipe dream!” I’m not sure why he keeps repeating that – sometimes ten times in a row when he comes up against a stubborn leak or seal, – but I’m afraid he’s right.
A foretaste to heaven on earth does exist though. Continue Reading →
Last night, I managed to break into a cocktail party where I met a slightly eccentric English aristocrat:
– Catharina ! Posh name ! With a C or with a K ?
– With a K. Or with a C, I don’t mind, have your pick!
– Well… I’ll take the K. And, if I may, what is your curriculum vitae, Katharina with a K ?
My curriculum vitae ?! Well… Continue Reading →
“I need a new look, I need a new look!” Every time I run into Madame Loiseau, one of my Paris neighbours, this is what I hear: “Don’t tell me I don’t, because I do! Il faut que je change de look!” And every time I catch myself vocalizing: “Pleeease, Madame Loiseau, you’re absolutely perfect the way you aaaare!” And by magic it brings a huge smile back to her face. Continue Reading →
