Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light. — Professor Albus Dumbledore I am a muggle in love. Since the first Harry Potter book landed on our shores in 1999, I have been hopelessly in love with the world of Hogwarts and the boy [...]

 Adieu! Adieu! yon silver lamp, the moon,     Which turns our midnight into perfect noon,     Doth surely light thy towers, guarding well     Where Dante sleeps, where Byron loved to dwell. —   Oscar Wilde, Ravenna   There are only a few places in Italy that Tim and I have gone back to. Major airport [...]

It’s inevitable. You move to a new state and you’ve got a laundry list of things to do: change your address with the Post Office, contract for new utilities, make decisions about phone, TV and internet service, order or renew newspapers and magazines . . . and then the most dreaded task of all. The [...]

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst. — Wallace Stegner   The problem with keeping an appointment at Yosemite National Park is that there are too many outrageous things to see on the way up to it. Neat small [...]

 The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. — Calvin Trillin   I haven’t been to a lot of California, but where I’ve gone, I’ve eaten well. Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco, Corte Madera, Sausalito and Tiburon [...]

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything. — Charles Kuralt Sometimes, you’ve just got to get off the road. Last Sunday, Tim and I took a road trip with some friends. Actually, with Tim’s sister and his new friend Verlon, the very talented [...]

This cooking tour is dedicated to the people who taught me to live, to cook and everything about life. — Anne Robichaud   I’d known about Anne Robichaud for almost two years before I finally met her. My friend Rosemarie hired her as a tour guide when she went to Assisi in 2010. And her [...]

 Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations. ― Oscar Wilde   Five dedicated Italophiles are about to celebrate their first anniversary together as the Italy Roundtable. Auguri a tutti! Their commitment to Italy and to spreading the word about Italian life, food, wine, history, oddities, accommodations, traditions, events and more is admirable. Plus, it makes [...]

Let’s face it, there’s something special about Italy . . . Suzy & Bill Menard   When I’m missing Italy (which is whenever I’m not there), it helps to surround myself with Italian things. Food, ceramics, music, wine, movies. . . you name it, it all helps. A fresh fig can keep me happy for [...]

Nowadays nothing but money counts: a fortune brings honors, friendships; the poor man everywhere lies low. — Ovid   My friend Novelia tells me that the tourists are finally coming back to Abruzzo. It’s been a long, cold, ridiculously snowy winter and she is ready for guests. Ready to make pasta. Ready to tour them [...]