A Pink American in the UK and Italy

May 27, 2008...In the UK and on the Way Home

2008-05-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, I did nothing but laze about (okay, and gift shop) yesterday. My feet hurt more than any time I can remember. I am completely 'holiday'd' out.

I look forward to this 9 hour flight home. It will truly force me to just sit and relax.

Cheers to all and talk to you soon.

Ciao,

A Pink American

May 26, 2008...Remembering the Wedding and Sunday in Sorrento

2008-05-26T03:17:00.000-07:00

May 24….The wedding

After a semi-hectic morning of running last minute errands for Martina, I was finally able to get ready. To my horror, when I emerged from the bathroom (in robe and head towel) the photographers were there. He tried to take my picture! I put an end to that. Good lord, only the bride (who is stunning all day with a team of design artists) should be photographed getting ready.

All the guests loaded onto buses, which were to take us to easy walking distance from the church. Due to the overwhelmingly number of weddings that day, the police nixed the closer bus drop off area (though we had prior permission) and the whole wedding group had to walk at least ½ mile to the church (and later back again). You’ve never seen so many women limp and totter from foot pain as they navigated along very uneven cobbled roadways. In many places a gooey tar was set between the stones. Many a heel was caught.

I wore flats J

Despite the so-termed ‘march of death’ (thanks Olivia), all other aspects of the wedding were fantastic!

Here’s the church, set for the ceremony:

The bride and groom just moments after seeing one another for the first time that day:

About the time of the ring exchange:

For the reception the whole group boarded a hydrofoil to Sorrento. Forty-five minutes later and we arrived in this picturesque little port city:

As we walked to the shuttles to the reception we were greeted by the bride and groom:

Grand Hotel Cocumella was a picture prefect setting for the reception. Appetizers and wine were bountiful on the terrace, with an amazing backdrop view:

After a brief repose, I was called back to bridesmaids duties, which allowed me a chance to take these two gorgeous snaps:

We headed up to the dining room for a three course meal and more wine:

Then back down to the terrace for an outrageous dessert buffet. I can’t even begin to describe the amount and variety of treats they had. Needless to say, I tried a bit of everything which meant a completely full plate (twice). Thank goodness I had the other girls to help me out.

Martina and Marco had their toast, cut the cake and then outdid everything with a show of fireworks over the Bay:

They did a very sweet jive-type dance for their first dance:

Finally, it was time to relax and just have fun:

The music went on till nearly 12:30, but by Sorrento law it had to turn off then.

I and all the other bridesmaids and American girlfriends were booked at the same place (Villa Elisa), so we were shuttled over. None of us were tired and the Piazza Tasso was hopping, so we changed and walked over for wine and cappuccinos until 2:30.

Sometime just after 3:00 I dropped into bed and slept stone solid until the next morning.

May 25...Sunday in Sorrento

The clang of church bells and tinkling of spoons against coffee cups woke me in the morning. I still felt a little drunk, though oddly more so than when I went to bed.

Our little group of merrymakers regrouped in the courtyard around 11:00. As I stood dazed, I enjoyed this little nymphette statue nestled among the ivy leaves on the courtyard wall:

Our group made the short walk over to the famous O’Parruchiano restaurant for the day-after brunch.

Along the way, I met the bell clanging culprit:

Inside the restaurant, there are beautiful gardens all around, as well as a glass covered atrium area inside.

I finally got a snap of ALL the girls on my camera:

Libby, Jennifer, Me, Martina, Olivia, Nathalie

Here are some of the delicious things we ate:

Libby said it best when she described her stuffed feeling as ‘being pregnant with a food baby’. I’ve been eating for days, but I haven’t felt hungry since last Monday morning.

After saying our goodbyes to the newlyweds, we each wondered around for a while. Nathalie and her husband, Jonas, were kind enough to trek with me back to Cocumella to search for my sunglasses. Sadly, my shades are gone.

On the way back, we wandered through a city orange grove:

Later, I explored some side streets as I searched for new shades.

The hand crafted products here are so inexpensive AND lovely (sorry no snaps of that).

When we set out for dinner at La Stalla, we stalled as a processional (the Corpus Domine) went through town. It was interesting, but a little eerie:

We later realized the day-long bell ringing was in conjunction with this event.

Dinner was pleasant, full of feisty political and cultural conversation. This was followed by decaf cappuccinos and welcome sleep.

My last day here will be nothing but rest in prep for the trek home tomorrow.

I hoped you’ve enjoyed this little blog, and I highly encourage a trip to the area, especially Sorrento and Capri.

Ciao!

A Pink American

May 24, 2008...Capri Before and Now the Big Day

2008-05-24T01:11:00.000-07:00

Capri...this is a little slice of heaven on earth. Terribly quaint and romantic, once you escape the tourist packed parts. I went over for the day with a co-worker of Martina's and her bosses. All wonderful people to spend a day with.

After a 45-minute hydrofoil ride, we landed at Capri's dock. A regatta is to be held there soon (Rolex is the sponsor if that tells you anything).

The views of and from the island are positively breathtaking.

I felt familiar with this clock tower, which must have been a bunch of movies I've seen, but I couldn't remember any off hand.

Though I took many photos, I'm crunched for time now...so here are a couple:

Random wall with flower growth...

The view from the restaurant where we ate lunch (by the Villa Brunella):

And me filling full from lunch, oh and with this gorgeous view in the background.

Later, Marco and Martina hosted an amazing rehearsal dinner for EVERYONE...her mother brought hundreds of homemade (and beautiful) sweets from Czech Republic.

Me with the lucky girl (I'm a little tired if you couldn't tell)

And today, the big day, greets us with a glorious sunrise outside of the suite we stayed in at Santa Lucia.

Take care and I'll touch base sometime tomorrow or the next day.

Ciao,

A Pink American

May 22, 2008...Three Days and I'm in Naples

2008-05-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I hope no one was too worried by my absence for a few days. Internet service is vexing to find here in Naples, especially if one is staying at a residence without the service.

A tiny recap...

Tuesday May 20...

The highlight of the day was meeting with Peter and Lesley:

They are two of the folks pioneering Totga Books with about a doze others of us from across the states and the world. A lovely, lovely time.

After our meeting, I power walked to Buckingham Palace. Not that I needed to see the place, per se, but I hate saying 'no I haven't seen that' about places that folks just assume everyone sees. Plus I needed to burn off lunch. The flag was up, so the Queen was home (guess you can't see it in this snap).

Guards walking around, but not really changing or anything. Maybe this was a pointless snap.

I boogied on back to the house to catch the car to Gatwick (and Naples) with Martina and Marco. Along the earlier part of the of the drive I saw a few interesting things.

Would you pay 47K pounds (or $90K) for a Chevy Suburban? How about if gas was $6 a gallon?

Passed over Weaks Bridge...nice little landmark.

Saw this fancy Rolls Royce...I don't really see this old school style much in the States.

A moment of bliss for the happy couple.

We made it to Naples safe and sound, and settled into Marco's parent's home. They're lovely hosts.

Wednesday May 21...Cruising Naples...

The weather was miserable when we arrived. Torrential rains, wind, and a chill in the air. The next day wasn't much better. However, time passed well with wedding prep and some touring about.

First we picked up the water bottles for the welcome bags and the reception. That wasn't the cool part the. The cool part was the wine dispensing tanks. I got to taste some of the local red. Not bad at all.

Saw some local flavors such as vegetable sellers and evidence of the trash 'strike'

Marco and his father played tour guide for me as we bustled through the town. All my pictures feature a forefront of rain, so I'll pass on talking about what I saw, for now.

After Martina had her hair and make-up samples done we went to visit the priest at the church where their wedding is to be held.

Along the way, saw this old Greek wall. For some reason this part was left exposed.

At the Piazza where the buses will drop us for the ceremony there's this really tall column/statue.

Let me just say that Naples has a terribly fascinating history. A million churches, lot's of old construction, interesting historically center of business. However, a great deal of stuff is in disrepair. Apparently much of this is due to extremely stringent and punitive laws regarding historical artifacts and the like.

Magic is waiting to happen for these two...

...at this church, San Domineco Maggiore...

Later that night, we went for pizza. Funny story...you can be certain that the wait-staff adheres to first come first served here in Naples...otherwise the night may end in a shoot out.

You don't get doggie bags in Naples, so we took the crust and ran.

Naturally we indulged in gelato treats afterwards. Martina insisted I eat extra for her. I call it pre-nup pregnancy: bridesmaids eat for two when bride starves herself.

Thursday May 22...

The pressure is building. Anyone who has been married knows what I'm talking about. Has there every been a stress free wedding? However the day greeted us with glorious sun. And from the terrace of Marco's parent's we saw Mt. Vesuvius.

Yeah it looks like little hills, but this is simply what's left of a once HUGE volcano.

This evening I took a hotel room in the city center of Naples (the tourist area basically). The room has the most lovely view of Vesuvius, plus it gives you a better idea of the base size of the volcano.

Overall thoughts on Naples so far: interesting. Oh, and the children here are thugs. I was taunted ( I swear to this) by 8 and 9 year old girls in a church restroom. Later I saw a 10 year old boy scaring people by threatening to hit them with his bike. The weird thing was there were no other kids around to see this. He was being a punk just for the sake of it. Disturbing.

Will try to touch in tomorrow, but it will likely be brief. Will definitely update once more before leaving on next Tuesday.

Peace,

A Pink American

May 19, 2008...Popping over to Ireland

2008-05-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today I really, really had to get up on time. I had a flight to catch.

I was up, up and away over the English countryside by 10am.

Strangely it doesn't look to different from the Irish countryside:

Okay maybe the English have more trees and sun, but Ireland is 100% full of green. The color is so everywhere and seemingly unifrom by natural design I'd think those planet makers from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy spilled a bucket of paint.

I love green, by the way.

From Dublin I picked up a car and headed north on the M1 motorway. Driving on the left is disconcerting for me, but I managed. It was far easier doing so in Ireland than in India, where I had to contend with camel carts and cows wandering about. At least in Ireland they fence their cows in.

Yeah I took this while driving, but I didn't turn my head. It was simply point and shoot. Check out the greenness of the blur.

I'm starting to see a trend with this kind of bridge. Eye catching set against it's surroundings, but similar, somehow, to ones I've seen in Redding, Kolkata, and other places. I guess this is the thing to aim for with suspension bridges.

Barely 40minutes passed when I made my exit for New Grange. Little did I know my directions (as well as my general sense of direction) were faulty. Well maybe it was more that I thought I knew what I was doing. Ultimately I had to go with my gut instinct that I was leading myself down roads I'd end up hopelessly lost on.

After consenting to possible defeat, I made it into the village of Slane. I parked and low-and-behold found this:

The triple swirl sign told me I was CLOSE!

My stomach told me I was hungry. So I ran like a dumb American across crosswalks, hoping not to look in the wrong direction as a truck came along.

Everything in the village looked as if it were closed. Naturally I went to the one restaurant that said "Food Served All Day". I decided I need to go all Irish. I order beef and cabbage. It was o-kay...no really, it was gross. Mostly because everything was overcooked and tasteless. I kept thinking of the scene in Alice in Wonderland wherein she comes upon the cook screaming "Pepper, pepper, pepper!" By golly, that's what I needed.

I noted the "vote NO" Sinn Fein campaign. Something about the EU and Lisbon something. I saw the opposition "vote YES" campaign lining the roads to the airport. I find the placement of each groups' campaigning signs interesting.

After my hardy lunch, I followed the now obvious road signs to the New Grange visitor's center (why don't I trust road signs more?). Along the way, the car's alignment totally pulled me to the side of the road where I hit a curb and nearly bounced on it. Thank goodness that hub cap was already crunched when I got the car...phew.

At the center, I missed all the signs saying "Buy a ticket and get the bus sticker" because I thought I'd just, you know, walk. I did some preemptive gift shopping then made the leisurely stroll to the shuttle bus stand.

I even stopped to snap a photo of me and the River Boyne:

Apparently The Battle of the Boyne has a pretty significant legacy impact on Irish-British relations. I'll have to read more on that.

At the bus 'q' I saw the little stickers on EVERYONE. Still, in my mind, I thought "Oh, these people are going on a special tour." Nope. I had to walk back for my ticket.

Now I'm glad that so many tiny things threw off my schedule because I saw the most interesting group come up the shuttle bus area:

There was something evident about the mix of people and their overall vibe, that theirs was a higher calling or mission to have come to New Grange. Most went to the Knowth site when the buses left, but five road my bus to the main New Grange site.

Finally, FINALLY, I reached New Grange. It isn't a wondrous sight to behold if you're into bells and whistles, but up close and personal it's very impressive to consider the how's and when's this monument was built.

The reality is, there are many theories about New Grange, but no one knows the truth about this bit of 5,000 year old construction.

There are many interesting details about this structure, but none more so than these two...

The swirl (and wave) carvings:

The trinity? But of what? This far pre-dates monotheism of any kind...of course that's as far as we know.

And the roof box.

Besides making a good perch for the swallows...

It allows an amazing thing happen...on the winter solstice sun light shines directly into the inner chamber. There are plenty of speculations about why the builders did this, and if you're interested I recommend you read more about it.

Also...

The New Grange Roof

A backside building

And the mound the tree is growing on is what New Grange would probably look like today if it hadn't been excavated:

I had the chance to speak with a couple of people from the earlier group I mentioned. A fascinating collective. I know some folks would refer to these people as New Age, but I find it strange that anyone would make such a reference to people who are clearly practicing local and regional rights of nature that have passed down for hundreds if not thousands of years. I completely honor and respect all people who endeavor as selflessly as possible to ensure not only our natural world is a healthier place, but our spiritual world as well. Spirit is an element of nature, in my humble opinion.

Once my wonderful visit was over, I made a seamless return to Dublin airport. How, you ask. I got directions from a local :)

The walkway down to the 'D' gates has several large panels depicting famous Irish authors. Each has a picture and a quote, mega-sized. But if you go up close, you can see that thousands on lines of the author's texts make up the background.

I have a special affinity for Oscar Wilde, so snapped his panel:

You all knew he was Irish, right?

By the way, if you've never seen 'Wilde' starring Stephen Fry, I recommend it.

I had a safe flight back to London and walk to Martina and Marco's (as is evidenced by this entry).

I'm happy to report that while the house was a disaster from packing efforts, the soon-to-be newlyweds were still alive and showed no signs of abuse or injury. I think they may just make it to the altar on Saturday.

Tomorrow I'm off to Naples. I'm not clear what the computer scene is, but rest assured I'll post as soon as it is humanly possible for me to.

Ciao!

A Pink American

May 18, 2008...Strolling the Streets of London.

2008-05-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

And a happy Sunday to you!

I had every intention of waking at just before eight this morning, but the snooze on my travel alarm mysteriously kicked in, repeatedly. All the same I rolled out by nine, and was in my walking gear by nine-fifteen.

During our breakfast conversation on the topic of organic foods and what not, I was made aware of a regulation in Europe whereby the traditional methods used to smoke cheese are outlawed. (Desperately tried to find proof of this claim but couldn't. However, they were insistent.)

This made me think of a funny...it's legal to smoke dope in some parts of the EU, but no where can you smoke cheese.

After my morning brush with enlightenment, we (both Marco and Martina...M&M) all went out to enjoy the sudden turn for the better in weather. SUN, glorious SUN! Sure it was bright enough for shades, but the nip in the air still goose-fleshed the skin.

While waiting on M&M to run back to the house after enduring a block of chilly air, I snapped a couple of architectural shots.

Sure the rich tones of brick against blue sky is cool, but gargoyles are far cooler. It's amazing how close a digital camera can bring one to an object hundreds of feet away.

We walked along the roads until we reached Hyde Park. Funny thing about this park, it has places which remind me somewhat of Central Park in NY and other places (where it's overgrown) which remind me of the Botanical Garden in Kolkata. Small world in my mind, I suppose.

Martina and I in front of the lake.

Hanging out by Diana's fountain.

Hyde Park is full of wonderful wildlife, though I mostly saw birds. Such as this lovely Blue Heron.

And this very wild pigeon.

On the way to the 'Italian' area of the park, we discussed whether I should call squirrels zquirrels or squirrels. This after I spotted iodized spelled as iodised. What is the deal with switching s's and z's. Okay, I'll admit I'm all right with things like criticising (but only barely), but iodised?? No one even pronounces it that way.

My apologies for tangenting.

Where was I? Yes, on our way to the 'Italian' area. Part of this area is a very pleasing fountain. I look like a dumb tourist in front of it, but the fountain itself has interesting detail (and lack there of due to time).

The journey continued out of the park toward the Notting Hill neighborhood. I have to admit this area is all quaint charm, though it plays host to dubious characters.

Pizza to go...

With regard to the black -shirt, I don't think it's really fair to compare Bush to Hitler. I'd like to think he isn't quite as bad as all that. Only history will tell.

Because I like the colors, so what?

If you've seen the movie with Grant and Roberts, then you might recognize the store behind me.

Apparently the last time Martina came here was with her sister late at night with only the mission of finding this store. We just happened upon it.

Lot's of cool old stuff for sale...*to self* must avoid more dust collectors.

And even more cool junk, er, I mean collectible artifacts.

I couldn't resist a snapshot with a name like this...

Flower power(ed)

Um, Portable Porkers says it all.

We went to this lovely little restaurant for lunch.

Marco's brother Dario was to meet us. We arrived at 12:30, Dario arrived at 1:45. I, in the meanwhile, got to feel like the third wheel as the tension of a late brother escalated before me. I kept reminding myself "she's Czech, he's Italian, it's natural." Then the next minute they'd be all lovey:

They give new meaning to PDA before and after the on-point quibbles.

Afterward, we enjoyed a lovely taxi ride home rather than the 2.5 hour walk there (which includesd a fair bit of meandering).

BLOG UPDATE! Remember how I said I'd assume the truth about the house I posted as Gregory Peck's, well that was dispelled this morning (by the very book Martina drew her original information). And now I present the actual proof.

This is the real house. We passed it on our way to catch a taxi.

Martina and I weaved through L-town to visit with Dario for an hour or so for some pre-wedding discussions...shhhhhh. It's not really a secret (or is it) that we went, I just like sounding clandestine.

Along the way I did all my London sight-seeing (I'll catch the Palace on Tuesday).

Westminster Cathedral where Martina went to get some of the official Church paperwork in order for their Catholic wedding. This place is not to be confused with...

... Westminster Abbey, the well known sight of Diana's wedding and other stuff. I'm joking about the 'other stuff'...I can't think of anything more important than that wedding :)

The London Eye

By the way, I am not ashamed to say I have an unchecked paranoia about going on ferris wheels. I have anxiety attacks on them. So no, I didn't go on the Eye.

Big Ben...it's a clock.

Admiral Nelson's column...that just sounds funny, but I didn't name it.

And the back side of Constitution Arch. Beggars can't be choosers from the back of a moving taxi.

Overall, a wonderful day of traipsing around. It's interesting being at ground-zero for the final days leading up to the wedding. I can see this either being more amusing or more terrifying as time passes.

I'm out of London for most of the day tomorrow, as I fly off to Dublin and New Grange. Check in about this time tomorrow for an update.

Cheerio,

A Pink American

May 17, 2008...Touched Down Safe and Sound

2008-05-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

After an amazingly short nine-hour flight between Seattle and London, I touched down right around noon local (London time).

I had a few things on my mind: find my luggage, get a SIM card, and manage the underground to Martina's.

All were successful missions.

Maybe you've seen it, maybe you haven't, so for those of you in the latter crowd here is a sweet taste of the innards of the Piccadilly Line:

Stunning, I know. Hardly like anyway metro subway anywhere. Fortunately, I had the pleasure of riding one of the cleaner routes and trains, as I was later told. I seemed pleasant enough to me.

In short order, I landed up at the Knightsbridge station. Escalators weren't working at some points, and I was to lazy to be bothered with finding the lift, so I hauled my 70lbs of luggage up the stairs. I can still feel the blisters threatening to form on my fingers.

When I finally emerged, I found Martina standing in the company of an exit security guard. Thankfully there was a lull in the onslaught of drizzle (bad word for weather, good word for chocolate sauce), so we only had to deal with slogging my stuff along the wet streets.

Marco greeted us once we reached their home. Living on the West coast for as long as I have now, I'm rusty with the international multi-cheek kissing. I can't remember if there was ever a left or right start protocol. I was temporarily horrified that I'd screw this up and end up kissing some one on the lips. But as I learned in dance lessons of yore, let your partner take the lead. I got nothing but cheek ;)

We enjoyed a lovely lunch, then Martina and I set out for a bit of walking around the neighborhood. Nearly three hours, to be more specific.

One thing that ought to be said, the area Martina and Marco live in is akin to Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue. All the expected high end stores line the nearby streets, along with multi-million dollar row houses and flats, AND expensive cars which left me wondering if a neighborhood association bulletin went out to encourage outlandish vehicle ownership.

I did enjoy some more 'touristy' sights such as Harrods:

Attached to Harrod's is Laduree. Martina first discovered this place in Paris and was thrilled to find one here. Tea was out of the question, due to the long lines, but we did enjoy some of their out of this world macaroons. At 6.5 GBP per 4 (okay, let's see that's about $13 for 4 oreo-sized cookies) they were hardly a deal, but boy were they a treat.

Other sights that appealed to my senses as a traveler included the Cafe Rouge and The Pie Man. The latter makes my think of the Strawberry Shortcake toys I played with as a kid.

And, at first I thought it was just me, but after a bit I realized there really was a garden gnome infestation. Or at least an unhealthy and shared obsession by area merchants to use these critters in their display windows. I resisted the urge to photograph the first dozen or so, but then I came across a gilded beauty that weakened my defenses.

Sure, what would the streets of London be without the double decker bus (nice snap Martina...though it looks as if jet lag has the upper hand as I willingly stand in the path of the bus and ready myself for the worst.)

And, of course, we have the red phone booth, which you can see from this snap is gone the way of the dinosaurs (psst, the guy next to it is on a cell phone). I heard tell that the booths serve as little more than a place to post ads for porn sites and phone numbers for call girls. I didn't confirm this filthy rumor, but I can point fingers as to who started it.

And a personal favorite...the Time Out series. Their simply a good read, if not trashy from time to time. My years in New York wouldn't have been nearly as lively without out the weekly activity dirt this magazine dishes.

Enough, you say, of the modern stuff, where are the fineries of English architecture. Well, I can't say that I saw too, too much of that, but here's a bit of what was around...

Okay, it's true, this doesn't look all that old, but I was told by my tour guide that Gregory Peck used to live in this house. I was unable at this time to independently verify this fact (hey it's 1:30am here), but I'll pretend like it's true until some tells me otherwise.

Here's some of the old stuff. These buildings have date blocks reading 1890, so I'm guessing that's when they were built. And given the nifty original hardware adorning most doorsteps, I'm going to go with 1890. When did pooh-scrapers go out of fashion anyway?

Speaking of things in or out of fashion, I had a delightful flight companion name Andrea who works as a garden photographer. She informed me that roses are coming back into fashion. However, it's my humble opinion that they never went out of fashion, at least not in London.

Oh, and lion statues never went out of fashion either. For like five hundred years or so.

Right, I forgot about churches. They're also quite fashionable throughout the area (saw plenty from the plane too). Apparently they are all the rage with copper thieves, who rip off their rain gutters.

London also sports some of the finest craftsmanship for sewer covers...or is this simply sidewalk decor?

Sadly, headstones are being recycled (one can only guess what for). These lined a lovely alley area by St. Luke's gardens.

This church is special. It's Martina and Marco's church. I think this is where Martina gave her confession (I think) when she finished her conversion to Catholicism recently. Honestly, I'm surprised it's still standing after that!

My hosts were kind enough to bring me along to a dinner at their friend's (mostly Marco's friends) house. A lovely place indeed. We enjoyed an evening of great food and conversation, which was frequently peppered with Italian.

Have you heard this piece of advice for newlyweds? Get a big jar. During the first year of marriage drop in a bean for every time you, ahem, make whoopy. After the first year, take one bean out for each time. Some say it takes fifteen years to empty the jar.

This story is even funnier the second time, when told in Italian.

On the ride home, I rolled down the window--like the travel dog I am--to enjoy the fresh air and sights.

Michelin? Who knew.

Traveling at the speed of light...or just a slow exposure? Wild guess?

Home at last.

Overall, a fantastic first day in L-Town. Let's see what surprises are in store for this traveler tomorrow.

Peace,

A Pink American

May 14 2008...About to Set Out

2008-05-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all, A Pink American here...for the low down on the pen-name read the story here.

The day is nearing...should it be more astounding that I'm heading off to Europe or that Martina is FINALLY getting married? (That's her on the right)

I'd go with the latter.

In two days (May 16th) I'll be in the skies zooming across the so-called 'pond' (aka Atlantic Ocean).

Once I touch down in London, I begin my 11 day trek of moral support for my dear friend Martina and her soon-to-be husband Marco.

First, I enjoy 4 brief days in the UK:

And am I crazy to fly over to my root-land of Ireland for only a 6 hour stay? Perhaps. I have ulterior motives as well.

Research for Book 4 in my young adult fantasy fiction series...Guardian of the Elements.

(Click here to learn more)

On the 2oth we make our way to Naples, Italy:

Tag along for the fun that is likely to come from this little wedding themed adventure. I'll try to update daily through my departure on May 27th.

Have a happy day!

Peace

A Pink American