Review: Murder on K Street

Another good solid mystery by one of my favorite mystery writers. Having lived in the DC area for over 15 years, I enjoy these stories. While the premise may be a tad farfetched, I listened to pompous politicians on the evening news for enough years to know that it's not out of the realm of possibility. Senator Lyle Simmon's wife is found murdered inside their Georgetown home. The senator, who is about to run for president, seems more concerned with his image than in finding the killer. His two children, a wimpy son who is president of a lobbying firm, and his politically active (on the opposite side of her father) daughter, are devastated. Add a best friend who was in the love with the wife, some questionably legal doings by the lobbying firm, throw in another murder, and it makes for a good who-dunnit. Nothing extravagant, but it was a good easy read while I was on cruise.

Review: The Brutal Telling

Louise Penny has done it again. This latest story of a murder investigation set in the village of Three Pines outside of Quebec continues our acquaintance with the inhabitants of these small town, and with the crack homicide investigating team of the Surete Quebec, led by the urbane Chief Inspector Gamache. New characters are added, and old ones we've met in previous books in this series come under suspicion when an old man is found dead in the village bistro. No one will admit to knowing who he was or how he came to be there. Penny's stories are not the run of the mill mysteries. They include elements of fantasy, psychology, history, art, poetry, and politics. Like previous ones in this series, this one is incredibly plotted, with several suspects, and a richly developed cast of characters (including the resident lunatic poet who dresses her pet duck in different outfits everyday). Gamache and his team must not only identify the deceased, but determine the motivation that led to his murder. The quest takes him from Quebec all the way to the northernmost islands off British Columbia. Thru that trek, we are treated to the history of early inhabitants of the island. This is one of her best, and there's no way to explain the plot without doing spoilers. If you enjoyed her earlier Gamache mysteries, you won't be disappointed in this one. If you've not read Penny before, starting here is as good as it gets.

Mini Review: Knit Two

This work continues the story of the women involved in Jacob's first novel: The Friday Night Knitting Club. I was prepared to be disappointed, but was not. Many sequels fall flat, but this one, while perhaps spending a bit too long reviewing who all the characters were and what happened to them in FNBC, carries forward with their lives and presents us with a growing up Dakota, a more mature Darci, and definitely fleshes out the personalities of Katherine, and Anita, who had been strong, but not center stage before. It was an especially pleasant audio I listened to while unpacking from our big trip. If you haven't read the first one, this will still stand on its own, but reading them in order gives a much richer experience. She certainly has left room for another, but will have to be careful not to let the characters go flat. This book doesn't have much plot, it's all character, so keeping them alive and interesting will be a challenge.

Reviews: I'm getting there

Just so you don't panic...this IS a book blog, and I AM reading. I had planned to spend today finishing Knit Two and Brutal Telling, but I forgot that today was the day we scheduled the 'tree guys' to come and take down five huge oak trees that are in our front yard.

It seems when we built the house five years ago, their poor root systems got damaged and never recovered. We've been nursing them along, but they have been pronouced very dead, and since they are way too close to the house to survive a good storm, we decided to convert them to firewood (especially since we converted to heating by woodstove last year.) SO.....the buzz buzz buzz of three chain saws and a big deisel motor on the cherry picker, are not providing an atmosphere conducive to quiet reading.

Since it's going down to the low 40's at night now, I will just have to be happy with reading in front of the fire instead.

Anyway, I've finished the Truman mystery, have only one disc to go on Knit Two and am more than half-way thru Louise Penny's newest Inspector Gamage story, so reviews will be up in a couple days.

Let's all enjoy what's left of summer.
Oh....here's the after shot....
quiet has returned (for now.)

Travels with Tutu: Pompeii

Our last tour was to the incredible site of the excavations of Pompeii. As you probably know, the city of Pompeii sits just beneath the large volcano Mt. Vesuvius. In 79 AD, Pompeii was a thriving Roman metropolis, with shops, public baths, several theaters, a well known red light district, a well laid out road system, good water, and surrounded by a thriving agricultural area. Then on August 24th, 79 AD, the volcano erupted, and 19 hours later, the town was buried under 40 feet of volcanic ash. The town remained buried until 1748 when archaeologists began the slow and painstaking task of slowly uncovering and recovering what lay buried. It is a fascinating story. The work that has been done is incredible. One stands in the middle of the forum, or a square, or looks down a long avenue, and can almost feel the life that must have been. Even the pulsating heat (the sun came out with a vengeance as we arrived) could not detract from the immenseness and quiet dignity of this shrine. Our guide, who was excellent, took us on a tour of only one of several sections. The sight is about 65% excavated, and the daunting task is ongoing. In the sections that have been restored though, we were able to get a great picture of what life must have been like:

• The many theaters provided arenae where the people went not only for entertainment, but also for debates, meetings, and other gatherings.

• 

The road system was well developed, paved (a bit choppy for those of us with bad knees), with drainage to keep the water out of the homes and shops that lined these roads. Location, location, location was as important then as it is today. Bars and shops tended to be erected at important crossroads.

• 

There were community ovens built of brick (seen here behind the building). This photo also shows the grooves in the stones in the front where sliding doors (or gates) were able to glide open and shut.

• The water system was quite developed. There were aquaducts bringing water from the mountains. There were terra cotta pipes to carry water from one place to another. And wells like those seen here, were available throughout the town.

• 

There was a booming 'red-light' district, and the local brothel is one of the most restored buildings (including the second story) at the site. The mosaics depicting the range of services available insured that customers and providers had a clear idea of what was being offered and what it would cost. I wish I'd gotten a picture of those stone beds---they sure didn't look too inviting to me!

• And then there is the sad site of actual casts of skeletons found in the ruins. Some pictures of these are in the photo album Pompeii on Facebook.

This whole site was so fascinating, it begs for more reading and becoming more informed. We bought a fabulous book "Pompeii, Herculaneum and Capri, Past and Present" ISBN978-88-8162-185-9 which is "an illustrated guide with reconstructions and a CD-DVD included". The pages provide pictures of the site as it is today, and then has overlays to show what the site looked like in its glory days. Lastly, if you're interested to find out more, the Discovery Channel has a great introduction on its site. I can't wait to sink into some of these. But tomorrow it's back to reality, now that the pictures are posted.

Travels with Tutu: Naples and Sorrento

Our last day! We docked in Naples - where we had both been before, had a quick breakfast and set out on another all-day tour. This one took us first down the coast of the beautiful bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the background, and then to one of my favorite towns: Sorrento. Bob had never been there and he was as enchanted as I was. The drive down the coast was just beautiful, even with the blessedly overcast skies. Everyone agreed we really didn't need more sun. Some of the coastal views were breathtaking --as were the hairpins turn Salvatore, our driver was adept at making in this huge bus. When we arrived in Sorrento, we first went to a shop that specializes in inlaid wood pieces (a real specialty of the town). We were shown how the artisans take a drawing, use a very fine saw to cut various jigs of the design, and then cut the layers of wood which are pressed together and sealed with layers of polyester. Many were so beautiful you wanted to take them all home, but I've not yet won the lottery, they remain in situ in Sorrento. In fact, I even forgot to take pictures I was gaping so much. (I had bought several small jewelry boxes on my last trip in 2002 so we really weren't running on empty.) Then we were dispatched to shop, stroll, and enjoy (we did our fair share of keeping the global economy going) before meeting back at a local restaurant for yet another delicious lunch. This one included canneloni (one of Bob's favorites), a gorgeous baked fish (I think it was cod) with peppers and onions, and a lovely tiramisu, with a nice wine to wash it all down. After lunch we decided to brave the last cathedral on the cruise, and we were both happy we did. It was one of the more beautiful, particularly inside. The silver altar was awe-inspiring, and everywhere the richness of the art, the statues, the carvings was truly a delight for the senses. Then we were off to Pompeii...and what a fitting end to our touring. It was so fabulous that it deserves its own post. The Naples and Sorrento photos are here. For those of you who tried earlier, my apologies...the link is now working.

Travels with Tutu: Palermo Sicily

On Friday, the next to last day, we landed in Palermo Sicily. Bob was excited to see places where his Dad had been with Patton during WWII, starting in Tunis, and moving over to Sicily. It was a rather emotional experience. Anyway, he went off to see the Roman and Carthaginian ruins, and Montreale, and maybe someday I'll get him to give me a few words to explain what all the great shots are that he took. So the photo album on facebook Med Cruise - Sicily is all his. After a drive through Palermo with a stop at (Guess??) the cathedral (same one Bob saw is turns out) my tour took us on a bus trip up the rolling hills outside of Palermo through agricultural land that really reminded me of California's Central Valley. It was a day full of memories of my grandmother. She was born in the Calabria region of southern Italy, and moved to Rome when she was about 14, before coming to the US when she was about??? 18-20. Cooking was something she did, and did well. It was her love of food passed on to her children and grandchildren that pushed me to take this tour. As we drove along, fields of vegetables were everywhere. Tomatoes were so red they look liked blobs of catsup hanging on the vines (they obviously don't have to contend with deer and squirrels). Huge cacti laden with prickly pears made me remember Nona's excitement when she came to visit us in southern California and saw these fruits in the market. She explained she was not able to get them in Baltimore and they reminded her so much of home. We arrived about 11 at the Antica Masseria Di Salvo, a 17th century villa still run by the family as a restaurant (on Sundays only). They are just branching out to B&B status with 6 rooms and they're putting in a swimming pool. We sure could have used one that day! Anyway, we were given a short tour of the villa, and then ushered into a large room where Paolo our cook instructed us in basic tomato sauce (I've already made a batch since coming home), in mellanzane alla parmigiana (eggplant parmesan), vitello involtini (veal birds), a potato souffle, and almond cakes. After the cooking lesson, we were then led to a little terrace in the center of the villa, where tables were set under trees with beautiful white linens, good crystal, and lots of silverware. Lunch included the above in addition to a mouth-watering local red wine, arancineddi di risu (fried rice balls), panelli fritti (chickpea pancakes), aubergine 'caponata' (an eggplant dish with olives, capers, onions, celery and tomatoes), small bite sized 'pizza' slices, ). This was just the first course (appetizers)! Then we had risotto with ham, a Sicilian version of mac/cheese and our potato souffle (really scrumptious--email me if you want the recipe). After that the main course featured the veal birds which had been grilled to perfection, and a huge platter of some of the best Italian sausage ever to cross my lips. Can you tell I'm enjoying myself? Finally, we had a palate cleansing bowl of three different flavored gelati (strawberry, pistachio, and vanilla--the colors of the Italian flag) before being allowed the grand finale: the almond cakes which the class had rolled and shaped and dipped. I felt like I needed to be rolled and dipped back to the bus after that. Just before leaving I did buy the cookbook with all the recipes we didn't have time to make or sample. When I returned, my honey was waving from our balcony (he's that little spot up on the next to the top deck). This was the third and last of the formal nights on board- the Captain's Farewell Dinner complete with Baked Alaska, so we both settled down for a nap (we are getting OLD!!), and then got gussied up in our sparklies to go have dinner. Thank goodness we were able to get an open seating table for 8:45 because I couldn't have eaten as much as an olive much before then. A word about dinners on a cruise ship. We chose the open seating option meaning we had different dinner partners every night. This was another part of what made the whole experience so much fun. We dined with almost newlyweds from Colorado (they were on their 2nd marriage and not quite our age), a young couple from Macon Georgia, a couple from Arlington VA via Sri Lanka, a native Hawaiian (and his wife who is not) who now live in Portland Oregon, retirees, attorneys, sales managers, CPAs, and people from every walk of life, an interior decorator from British Columbia, and several others throughout the evenings. Lots of fun, and very enriching. Afterwards, we always took a stroll 'topside' before retiring to our cabin with a cup of tea , where we could sit or stand on our balcony and watch the moon, the shoreline (if we were close enough) and just soak up the wonderful sea air. One of our favorite movies is "Moonstruck" and the moon obliged us the final evenings of our cruise. It was very romantic--this doesn't look nearly as 'amore' as the real thing did! Rest of the Sicilian Countryside album is on Facebook.

Travels with Tutu: La Goulette Tunisia

Now here's the photo that says it all....the camels are still here, but so are the big commercial cruise ships, the modern airport, big city life along side very ancient customs, traditions, buildings, and culture. Tunisia was the most surprising place we visited, and I'm not sure why. I confess that I knew next to nothing about this country, except that it was on the northeastern corner of Africa. I think I had visions of Humphrey Bogart, or Lawrence of Arabia, but what I saw was modernity living inside ancient civiliazation. Tunisia is a republic. Independence from France came in 1956, and in 1957 the Tunisians implemented a constitutional government. Tunis, the capital, was the city we visited. The port is known as La Goulette. The official language is arabic, English is widely spoken, and the weather is hot. Like the US, there is complete separation of church and state, so Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, and many others live and work side by side. Women have complete autonomy and equal rights. We got all this from the bus tour guide! Since neither of us had ever been here, we chose to take the all day tour, in spite of the heat. At the height of the day it got to 110F. We began early in the morning, and the tour tried to get us to the outside venues before the temp climbed above 100, so we found ourselves wandering around ancient Carthage when it was only 95! This area of the world has endured wave upon wave of invaders and conquerors, and I'm not doing a history lesson here. The ruins we visited were predominantly Roman, and as is to be expected, there were miles of aquaducts, baths, fora, and colluseums for games and theatre productions. Next we went to a tradtional Souk (market place) where we had time to stroll, bargain (or avoid the hawkers), and wonder whether what we were seeing was authentic, and would survive the trip home. After free time, we filed into a little shop, climbed a mountain of stairs, and were treated to a rug weaving and knotting demonstration. The fact that they offered us goodies, drinks, and had even the foresight to air condition the place, made for much more ready to spend customers. If we hadn't already over the years collected more "oriental" carpets than we have floors to put them on, I'd have been pulling out the plastic. These were gorgeous. Not cheap. But a good buy. And gorgeous. After that, we went off to a Tunisian restaurant for a delicious lunch: lots of wonderful vegetable dishes (the cold minted carrots were particularly refreshing), tumeric chicken in rice, saffron couscous, fried fish, several different potato dishes both hot and cold, icy chunks of ruby red watermelon, and thick, gooey, sweet fig bars that reminded me of baklava--take a fig newton, roll it in honey and crushed sesame seeds and you've got it. Which reminds me: at this point in the cruise, fresh figs started showing up everywhere, and since one of my fondest childhood memories is my Italian nona shoving a freshly picked fig into my mouth and showing me how to catch the juice before it rolled off my chin, I was in heaven. I think the ship food manager was probably wondering why the figs were always disappearing as fast as they went on the buffet line--breakfast, lunch, and supper. Bob and I always took a couple back to our stateroom to put in our fruit bowl. Bananas, apples and oranges are OK, but FIGS............. oh my yes. Anyway....after lunch we then went to the 'typical' ancient village of Sidi Bou Said. Every building is painted white with blue trim, and by this time of the afternoon, the village was shimmering in the heat. You could almost see the heat waves rising in the air. We had to walk about 1/2 mile from where the bus dropped us off, climb up into the village, and negotiate a lot of steps, and a lot more hawkers. I must admit that after 4 trips to Hong Kong, and several other trips to the Philippines, Bangkok, Seoul Korea, Penang, and Singapore, I thought I was immune to the blatant in your face experiences of traders in a market. I was wrong. These guys are intense, unstoppable, and I hate to say it, but they were obnoxious. I wanted to buy a few souvenirs, but felt like what I really wanted to do was deck somebody. When the most arrogant vendor took my shopping basket and dumped it on the floor and stormed away, I said "that's it--I'm outta here", and tried to leave. However, of course, we had to play the game of "please missus....how much you want to pay?" when he came screaming after me. Bob was in another part of the store, and didn't see what was happening at first, so I finally had to enlist the help of the tour guide (who I'm sure was seeing his cut go down the drain) to say "Look --I just want these three items, and this is what I'm willing to pay. I don't want to bargain anymore." We started at the ridiculous price of $1051 US dollars for a basket of 6 items some of which I would swear were made in China, and finally was able to get out of there for $71 US for 4 items. YIKES! I always enjoyed haggling, but this was overwhelming. (Maybe I'm getting old?) Another stop we made was at the Bardo museum (I think this is considered the national museum) where we saw some truly spectacular mosaics. Many of these were discovered in ancient ruins, and moved from the site by sawing off the mosaic from its surface and leaving a thin layer of the stone to which it was attached, wetting them, letting them 'soften', carefully rolling them up, and then transporting them to be remounted at the museum. The small shot here does not do justice, be sure to see them full screen by going to the pictures on Facebook. It was a long, long, hot, hot day, but worth the chance to visit a part of the world we probably will never be able to return to. If you ever get the chance, please go see Tunisia. What we saw was beautiful.

Travels with Tutu: Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Majorca has got to be one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. It is almost stereotypically pretty...flowers, sunshine, wide beaches, clean streets, flowers, soft breezes, interesting architecture, and did I mention flowers? I'm not even mentioning the yachts, expensive cars, and villas. The place exudes money, rest and beauty. Bob had been there before, and was amazed at the amount of landfill that had occurred. He was able to point out where his ship had been docked, and then pointed and said that was all under water as he swept his arm around. The cathedral in this picture, for instance was at the waterfront when he was here in the 80's. Speaking of cathedrals, this one was quite spectacular. The building sustained some damage in floods in the past decade, and the restoration is just now being finished. We were there at just the right time to catch the sun coming thru the stained glass and painting colors on the pews and walls inside. it was glorious, and our photos don't do it justice. The exterior is gothic, but the interior was designed in large part by the famous Barcelona architect Antonio Gaudi. I'm not an extreme fan of his work, but some of this was mind-blowing. The hanging lamp over the central altar (seen at right) reminded us of the crown of thorns, and in a side chapel, this fresco of the Risen Christ stopped me dead. No photo can do its impact justice. Of course, no visit to Mallorca would be complete without a visit to a pearl factory. Mallorcan pearls are actually artificial ones made by mixing ground glass with powdered fish scales. The results are 'pearls' nearly as lustrous as those produced by oysters, and a lot less expensive. I succombed to their lure and got three pairs of earrings to go with the other pearls my sailor had brought home long ago. Across the street from the pearl factory was the bull fighting ring, thankfully empty of toro while we were there. At that point, the temp was approaching 100F again, so we peeked in, walked around the lower concourse, tried to imagine the pageantry, took the obligatory 'we were here' shots, and boogied back to the bus! On the way back, there was one more stop, this one at the island's Fort...and of course, another climb up another seventy-eleven steps to get to the view at the top which we were assured was not to be missed......and it lived up to its billing. However, I kept wishing those moats had been full instead of dry, because I'd have dived right in. It was HOT. The facebook album has many more shots.

Travels with Tutu: Barcelona

This day turned out to be much better than we anticipated. Neither of us had been to Barcelona before, and after a pleasant day resting at sea, with our first formal dinner that evening, we were mellow. We were waitlisted for the only tour that interested us, (and we later heard from several people that it wasn't worth the $$$), so we hopped the city T3 into town for 3Euros R/t and landed here at the Cristoforo Colon monument. Across the street was the Barcelona Maritime Museum where we really hit pay dirt. First of all, the Maritime Museum itself was terrific. The displays were assembled to give a good overview of the history of the city, its layout and development over the years. There were Spanish galleons, maps, mosaics, ship models, and even an early wooden submarine. Bob thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Then as we exited, we realized that on the other side of the building was the real Tutankhamun exhibit on loan from the British Museum in London. There was NO LINE, and it only cost us 25eruo to get in. It was fantastic. We'd never been in the right place at the right time to see it in the states, and it was really well done. The audio tour was keyed to the room so most times, you didn't even have to push a button, it just started. Lunch at the museum dining room was great, and then we ventured out to stroll Las Ramblas...Barcelona's famous shopping drag. It was crowded but fun, inspite of the heat. We were heading for the Picasso museum almost a mile away, but felt we were OK to walk it. Thank goodness there was a gelato shop near the museum, because when we arrived to discover we hadn't read the small print and that it was closed on Mondays, and it was now approaching 100F, and beginning to rain, I needed an ice cream. We took our time coming back down into the city, (by the time we found the library which Bob insisted I wanted to see, it was past closing time). There was of course another cathedral or two, several street mimes, and as we got close to 6Pm, a rather good case of exhaustion was setting in. We made our way back to the T3 bus, produced our roundtrip tickets, and meandered down the pier to the ship. We were able to snag a late seating in the dining room and then headed up to the observation deck to watch things 'happen' for awhile. We were sound asleep by the time we set sail at 11:30PM. Oops: Here's the Facebook link, (again, you don't need an account to view the public photo albums) but check back in a few days, some of these have to be uploaded from the blackberry yet. And there aren't as many since we were limited in the museo on what we could photograph.

Travels with Tutu: French Riviera

We awoke to this gorgeous day, anchored out in Monte Carlo. The harbor was full of really, really, really expensive private yachts--think a parking lot full of Ferraris. But it was beautiful. We took the ship's tender into Monte Carlo, where we boarded a bus for a trip along the Middle Cornish (like a freeway) thru Nice, Villefrance and then up to the medieval walled city of Ez. Not like Dorothy going to Oz I assure you. This beauty was way way up on the top of a hill (I'd call it a mountain), and I don't think they had too much worry about being attacked. We got to a certain point and I opted out. My knees were doing well, but looking up (like straight up) at many many steps (uneven, and with not good hand rails), I stayed resting on the side of the road. This was my view looking up. There was a wonderful Perfumerie and une petite cafe at this location, so all was not lost. As we say in our family, "When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping." My french, not used for years, was rusty, but actually came back quickly, and I spent a lovely air conditioned, sweet smelling 1/2 hour conversing with the shop's proprietress. Bob continued the climb to the top and later admitted that even he had difficulty...he was glad I chose to remain below. His view, seen here was spectacular! Next we drove through Villefrance, where Bob had been on his Navy ship back in the 60's. and then on to the gorgeous street markets of Nice. We wandered thru blocks of gorgeous flowers of every color and variety, bought some souvenirs, and simply enjoyed the sunshine of the Riviera. Finally, our guide rounded us up, led through a labyrinth of narrow dark streets to a small ristorante below ground where we tasted wines and cheeses and good fresh bread. I was way happier than I look in this picture. Lunch was bon gusto!. There were stops on the way back at the obligatory cathedrals - already on the third day they were beginning to blur together. Back to the ship to settle in for a quiet day at sea. As we sailed off from Monte Carlo west, we were delighted with this glorious sunset: The entire photo album is on Facebook (don't need an account to see them.)

Travels with Tutu: Florence

Little bullets about this day in Florence...we took the bus into town, armed with a tour book and a map, and set out on our own. We had 5 1/2 hrs to roam before catching the bus again for the 90 minute ride back to the ship. At first we thought we'd never see everything, and we didn't, but toward the end, we were just praying for the last stragglers in our group to get back to the meeting point so we could pile into the blessedly air conditioned coach and collapse.

• It was HOT--and HUMID
• We didn't book early enough to get tickets to the Uffizi Gallery or the Galleria d'Academia (where the REAL David is).
• We each had a different agenda-- he wanted science (as in DaVinci and Gallileo) and I wanted domes, churches, statues, and squares. So we'd periodically split up and agree to meet back at certain times and places.
• We both went to the major sites: The Duomo with it's splendid cathedral, bapistery, and campanile. I later went to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo while he went off in search of Gallileo.
• Together we wandered around the Piazza della Signoria where there are gorgeous statues by many well known artists, as well as the spot where Savonarola was finally executed as a heretic. It's huge, it was hot, and unless you wanted to pay $7.50 US for a cup of coffee, there were few places to sit (we discovered this after we agreed to meet here.)
• The REAL doors to the Baptistry have also been moved inside to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo...an air conditioned gem on a side street behind the Duomo.
• The Palazzo Vecchio has gorgeous frescoes -but climbing the stairs to the 3rd and 4th floor dampened my enthusiasm. My knees were doing fine, but since heat rises, and by the time I got there it wa 2:30 in the afternoon, this girl's amply endowed posterior was dragging.
• We didn't realize that the Santa Croce church where we sat outside dying of the heat contained Giotto frescoes, and Michaelangelo and Gallileo's tombs --there was a line to get in, and we didn't think we had any energy left for queuing. SIGH...........

This one is at the top of the list for plan another trip, in a cooler time of the year and just fly over stay there, see it all (HAH!) and come home. Florence has incredible Gelato. All the photos are on Facebook's public links (you don't have to have a FB account to view.)

Travels with Tutu: Rome

Rome was the first stop on our adventure, although it was not the first visit for either of us. Bob had been there on one of his first Navy cruises years ago, just before we married, and I had been there on business trips in 98 and 2002. So we had both seen the basics and since Bob had seen less than I, it was his choice where to go. Our hotel knew we were coming early and had our room ready so our first step was a morning nap. These old bones didn't do well at all with the overnight flight and the time change. Our bodies said it was 4AM but the clock said it was 10AM. Once we rested we were off for a wonderful lunch at my favorite trattoria " Alberto e Graziella" on Via del Macherino. A good ensalata mista, a plate of Graziella's homemade pasta with her heavenly sauce that is as close to my nona's as one can get, and a huge bottle of acua naturelle, had us refreshed and on our way to see Castel Sant Angelo. I had climbed this puppy before, and so I sat in the shade indulging in my first of many pistachio gelatos while Bob took the camera and went off and up to see the sights. Then we ambled (it was too hot to stroll) over to the Vatican to see once again Michaelangelo's always amazing Pieta, and the newly opened basement crypts. They were just opening those when I was there before. We spent the rest of the afternoon just strolling around, looking at statues, peeking in churches and stopping for espressos and gelatos. A pizza dinner al fresco in Piazza del Rigornimento, followed by huge bowls of gelato, ended the day. Next day, we took an early morning stroll again, just soaking in the flavor, having croissants and espressos, checking in at the USO to say thanks for all their help, and then headed for the ship in Civitavecchia, a 90 minute ride. Once onboard, we strolled some more (you can put in some miles on a cruise ship), signed up for Bob's internet account, checked out the library, the buffet lunch, the pools, and got unpacked. By the time we sailed we were only wishing we'd added one more day at the beginning to allow more time in Rome ( you can never see it all!) and more time to get over jet lag. You can see all the pictures on our public facebook album for Rome

I Rock!

Wow, this one is truly cool - especially for old ladies. I've been awarded the "Your blog Rocks" award twice! My children and granddaughter will certainly be impressed. Thanks so much to Kaye over at Pudgy Penguin Perusals for her recognition, and to Cathy at One Eyed Stuffed Bunny and.... Check out these sites for sure. Even the names rock! Thanks ladies for your enthusiasm and the honor I'll have to ponder this for awhile before I pass it on. I'm so behind on reading blogs (they don't do well on a blackberry) so by the end of the week when I'm caught up I'm sure I'll spot a worthy recipient or two or three.

Review: Saudade by Katherine Vaz

What a wonderful way to end my first official 999 challenge! The last book in my “Things Portuguese” category. I inherited this book from my husband’s aunt who lived in a Portuguese community in the central valley of California before moving to the Bay area. It’s an incredible work, and almost defies a good review because reading it is a visceral rather than cerebral experience. Just like “saudade". The Author opens the book thus:

Saudade ('Sow-Dahd’) A Portuguese word considered untranslatable. One definition: Yearning so intense for those who are missing, or for vanished times or places, that their absence is the most profound presence in one’s life. A state of being, rather than merely a sentiment.

Katherine Vaz is a verbal artist. This story of saudade is not easy to read, but the word painting of this experience is so profound that one finishes the book with the same deep sigh of plentitude that causes us to push back from a nine-course meal, pat our stomachs and say “I’m full.” Full is definitely what the reader is reading this story. The words, the colors, the people, the experiences that are splashed across the pages, and burned into the psyche have one gasping at times. This prose is the closest to poetry one can get without it being poetry. It's positively magical. The main character Clara Cruz is born in the Azores and at birth and in early childhood does not seem capable of speech. The reader is left to puzzle out whether the inability to verbalize is physical or something akin to autism. Vaz constructs a cast of village mentors, including her parents, who help young Clara learn to communicate. At first this ‘talk’ is done with sugar, grains of it constructed into figures, drawn in lines on tables (much like drawing in sand?). Later some sign language is woven in. The songs her parents croon to her, making sure she can feel the vibrations of sound, become woven with their insistence that she be exposed to as much color, sound, light, and touch as is possible. These are not child psychologists or speech therapists; these are simple peasants living out their lives in a village full of every sensory experience known, with centuries of tradition, folk tales, and superstition to enhance their stories. They make sure their child's journey through life is as full of experience as possible. When her mother inherits a vineyard in California, Clara’s parents plan to move there. Her father, a fisherman from birth, is somewhat reluctant to leave the only way of life he has ever known, but he finally promises to make just one last voyage and then they will go. Unfortunately, it is his last voyage, and the ‘saudade’ that overcomes her mother eventually leads to her dying from longing. It is difficult to review this book without spoilers, but I’m going to try to avoid telling too much of what happens after this. Clara does go to California, where she is raised by other members of the Portuguese community in Lodi, and where she has to deal with a double-dealing priest who tries to cheat her out of her inheritance. In plotting her revenge against him, she discovers inner strengths, and new ways of coping, but also endures unbearable tradgedy, adding to her saudade. She enrolls in the local schools in Lodi, and becomes more communicative, but her extreme sensitivity to touch, colors, and others’ perceptions is the basis for an incredible sensual journey from adolescence to adulthood. She meets Dr. Helio Soares, the local dentist, who eventually becomes her lover, and who is someone who is as sensually acute and astute as she is. Vaz’ ability to weave word pictures, to relate folk tales from both the Azorean and California Portuguese communities, and her intense use of imagery is the basis for an incredible portrait of a young woman’s coming of age, and eventual accommodation to adulthood. At times, the fantasies approach Alice’s slide down the rabbit hole, but all are finally believable. The introduction throughout of heteronyms (not the grammatical words that are spelled alike with different meanings, but the literary device of imaginary characters created by a poet, or dreamer) was a new experience for me. I had to stop and look up how the word was intended, but once understood, as the latter, it provides incredible depth to the characters. At one point, Helio is shown different heteronyms for Clara in his saudade. One is an 18 year old cook’s assistant named Xica, living in sixteenth century Sintra Portugal. As Xica bastes roasting meat, she chants this poem:

Wall-splashing ping of unction extreme Ooze of sardine, halibut, bream. Blubber-fried roe, peppers well oiled, Jelly from hoofs, eel’s gut uncoiled. Bacon-From-Heaven—an almond cake---

Sausage with kid roast, lard-basted hake….

Xica further states “love renders us a banquet of drippings, salves, saturates, banquet of creams. I once loved a dear man fatly.” At one point, Vaz states that the characters: “Together with the starfish, they would live in a bastion that is defined by cleave—a grand but unsettling word that is at once its own opposition:

To pierce, sever, divide by a blow. To cling, adhere, ever to hold fast.

This kind of mind-blowing prose puts this work on the edge of fantasy, and one can’t help but wonder how much her Portuguese heritage influenced all this imagery. It is a feast for the reading mind from a writer who deserves more attention.

Home Sweet Home!

After enduring several days in Europe with temps approaching 40 degrees Celcius, it was quite refreshing to land in New England last night and drive home in temps of 41 degrees Farenheit. We are slowing recovering from jet-lag and catching up on all the mail, laundry, and downloading photos--all 600 of them. The hanging monkey shown here is an example of not only the talent of our room steward on the ship, but also of about how I felt after the long flight home from Rome via Paris and then an almost 4 hour drive. I'll be blogging about the trip for a few days since several of you asked to hear about it.-- if you're not interested in Tutu's travels and are just looking for books, I'll be back by the end of the week to post the few I got done during the cruise. By the way, I apologize to the Blackberry gods....I learned to love that little gizmo--it takes great pictures, and picked up my emails quite well so I could stay in touch with folks back home without expensive overseas calls. Hats off to Verizon and Bberry....I'll never complain again.

The ultimate library table.

This one's on the ship....those are actually chairs masquerading as books on a shelf.

I'm leaving tomorrow AM and still trying to figure out how to stuff this in a suitcase.

Here's the table! We saw some other gorgeous tables in Sorrento today. But this still beats all. More next week when we get home. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Friday Favorites: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Last week, I was reminded of this wonderful chunkster of an historical biography when we were in Rome, and had to make the agonizing decision to skip seeing the Sistine Chapel again (we had both seen it before-and after the restoration), so we could use our limited time there to take in other sights we hadn't seen. We wanted to see more of Michaelangelo's works --particularly the sculpture, and came away with a renewed sense of awe at the talent, the soul, and the fortitude needed to produce these wonderful works of art. Irving Stone wrote numerous BIG ficitional biographies, and I've read many of them. Historical fiction of any era is one of my favorite genres. Stone's books were a staple of the BOMC that we first joined early in our marriage. I must re-read this one. Now having seen the real stuff again, I can't wait to sink back into Stone's wonderful insights into Michaelangelo's psyche, revisit the on again-off again relations with all of his patrons, and simply watch as he struggles to bring to birth some of the most glorious art man has ever produced. It won't ever be able to replace the glory of actually being here and seeing it, but it will help cement the memories.

Review: Manana, Manana

Today we are in Mallorca or Majorca depending on how you want to spell it, an island off the coast of Spain. Although it belongs to Spain, and the language is Spanish, the locals tend to think of themselves as Majorcans first, then Spaniards. The island is famous for pearls (hubbie brought me back a set from a long ago Navy cruise), oranges, mountains, and the hot beautiful seaside settings. I can certainly understand where Peter Kerr got the title of this delightful little book I read last week while I was packing. Actually, I listened to the audio (packing takes two hands) and was instantly transported to the land of manana. (wish I could figure out how to get the tilde over that n!). Any way...the sunshine here is bright, and the air does smell like oranges, and one has the instant desire to kick back, find a beach chair, smear on sun-screen, and doze off until manana. In addition to the setting, I found the story a fascinating follow-on to my reading last week of Pollan's In Defense of Food, where Pollan advocates as much as possible going back to old ways of growing, farming, etc. Peter Kerr's story of a couple from Scotland who purchase a rundown orange orchard on Mallorca, and uproot themselves and two teenage sons is amusing, and at the same time, rather inspiring. I admire someone who has the courage in mid-life to decide to give up a big riding deisel tractor, and revert to plowing behind a push-tractor. The advise from the local tree pruners, and donkey dung collectors, while probably excellent horticulturally, is related in Kerr's normal hilarious, tongue-in-cheek style. There are the usual stories that one finds in any book about ex-pats living in a foreign land- the language gaffes, the strange foods, the different customs, dealings with police etc. I got a good flavor of the Mediterranean. Now I'm off to sample the real thing.

Guest Review: Carbs and Cadavers

As you probably know, my sister, Tina (TUTU) has headed off to Europe on a cruise with her sweetie, Bob. (Last cruise I was her cabin mate, oh, how we fall out of grace.)

So when I visited her last month I perused all her shelves and stole this book to read and in her place will leave a review. (Maybe if I do a good job, she’ll take me next time.)

Carbs & Cadavers

Author: J. B Stanley

Category: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 257

The Supper Club Mysteries starts with this book and is extremely entertaining. The entire premise, and one I find hits too close to home, is a group of "fatties" joining together to support each other as they try to lose weight. They title themselves the FLAB FIVE.

James Henry, the main character, is a divorced former professor from Wm & Mary who has an addiction to Cheese puffs and is carrying 50 lbs. of extra weight. He has returned home to Quincy Gap to care for his elderly father after his mother's death. James gets a job as a librarian and settles into what he considers a boring life which only drives him to his addiction more often than not. He feels friendless and alone so when the opportunity to make new friends and lose a few extra pounds is presented to him, he jumps at the chance not knowing what he is getting himself into.

At their first meeting, they are all distracted by sirens (one member works for the local sheriff) and plunge themselves into an investigation of the events. Working together to both solve the mystery and lose weight, the dieters are melded together into close friends and band together to catch the killer.

The story is well-written and highly amusing with tales of diet cheating and buttons popping. I was completely engrossed in the story so I didn’t have to worry about a “Cheese Puff Attack”. As a fellow dieter, my interest was held as to their progress and their setbacks along with the mystery. I look forward to a second helping - pun intended.

So if you liked my review, come see me at ">Cheli's Shelves.

Happy reading!