Category Archives: Italy 2007

Europe Diary, Day One

Posted on by

It’s up early and out by around 1:30pm. Airport shuttle. I’ve never actually taken a shuttle to the airport. Usually someone drives us – or I park down at the airport and pay $40 to park so that I can drive us home after our trips. I really hate asking/depending on people to drive to the airport because it’s just such a drag. We’re almost ready to go – just a few last-minute details, saying goodbye to our cute cats and bidding Los Angeles farewell for a couple of weeks. We will be hitting Milan, Modena, Florence and Rimini in Italy and then flying over to Paris for four days and four nights (which turned out to be expensive, too expensive to justify). I’m still feeling much trepedation about this trip. My daughter is now 11 and she’s plenty old enough to really figure out the whole situation. I just hope that it goes as well as possible for her.

She didn’t grow up with her father and didn’t meet him until she was eight. She then visited him again at nine. Then we skipped a year and she’s going back at eleven. This is an experiment to see if it’s possible to forge a relationship between her and her Italian relatives. Part of me feels scared about it – like what if she gets hurt somehow. There is no grand plan. We’re just kind of making it up as we go. If all goes well, the process will move forward. If it doesn’t, I’ll pull the plug.

My A-Ha Moment – I’m Finished with Oprah

Posted on by

Finished, I tell you. Flipping through O Magazine and it suddenly hit me that the cult of Oprah is about perfecting, not accepting. Suze Orman scolding we befuddled and bad financial planners, the array of things we can’t possibly afford – freaking ballet flats for $300? Spanx to suck us in, agonizing books to read on top of being the best mom, the best business woman, the nicest person, the most charitable – you know, enough already. It’s hard enough just remembering to buy and then correctly use tampons so that you can spare that last decent pair of underwear. Christ almighty. When will it end.

Oh, and asterickly speaking, I once went up for a job to be the Oprah guide on About.com. Did not get the job. Why is this not surprising?

Fish Talk

Posted on by

DSC03027.jpg

The open market in Rimini is spectacular. You can find any number of fruit, vegetables, meat and of course fish. It’s the best and only way to shop. We went today and loaded up on clams for lunch and some kind of fish that needs peeling for dinner. I promise pictures of all. We have five days total left in Italy, two days in Rome and then back to the urban sprawl I hold so dear.