Frances Mayes's Blog, page 13

Dolphins on the Port Side

At lunch on the deck, someone spotted three dolphins leaping out of the waves.  Everyone abandoned their plates and leaned on the rails, hoping to see them but we saw only the water, so calm that the reflections of clouds slid over the blue, blue surface.  Maybe the tuna on the grill (dolphin fish?) sent out some signal to brethren still free.  The seared fish was delicious, as were the roasted vegetables and fruit.  Today we are "at sea" all day, having slipped out of the port of Palermo...

I Could Write a Book. . .

The book someone should write:  hidden Tuscany.  I won't.  I don't have the patience for details about hotels and restaurants and mileage from here to there.  But Tuscany is pieno, full, of places of secret loveliness, interest, good food, and  stunning landscape.  People often say to me, "Tuscany is full of tourists."  Or, "We've been to Tuscany three times."  Tuscany is large and varied and if you had two lives you couldn't begin to know it.

For example, the quick two-day trip Ed and I just ...

Two links

Here's a link to a conversation I had with the molto famoso guidebook writer, Rick Steves.  Like his books, the interview took interesting turns.  I was happy that the music of my friend and neighbor, Lorenzo Cherubini–known all over Italy and way beyond  as Jovanotti–was included.  Check out the lovely lyrics to his song, "Per Te." Just search his name and lots of sites come up.   Also, at the beginning of the interview, you hear part of the wonderful soundtrack by Christophe Beck from the f...

Interview with Rick Steves

Here's a link to a conversation I had with the molto famoso guidebook writer, Rick Steves.  Like his books, the interview took interesting turns.  I was happy that the music of my friend and neighbor, Lorenzo Cherubini–known all over Italy and way beyond  as Jovanotti–was included.  Check out the lovely lyrics to his song, "Per Te." Just search his name and lots of sites come up.   Also, at the beginning of the interview, you hear part of the wonderful soundtrack by Christophe Beck from the f...

Arrival in Tuscany

After the long flight  (longer because of flying way north to avoid the volcanic ash) the shock of deeply verdant hills flashing by the car window opens wide my sleepy eyes.  The splendid greens of May, intensified by constant rain, glow with a florescent brightness.  Towers!  Poppies!  Sheep! We're back.  Always, it's a miracle.  Oh, no, Mirko is driving 110 miles an hour.  I'll have to get used to that.  Bramasole looks beautiful in the rain as we struggle up the driveway with our...

To Minnesota

My last stop on my tour for Every Day in Tuscany will be 4 and 5 of May, at two libraries in the Minneapolis area.  Tuesday night I'll be at Washington County Library in Woodbury and Wednesday night at Southdale Library in Edina, both at seven o' clock.

When I come home on Thursday, I'll go into departure frenzy: Sunday we leave for summer in Italy.  This requires that the garage is in order, closets are winnowed of clothes not worn, and the pantry is cleared of all sad items past their sale d...

Your Comments

Thanks for writing, if you have.  Something I cannot figure out is how to make my replies correspond with the comment.  All comments go to spam until I approve them— lots of Viagra offers, absurd porn, and mortgage junk come my way and must be deleted.  Once approved, the comment is posted. When I reply to one, my answer goes to spam too.  When I approve my own answer, it no longer appears with the intended comment. It does go to the right post–but appears at random.  This is a mystery...

Check This Link

http://app.streamsend.com/private/oPeF/v6v/xBn5dUT/browse/10320681

Our Bramasole Olive Oil is featured on the Taste Book site and I'd love for one of my blog friends to win.

They also have links to three recipes from Every Day in Tuscany.

Roses and Apples

Now, a few days at home in North Carolina, where the pollen is so intense that I seem to be looking through a golden veil.  Everyone is mainlining Claritin. The wild wisteria ramples through the pines and white dogwoods peer out from the edges of the woods.  With temperatures in the 90's we've gone directly from winter to summer. Much madness abounds because Duke's basketball team is rocking and rolling.

I have designed a post for pillar roses and just found my favorite Edens to make the...

A Brief Pause

Home.  Kiss the ground.  Durham, Atlanta, New York, New Canaan, Portland, Oregon, Bay Area events, La Jolla, Newport Beach, back to Napa, Athens, GA, Gainesville, Florida and Coral Gables–done.  And each event was marvelous and special.  I'm lucky to get to meet so many terrific people who love to read and travel and experience la vita to the fullest.  Luck was with me, too, with the weather along the way.  Smooth flights and blooming trees and flowers made  getting from A to B easy.  That...