I have been in love with the artwork of Jean-Jacques Sempé since I was fifteen, when I read the NICOLAS series (which he illustrated) for a high school French class. Sempé is known in the U.S. for his iconic New Yorker covers, such as this one: But in his home country of France, his illustrated… Read more »
When I first launched this website a few months ago, I promised myself that I’d post at least once a week. Well, three months into this endeavor, I’ve already been absent for an entire month. The reason for my absence is actually a pretty good one 😉 Our home renovations were finally completed (side note:… Read more »
Meet Loulou the llama. Isn’t she lovely? She has dark, soulful eyes and long eyelashes. Her hair feels like yarn and her long neck is easy to hug. And she has a hidden talent… SHE SPITS! She spits really, really well. Up to ten feet away! Llamas spit when they feel threatened or don’t like… Read more »
Get thee to these delectable spots in Rome and Tuscany: Rome: Bonci Pizza – Anthony Bourdain raved about this place, so we had to check it out. And oh my goodness, it totally lived up to his assessment. I loved the cherry tomato pizza and the pizza with mortadella. The Geno loved everything, even the… Read more »
Two years ago, we took a big family trip to Tuscany, a beautiful part of Italy with lots of villages on top of hills. Long ago, during the medieval era, people lived on hilltops to be safe. The higher up you are, the harder you are to attack and the harder it is to steal… Read more »
(Villa d’Este with view of Lake Como) We were torn about where to stay during our visit to Lake Como, Italy. There are so many gorgeous options, we simply couldn’t choose. Major flip-floppiness! So we split our time between the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, and the famous Villa d’Este. Boy, am I glad we experienced both…. Read more »
My nephew is a wonderful pianist, but sometimes, he really hates to practice. But he loves music. He loves excelling at the piano. So he practices at random times of the day, no routine involved, no inspiration needed. He just applies his tush to the piano bench, and starts going. Here’s a video of him… Read more »
One of my favorite ways to get to know a new city is to go on a food tour. I try to schedule one for the first or second night of my visit, because it’s a great way to get an inside scoop of the city and eat at some amazing spots. We’ve been on… Read more »
Here’s a fun fact about baby elephants… Baby elephants may look fuzzy and soft…but they’re not! Baby elephants have patches of long hairs on their head and on their bodies. This hair is extremely coarse — each strand feels like a thick, rough bristle or wire. Why do they have this hair? According to experts,… Read more »
I’m embarrassed to admit that when I was a kid, my number one fantasy went like this: I wake up, and my parents tell me we have to go to Toys R Us to “run an errand.” When we get there, all the employees are standing around and smiling at me. My parents then inform… Read more »