The land that we bought 5 years ago on a ridge high up between Monterosso and Levanto was once carefully cultivated by a kind old man whom I had the opportunity to meet twice. Ernesto had worked this land since before the war, clearly remembering the time that he and […]
Monthly Archives: January 2012
There are innumerable things about living in a small town that can inspire or infuriate. Because I happen to love my small town (nb: Levanto, Italy), I usually tend to find myself on the inspirational side. Today, after schlepping up four flights of stairs to the offices where I hold […]
On October 11th, I promised that I’d be writing an update on my reading habits as soon as I finished the mammoth Bleak House by Charles Dickens. On that day, I hypothesized that I probably wouldn’t be finishing it anytime before the summer, given my slow-poke reading pace and the […]
A few years ago, while visiting Ireland, we stopped at the home of my wife’s close friend Dave. He’s got an amazing place near the coast in County Sligo, where he lives with his twin daughters. Among his activities, he fishes for food, has started participating in old-fashioned bartering fairs, […]
The beauty of the sea oftentimes lies above the water-line. The salty air that sticks to your skin and clears your lungs. The colors that the sun takes on as it finishes its daily journey toward the horizon. And on the clear days when the wind has whisked away all […]