divas on the beach

time off- aka weekend with dear friend

The sea has a regenerating effect on me. Takes away the stress and brings back energy, stamina and good mood.
When Imogen arrived from Athens for her 5 days stay in Rome before going back to London, we decided to head south, towards sea and sun. We drove 8o Km away from Rome and reached the lovely San Felice Circeo. We had booked a room at Il Faro , a beautiful 50's styled hotel perched on cliff. As soon as we arrived we put our bikini on and headed to the sea.

The place was beautiful, even though populated by some plastic surgery bimbos and Mr. muscle men. Luckily we positioned ourselves next to a distinct couple of Italians in their 70s.
The day went by quickly, between an ice-cream and a caprese salad.

Exciting times

In January, during a short trip to California, my friend Torry and I finally came up with a way to put our brains together for a good cause. From there, with the help of the organizations we work for, we created the Context- St. Hope fellowship. This is a Travel fellowship for economically disadvantaged youths . The fellowship includes travel and accommodations in Europe, plus a week-long study trip with the scholars in the Context network. The program is intensive and includes six days of seminars, classes, workshops, and other programs, capped by a writing project. The first student for 2008 has been selected and will arrive in Rome in August.
Read more about Katie, winner of this year 's fellowship.

summer bbq

August in Rome can be quite fun. Even though some shops are closed and the heat can be unbearable; AC , friends and a good dose of food can make this time of the year just about perfect.
Leave alone the fact that there is no traffic, that the streets are strangely quiet and shops are selling things at 1/4 of their original price, a good BBQ and the right group of people can really make your August special.

Just like the past few summers, this August I have been dog-sitting for lovely Pico. Pico lives in a great house, the perfect apartment, in the center of Rome, with cable tv, super comfortable beds,
a great bathtub and AC. I have wonderful memories linked to this place.
For the first time this summer, the house was not complete. Pico's mommy decided to redo the kitchen so Pico, myself and my boyfriend were "stuck" with a no-sink,no-kitchen house (still a pretty nice house, nevertheless). Luckily we dicovered a portable BBQ on the terrace. This functioned perfectly, and it ended up being the mean of many delicious dinners in the house.





Among other ingredients for the riuscita perfetta of the BBQ, were the organic tomatoes kindly donated to us by our friend Sienna. She had just returned from a holiday in the countryside, and brought back these wonderful vegetables!

la festa in piscina

In the end it turned out fun, the right amount of people an the perfect number of drinks (2 mojito that is for me). People mingled and chatted, kids ran around and in general everyone had a good time.
Here we are..the organizers, in typical self portrait style!

Procida

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in Procida. The food and the sea, the sun and my friends.
A perfect combination of relax and enjoyment.

pics from previous parties..