Archive for the ‘love thursday’ Category
Love Thursday: Hearts in Savoca, Sicily
Savoca, Sicily, where parts of The Godfather were filmed, is full of love.
Read on...Love Thursday: Nurturing My Travel Lovebug
Soon I will be off on a journey to an island not so far away to spend some time in one of the cities I have been absolutely dying to visit since I moved to this part of the world.
Various circumstances beyond my control have gotten in the way of a trip up until now, but not any more. I’ve got my travel buddy and my travel guide and I’m about to nurture my travel lovebug, who has been neglected for far too long.
[Note to anyone thinking of showing up in my hilltop village and burgling me: you will still have P and the pooches to deal with.]
What? You haven’t figured out where I’m going?
Does this look familiar?
If you’re a fan of Il Padrino a.k.a. The Godfather, and you made it to the end of the third installment, you should recognize this building.
I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve had visions of my re-enacting that fateful scene (what, people run the Rocky steps in Philly all the time!), but when I told P I planned to bring ketchup to make it more realistic, he didn’t seem to think that’d go over well. Go figure.
You think it’s too late to call up Andy Garcia to save me from embarrassment?
*le sigh*
Happy Love Thursday and Happy Trails!
P.S. I won’t be touching a computer for the next several days, so please be patient regarding responses to comments and emails. I’ve planned some posts in advance for you, though, so keep coming by the blog so she won’t get lonely!
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[tags] palermo, sicily, love thursday, the godfather, il padrino, andy garcia, le sigh[/tags]
The Heart As Symbol for Love and Valentine’s Day
Ever wonder how the heart became a symbol for love and especially for Valentine’s Day? Well here you go.
Read on...almond blossoms mean never having to say you’re sorry (sort of)
My grandparents were bickerers.
Together, they were one of those couples that couldn’t have a normal conversation about anything without snipping, snapping, growling, or worse. I’m sure you know one of these couples. Maybe you’re even in one.
Sure there was love between them, but their expression of that love left a lot to be desired for me personally. Worked for them, apparently, so more power to them.
I decided early on, though, that I didn’t want to have that sort of relationship (does anyone really *want* that?) but we all have to accept that arguing (sometimes in “outdoor voices”) is a part of life, especially in close personal relationships.
But it’s how we deal with those arguments that matters.
P and I are going on three years together and for us, it’s a continual learning process, and I hope it always stays that way. We’re both becoming better at not taking out bad moods on the other and with talking through our true feelings–those feelings underlying what *seems* to be the problem but really has nothing to do with much of anything.
But we’re not perfect. And thank goodness for the first almond blossoms of the season when one of us is less perfect than the other.
Just so you know, though, P *does* bring me the first almond blossoms of the season even when things are peachy keen. See here.
Difficult times always create opportunities for you
to experience more love in your life.
~ Barbara de Angelis
Happy Love Thursday,
and may you pass all of your relationship tests with flying colors.
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[tags] love, amore, love thursday, almond blossoms, blossoms, almonds, mandorla, flowers, barbara de angelis[/tags]
love *is* all around
P is currently working on a house for a Swiss man, so I have been taking photos and sending them by email to the new owner to keep him up to date on the progress.
Of course this gives me an excuse to wander around a bit and take more village photos–but as it turns out, I don’t have to roam very far from that house to remind me that love really *is* all around.
These are all a few steps from where P parks his motorino:
These images are overseen by a gorgeous stone angel who is on la Chiesa di San Nicola, the center of the small quadrant of the village that the families of both P and me are from.
The church was built in 1239 and is mentioned by name in George Gissing’s classic travel memoir By the Ionian Sea: Notes of a Ramble in Southern Italy; the author had happened upon the church’s parroco on a train, which led Gissing to write:
I would ask nothing better than to visit him, some autumn-tide,
when grapes are ripening above the Ionian Sea.
I wonder if Gissing ever did get the pleasure of having this face look down upon him.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
**If you haven’t yet, remember to check out my welcome post and find out about how you can win a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate!**
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[tags] love thursday, hearts, angels, george gissing, by the ionian sea, ionian sea, badolato, san nicola, chiese, churches[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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