A moment of Bliss

Today was such an amazing day. It all started out so simply and ended as one of the best nights ever. I went to my Bible study this afternoon with two of the most amazing ladies. Each week we give each other new challenges, and after I discussed my need to read something that was not related to my Comprehensive Exams, they challenged me to read one fun book. This would appear to not be the hardest of challenges, but I have such a hard time not doing work. Tonight, however, I decided to take the girls up on their challenge and read for pleasure.

So I chose to read Bella Tuscany, the sequel to Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I had forgotten how amazing her books are and how she writes in a way where I can smell the olive trees, taste the cheeses, and hear the sounds of chatter in the plazas. So I took the night off from studying, cleaned up from a delicious supper, and decided that I really need to read whilst taking a bubble bath. I had one last Bath Fizzy (from last Christmas) to use. Then with a few candles and some classical music, I embarked on the most perfect of evenings.

The more I read her striking prose on the wonders of refurbishing an Italian villa to the ways to cook various forms of wild asparagus, I long for my feet to stand on Italian soil.

I found this picture this evening of a fellow blogger who took her picture in front of Mayes' famous wall in front of her villa, Bramasole. Bramasole, could their be a more perfect name? To yearn for the sun

A via/strada in Cortona. How perfect is this place? So excited to finish this book and maybe even read a few more non-history based books over the holidays.