Yes, we took a trip to Venice last year around the same time of year and we decided to attend the same event this year, which meant another Thanksgiving in Venice! This time, however, we didn’t stay quite so close to Venice which had its pluses and minuses. Last year, we stayed in Mestre, which …
In 64AD after the fires in Rome, the Emperor Nero decided to build himself a palace that would be called The Golden House. Upon Nero’s death, Rome was engulfed in a civil war until Vespasian took the throne in 69AD. Instead of building a monument of palace for himself, he decided to build an amphitheatre …
Rome is riddled with historical monuments. I commented in the first post that you can turn a corner and find a fresco or a sculpture on the next, but it’s almost that way with monuments as well. You can turn a corner and find columns sandwiched between two buildings, or just a wall of columns …
One of the major attractions of Rome is, of course, the Vatican. The Vatican is known for having a tremendous amount of artwork as well as the Sistine Chapel, so obviously a big thing to do and see when visiting Rome. We booked tickets for the Vatican Museums for our first day in Rome. Little …
For first time travellers to Rome, we did a number of things correctly and a number of things caught us completely off-guard. Hopefully, after reading our experiences in the next several posts, you will know what to expect and won’t run across the same pitfalls we did! We still had an amazing time, so it …
If you like Beatrix Potter, you might just find Melford Hall to be right up your alley. Built in the 16th century, Melford Hall was originally held by abbots until the dissolution of the monasteries when it was granted to William Cordell. It was passed and sold within the Cordell family until 1786, when it …
When I first started writing Rain and Retribution, I didn’t think much about some of the phrasing I was using until my first beta tagged a phrase and asked, “When was this first used?” Wait, what? I never thought about some of the idioms or word phrases we might use on a daily basis and …
In my Regency novels, I have a lot of fun naming characters, but one of my favourites is naming the modistes for great female artists. I’ve used Lebrun, duParc, and in Particular Intentions and its sequel, Madame Guiard for the portraitist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. Adélaïde Labille was born in 1749 and was the daughter of a Paris …
During Jane Austen Regency Week several years ago, a group of us drove out to Winchester hoping to go inside the cathedral and pay our respects to Jane. Little did we know there is a flower show held ever other year at the cathedral and it was closed down the day we went to set …
I wish I could say that I was able to experience more than I did, but personal reasons interfered and I only managed two days of Jane Austen immersion this year. 😉 I understand from those present that the Regency Day was the best yet and that despite the heat, the ball was a success, …
L.L. Diamond 