Please
enjoy this guest post by Frederick Lee Brooke, author of the
genre-bending mystery Zombie Candy. Then
read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog
tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5
autographed copies of the book.
What Dad and I saw in Italy
by Frederick Lee Brooke
I was on the train yesterday returning
from Rome back to Basel, where I live, and I mentioned Monte Chianti
to my seatmate. We were on the Red Arrow, the Italian bullet train,
which cruises at 180 mph and covers the distance from Rome to Milan
in just under three hours. Rossana is a banker who was travelling to
Milan on business; in her hand was a paperback mystery in English.
That's how we started talking. She sort of nodded and looked to the
heavens and tried out the name: "Monte Chianti, hmmm. Nice."
I like Italy so much I decided that the
action in Zombie Candy, my latest mystery,
should move to a fictional town in Tuscany called Monte Chianti in
the second half. The action starts in Chicago, and moves to Tuscany.
But this trip wasn't really research
for Zombie Candy; for me, more of a victory lap.
Plus Dad wanted to see Rome once in his life, so off we went on the
train. On the way to Rome we spent three days in Como, in Northern
Italy. We did not see Giorgio (that's what the locals call George
Clooney) but we did see some beautiful lake vistas. In the picture
below we are coming down the side of the mountain in a cog railway.
Sure hope the brakes hold on this thing!
I learned Italian at a language school.
I also married an Italian speaker, but don't ever try and learn a
language from the person you're married to. You have enough to argue
about without her correcting your grammar. My wife's English is
better than my Italian anyway, but she likes it when I make the
effort.
While in Rome Dad and I visited the
Trevi Fountain. If you throw in a coin, legend has it that you'll
come back to Rome one day. I threw in a pocketful, just to be sure.
Then we hit the Colosseum. The ancient brick dividing walls in the
floor of the amphitheater kept the animals penned in before they were
sent in to the ring to fight. How can this thing still be standing,
after two thousand years?
This is what was left of our rental car
after ... no wait, just kidding! This mess was parked right outside
our hotel, not far from the Vatican. The hotel desk clerk told us a
moped caught on fire next to the unfortunate Mercedes. I didn't
believe him -- do you?
We took an all-day excursion to the
island of Capri, off Naples. This involved a long, cramped bus ride
and a transfer to a ferryboat, but let me tell you, the views were
worth it. Just look at the color of the Mediterranean, from halfway
up the mountain.
And here is a picture looking up at the
branches of a mature maritime pine tree. I couldn't resist.
It was a great trip. Dad and I had some
nice talks, we did a lot of walking, we ate like kings, and we saw
some beautiful places. I hope that Trevi Fountain legend really
works, and we'll go back to Rome again soon.
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About the book:
Weaving elements of mystery, horror and romance in a hilarious romp
that starts in Chicago and ends in a quaint medieval town in
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1 comment:
Thanks for hosting me on your blog!
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