Departure for Italia!

Today I get on a plane headed for the land of Caesar, Dante, and Verdi.*

We'll be spending most of our time in Rome, with a few days in Venice and a day trip to Florence. 

It hasn't revealed itself through my writing yet, so here you go:

Aaaaaaaaaaa Holy Saint Francis I am so EXCITED AAAAAAAAAAAAA

All right now, back to sophistication. :)

Whenever I think about the fact that I'll be staying in an apartment in Rome, all I can think of is The Count of Monte Cristo and how he just rents houses all over the place in Rome. Anything that suits his fancy.

"If you care to find me, I'll be at my villa in Rome. I might pop down to my place in Venice for a few days, though, so you might have to search there too... But if you come, you won't regret it - I'll have my personal chef Alfredo cook something exotic and magical for you. And then perhaps we could stroll in my vineyard or - if we're in Venice - Benito my gondolier can take us around and I'll show you the sights."

~said by me, if I were Monte Cristo.

Well, I don't think that's quite how it will be.

Anyway, here is what I've got in my suitcase (besides necessities, of course):

- Le Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory (still working on this one). 

- My journal (so I can tell myself I'll actually write - and then promptly forget).

- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

This is a relatively short list, but both my books are rather fat, so I don't think I'll run out of reading material.

My Kindle really and truly died a while ago (at least it looks like it did - maybe it'll resurrect like last time), so no more convenient portable travel reading for me! :(

While I'm away, there are some fun posts scheduled to pop up a few times each week (I return on June 5th). Aside from the customary Top Ten Tuesdays and Bible Project Sundays (which I apologize for if they are not exactly long or, in the case of the TTT's, ten... I was a little pressed for time), the most exciting thing happening while I am away is:
 (drumroll please)

A GUEST POST by my bibliophilic and artistic friend Samantha Gamgee** on award winning books!

How exciting!

And also, I will continue to moderate and respond to comments as usual, because now I have a phone that is smart and can do those things. However, it may take me a bit longer to respond, and I definitely won't be super active commenting on other blogs myself.

Arrivederci and ciao, I'm off to Italia!

-Sophia

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*And Vivaldi, and Corelli, and Puccini, and Rossini.... Come on, I could only pick ONE Italian composer, or it would ruin the flow if the sentence!

**If you were wondering, no, not her real name, unfortunately. It's how she's known around the interwebz.