At last the sun is shining!

Im certain that the sun influences the way we feel. I always feel better, brighter, more active and optomistic when I wake to a sunny day.  I guess I am lucky to live in Australia! And the sun is still shining on Susan Boyle - the sky’s the limit.  Wouldn’t a duet with Susan and Paul Potts be something?

Last week I received an email from a lady looking for inexpensive accommodation in Sicily for she and her husband. I wrote back and told her about the Convento di Cefalu, run by the Sisters of the Holy Family who offer accommodation to tourists. Now this place is by no means the Paris Ritz but it still has a lot going for it if cheap, safe, clean and well-located is a priority.

Cefalu, a small fishing town is built on a rocky outcrop on the northern Sicilian coast between the port town of Messina and Palermo the capital city. The convent sits alongside the water’s edge and the front facing guestrooms have eye-popping views over the ancient town, the Gulf of Cefalu and the Tyrrhenian sea. A 12th century Norman cathedral dominates the town, there is a long, white sandy surfing beach, lots of hole-in-the-wall trattorias serving fresh seafood and a medieval ‘old town,’ which needless to say adds up to a popular holiday destination. Cefalu would be a very good base for exploring the rest of Sicily and is on the Palermo train line.

Have a look at the convent on www.conventisicilia.com

Happy traveling…

Just joined Twitter and finding the going difficult as I don’t  do ‘coolspeak’ - find it quite difficult, having been brought up to spell correctly and cross the t’s and dot the i’s.  And there is not much you can say in 140 letters. However, I have vowed to keep up with modern technology – a case of use it or lose it, I’m afraid, but I am going to master it (and possibly sound like a nerd in the process).

 Actually, through Twitter I have made some interesting contacts in the book, publishing and travel world. I even trade ‘tweets’ with a monastery in Scotland as well with other writers, my USA book publicist, an American site dedicated to mothers (Moms Rising) and  various travel sites offering great deals and insights – and still adding to the list. If you join up (free) please send me a ‘tweet’.

‘Til next time….

On a recent trip to New Zealand we travelled with the national airline Air New Zealand.  At the time the company’s cabin crew were protesting about their wages and conditions.  Instead of protesting in the usual way – with a strike at the most inconvenient time for the travelling public, this protest took a more considerate approach.  The cabin staff drew attention to their plight by wearing street clothes instead of uniforms and from the chatter going on among the passengers on our flight this type of ‘strike’ was not only much appreciated but drew the interest and support of fellow travellers.

 It seems they also attracted the attention of the higher echelons of Air New Zealand management as I notice they have gone even further and thrown out the street clothes for body paint – all with the support of the airline’s CEO. Have a look for yourself on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elD38pJX7iE

Last night I had a surprise telephone call from a friend who was staying with his wife in a convent guesthouse in Rome.  He rang to tell me how happy they were with their room and that the sisters were very lovely and the convent clean and comfortable (and cheap). Not being at all religious or having had anything to do with nuns or monks in the past they were genuinely surprised that they were actually enjoying the experience.  They were quite taken aback when at breakfast they were waited on by nuns in full habit – a first for many guests, I would imagine!

I suggested that while they were staying in the centre of Rome that they wander down to the L’Eau Vive Restaurant (French) in the Via Monterone, just around the corner from the convent. This is one of the city’s unique eating places as it run by an order of French speaking nuns.  The food is French (so is the wine – I can personally vouch for the St-Emilion merlot) and the sisters offer a substantial menu with plenty of choice.  The chef is a nun and nuns wait on the tables.  What makes this restaurant even more unique is that at around 2100 each evening the sisters down tools and gather in the main dining room, (there are two dining rooms) join hands and offer a short prayer.  Hymn cards are then handed around to the sometimes surprised guests, the music is turned on and a sister invites the diners to join with them in singing Ave Maria. And as the words are printed in English there is no excuse not to join in.  Whenever I have been there I can’t help but notice how everyone seems to enjoy this rather unique experience. The singing is always enthusiastic and I wonder what the people walking past the restaurant must think???  Don’t miss it! http://www.restauranteauvive.it                                                                                                          

Hello.

I went to a great book launch to-day. The book is called Bold Bhutan Beckons and is written by Tim Fischer AC, Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See and Bhutanese author Tshering Tashi. The book provides a general outline of this apparently wonderful place of ‘gross national happiness’. The launch took place in the library of State Parliament House in Macquarie Street, Sydney and was attended by about 100 people including some smart young Bhutanese boys and girls dressed in their national costume. Bhutan is a place close to Tim’s heart and he and his family have spent much time in the kingdom. One thousand of the books have been donated to school and public libraries in Bhutan so that school children can grow up knowing a little about their country. I wasn’t really all that sure of exactly where in Asia Bhutan is. However, I now know that it lies close to the Himalayas between India and China.

One of the speakers at the launch  told the story of how when she visited Bhutan for the first time she met a Bhutanese farmer. He had a large orchard from where he sold fruit to the locals.  When asked if he had any of the usual horticultural problems such as getting enough water, insects eating the fruit, etc.,  he replied ‘My biggest problem is that the pickers keep being eaten by lions’.

In his speech Tim spoke of his first months as Ambassador and said that Pope Benedict  was very concerned about the loss of life in the recent Victorian bushfires. A special Mass was celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica by the Pontiff, with Tim and many other Australians who were in Rome at the time, attending.

Bold Bhutan Beckons by Tim Fischer is available from CopyrightPublishing                         http://www.copyright.net.au                                                                                                                               ISBN 978-1876344597

‘Til next time…