Category: ThrowbackThursday

It seems like yesterday that my daughter joined me for my very first book signing. It’ll actually be twenty-six years this September, which is hard to believe. But what I love most is that my daughter has joined me on this book journey and is now a successful author. I love being able to do book signings with her and see how wonderfully she is doing. To find out more about my mini-me’s awesome stories, including her new romantasy TRAVELER, please visit https://amzn.to/3JzAnFy.

Many years ago, I visited Bologna, Italy, while I was on a work assignment. The city charmed me, and I knew that I would one day have to bring my family back to explore it. I was lucky to visit again with my husband, and of all the cities we visited on this trip, he loved Bologna the best as well! We started off with a lovely stay at the Hotel Baglioni, which turned out to be one of The Leading Hotels of the World (a former client). What a gorgeous place! Then we hit the streets, walking along the arched corridors. We located a pasta shop with the ladies who visit with TV Chef Lydia. Then we explored and found a leaning tower, one of many we saw in Italy. After, we discovered a library built on ruins that you could visit. I searched to see if they had any of my books (sadly, no). We strolled to a nearby square and a church with some lovely statues, artwork, and a floral display from a local garden club. We hurried to the food market before it closed and picked up some delicious bread, cheese, and strawberries. Later that night, after a tasty al fresco dinner, we saw a wonderful Saturday celebration of Palm Sunday in the main square. All in all, it was a wonderful time before we had to leave for our next stop: Florence!

This year’s Romance Writers of America conference was held in lovely Niagara Falls. It was wonderful to spend time with old friends, make new ones, and see such a beautiful, natural wonder. The falls were amazing, and the weather was incredible. Low humidity and mid-80s with brilliant sun. I caught the daily fireworks also. I just love fireworks. Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? If you went, did you love it?

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my other half! I can’t believe it’s been so many years since that life-changing day! This is one of my favorite photos. We didn’t have a big wedding for several reasons, but we did spring for this amazing Hooper Carriage Rolls Royce. The building in the back is in a public park near where we had our wedding reception. It was a lovely day, and again, I can’t believe it’s so long ago!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some video of our arrival in Venice. Once we were settled, we walked around the city, and then visited the Doge Palace and the Correr Museum, where we learned more about Venice’s history. The artwork in the various buildings was amazing, and it was fascinating to learn that the Doge (a local variation of the Italian word for Duke) had little power and was basically a prisoner in his own palace. He was truly just a figurehead as the decisions were made by a Senate-like collection of nobles, although citizens could vote and participate in what we might call a town hall. Today I’m sharing photos of some of the amazing rooms and artwork in the palace and the palace museum.