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  My wanderings have taken me from Toledo to Tokyo, Pittsburgh to Paris, Vacaville to Vienna, Charleston to Cologne.  I have marveled at the wonders of the world, made my home in exotic locales, and forged bonds with people of many nations.    Of all my journeys, none has resonated with me as deeply as my recent trip to Ireland.  I made a soul connection with the place and her people.  This should probably come as no surprise to those who know me well.  After all, I have an abundance of Irish DNA surging through my veins.  The connection is cellular.  I'm also an enthusiastic storyteller and conversationalist (a nice way of saying I have the gift for gab ).    Still, I was surprised by my immediate affection for Ireland.  I had only been there a few days when I began daydreaming about buying a cottage in Kenmare and opening up a bookstore/tea shop on her quaint, colorful mai...

Turquoise Sea by Leah Marie Brown Imagine if you will, a footpath carved into the side of a granite cliff overlooking a turquoise sea.  Now, situate this idyllic thoroughfare on the Italian Coast.  Picture yourself standing on the path.  Do you feel the sea breezes blowing seductively on your skin?  Can you hear the surf gently lapping the rocky shore far below?  If you knew such a trail existed, wouldn't you want to traverse it? When I read about a trail in Italy that stretches between the clifftop villages of  Riomaggiore and Manarola, I felt my pulse quicken, my imagination take flight.  The guidebook said the Italians have been calling the trail Via dell'Amore (Lovers Lane) since the 1940s.  Sigh. I imagined it to be a place for romance and daydreams.  I saw myself strolling down that magical path, pausing to admire the Mediterranean sea, a patchwork of cerulean and turquoise spread out...

I found myself in the heart of Florence, walking down an ancient, dimly lit pedestrian street just moments before the magical gloaming, when the sinking sun would bathe the city in liquidy shades of gold, bronze and copper.  (Apropos colors, when one remembers that Florence was once the financial center of Europe.) Florence is a magical city in any light, but during the gloaming it appears more beautiful and more mysterious.  Shadows deepen, elongate, shading the city in slightly sinister tones.  The air appears as gauzy as a shroud.  Streetlights flicker to life, creating otherworldly halos around the heads of the statues standing sentry in the piazzas. It takes little effort to imagine a Medici woman, ensconced in a voluminous cloak, her face partially concealed by her hood, slipping down an alley to meet an old crone hawking deadly nightshade.  What secrets do the shadows hold?  What demons does the light keep at bay? ...

Portofino By Leah Marie Brown   Portofino has long been the vacation destination for the rich and famous.   Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Sophia Lauren forsook the artifice of Tinsel Town for the natural beauty of Portofino, a picturesque Italian fishing.    When Stephanie and I began planning our grande aventure  from Provence to Tuscany, I insisted a day in Portofino be added to our itinerary.  For me, it wasn't about Grace or Humphrey.  It wasn't about Sophia or Elizabeth.  It was about Rex.   Rex Harrison.  The legendary British actor who starred in one of the most romantic movies ever filmed.  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir .  (Yes, I just sighed.)  I was a child when I first discovered the cinematic greatness of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir , a romantic fantasy about a young widow who falls in love with the ghost of a swashbuckling sea captain.  Rex Harriso...

I am sucker for movies about people who have the courage to reinvent themselves, especially people who shirk the shackles of modern life in favor of a simpler existence in some charming European town.  Under the Tuscan Sun .  A Good Year .  These are films that have lifted my spirit and emboldened me to dream because they feature main characters who reinvent their lives.  So, when Stephanie came up with the idea to spend a day visiting the places featured in  A Good Year, I had a fan girl moment.  I imagined myself following in Russell Crowe's gorgeous footsteps, driving down the roads lined with plane trees, sipping wine in a quaint Provencal cafe. For those of you who have not yet seen A Good Year , it is a romantic comedy directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe.  The screenplay was adapted from the Peter Mayle novel by the same name.  It tells the story of a cynical investment banker who inherits a ...