Friday, December 16, 2011

Going on holiday


The semester is over, the last interior design students are graduating, our Italian classes are finished - as are all our holiday celebrations, except for, that is, friends coming in for drinks tonight; lunch at Bergdorf's on Saturday and dinner with old friends in New Jersey later that evening; afternoon tea next Monday with a neighbor and her children at A Grand Hotel in London and dinner the same day with an old friend at A Trendy Restaurant; dinner in Rome on the 25th with neighbors from down the street and, on our return from Naples, a visit with the Celt's family in London. My goddaughter, the Celt's ten-year-old niece, has decided that the best possible treat for her uncles is for her to take them to the Victoria and Albert Museum, go ice-skating, view the city from the London Eye and eat Italian food in Soho.

You'd think, reading the first paragraph, that the Celt and I plan nothing that doesn't involve eating - and to a degree you'd be right. Food outside and frequently in the house often means friends are involved and seemingly being on vacation (going on holiday as we used to say it) isn't any different. Everything is planned and booked - flights, a train journey, hotels, restaurants, tickets to Villas Kerylos and Ephrussi-Rothschild, even a car to pick us up from the airport. I don't mind driving around Nice, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat or Monaco but I refuse to deal with Rome's traffic from behind the wheel of my own automobile.

Finally, we are going away - to places we love and to places we have never been.

9 comments:

  1. Villa Kerylos! We can't wait to hear all about your visit!
    Best wishes for a wonderful trip!

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  2. What a glorious trip! Hope you meet you someday, and wishing your a wonderful time!

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  3. Y'all have a big time. Merry Christmas.

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  4. Dear Blue, wishing you safe travels, a joyful anniversary celebration and a very happy Holiday! I was struck by your last sentence, so one more wish...may the places you've never been become the places you love.

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  5. Sounds like a wonderful trip, and one that I would thoroughly enjoy, although not at this precise juncture; I'm quite enjoying being at home, after our long sojurn in Britain in recent weeks, and do not yet feel the need for a change.

    I think when one's life is a long holiday travelling becomes more like work.

    Seasonal greetings!

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  6. You've worked out a wonderful trip. Have a wonderful time!

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  7. Happy travels, great eavesdropping, invisible crowd gazing, and many great stories for you to share with us.

    ps I think that 10 year old must be perpetual energy machine. Good luck!

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  8. Can I come?!!! I'll leave quietly through the back door and leave the house all ready for the Christmas guests. Even stock the refrigerator.

    Have a good one, dear friends. Call when you get back!

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  9. Not only does the paragraph read as a food fest, it reads as a places-of-perfection fest. Jealous is the only word which seems to be registering in my brain as I read. By the time I got to the V & A museum reference, my colouring was vivid green.
    But I hope the itinerary provides the stimulation and relaxation so needed at this time of the year (I'll just stuff my jealously back in its box....) and that it is a magnificent trip. Virginia x

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