European Jaunts To Die For

Indulge me, if you will... again.

I am way behind in my self-indulgent re-cap of 5 months aboard the Sun... I had finished the Antipodes and some of SE Asia, and I have re-arrived in China — which is a very large subject. At the moment, I am trying to cull the best Sino photos.

But I have a good excuse: I’ve been jaunting around New England visiting friends, and recently I’ve spent hours online trying to figure out the shore excursions I want to sign up for on the 2019 cruise. I know, this is such a First World problem, and I am so fortunate to have such a ‘problem.’

So this is filler:

Fodor’s recently published the post I've linked below. I confess, Patricia Highsmith is one of my very favorite writers. I discovered her decades ago. And all the movies based on her novels are great — find the titles in the link, and check them out. You could pick the Matt Damon version of Mr. Ripley — or the John Malkovich. Take my word for it: go for Malkovich.

Fodor’s wrote this — and the rest of the article (the link) is fun, especially if you suffer from italophilosis:

‘Cruises are one of those places that already feel unreal, as if reality has been tilted a few degrees sideways. You’re surrounded by strangers and yet, due to the limited and circuitous nature of your surroundings, are in constant proximity to those strangers. Instead of Elizabeth, you can introduce yourself as Colette and since there’s no Wi-Fi (or if there is it’s probably kinda’ spotty) no one can hop on Google and call you out on your lax approach to little things likes “names” or “identities.” By opting to explore the places along the Mediterranean via a cruise, you have the benefit of maximizing the sites you take in and the identities you adopt.’

https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/how-to-travel-europe-like-youre-in-a-patricia-highsmith-novel

Enjoy!