What a Difference a Day Makes or Nothing Like a Good Night's Sleep and a Shower

It's sunny, warm not humid; we're slowly sorting through our roles as sisters and daughters, and even Mom seems happy today. After using every pot, pan, pitcher, cup, bowl, and spoon in the kitchen to make coffee this morning, we are all adequately caffeinated.


Villa Parmina is a little paradise, and we finally see what the online hoopla was all about. It's situated on a cliff halfway between the Mediterranean and the sky. Steep, steep, steep is the main element of the landscape and I've begun wondering how living this way affects one's soul. You either wind straight up (and pray that your parking brake holds) or straight down (and pray that your knees hold out). Either way, it's a vertical existence--but breathtaking.


We are still discovering the lushness of this place--the date palms and lemon groves, the ancient olive trees and the giant cacti. We could spend the whole time here inhaling enough sensory experiences to last the week without wandering outside this stone compound.

But for now, it's off to Mass, at the cathedral in the center of town, down, down, down the steep, steep steps on foot, or blowing out the clutch on one of the 2 cars we rented.

A presto!