How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Fortunately, my holiday started early - in May! After 2 years of planning and scheming, I took off to Italy, stopping beforehand in Paris for 10 days. I experienced so many of my passions on this trip: Paris, Renaissance art, Italian language and culture (present and ancient) sleepy sea side villages, good wine, amazing yet simple food, hot sun, festivals of the Madonna, belly dance and Byzantine mosaics to name a few.

It wasn’t logistically easy leaving 2 businesses, including a bustling coffee house at the start of the busy season - plus a full domicile with creatures, but with the help of a few amazing people, it happened. It was a well-needed mental break and although travel can sometimes be strenuous, the few difficult times I might have gone through, have long ago been washed over by the many amazing and wonderful moments that have ensconced themselves in my memory.

Those moments seem like a VERY long time ago even though it’s just four months later. Yes, it was all worth it. Italy is amazing and so are the people and France is like home for me. However, let’s just say that there was a lot of stuff to attend to after I got back home and it has been full steam ahead since June. An incredibly busy summer filled with tourists, coffee, bellydancing, and bocci ball.

Combined with teaching private lessons, my belly dance agenda this summer included: performances at The Central Okanagan Sailing Association’s annual Regatta in June, aboard a floating restaurant called the Cassabella Princess, at the Beach Blanket Film Festival in July, several bridal showers and wedding parties in August, the annual Festival of the Tomato in Oliver and Penticton Pagan Pride Day, both in September.

Friday, September 8, 2006

My fall session of group lessons started this week and is lots of fun with several new faces in the beginner classes. I’m looking forward to teaching the 2nd levels a drum solo choreography and of course hosting the Turkish Rom Workshop on the 23rd and letting loose at the Belly Dance Disco Party that same night. Who needs sleep?

Here are a few pics from the trip to enjoy!

Rome was hot, ancient and very hip all at once. This is me at St. Peters Square.

Michelangelo designed this cupola and all St. Peter’s Basilica. It was huge!

Ancient ruins at the Forum in Rome.

In Sorrento, we had a sea view and tasted the best lemons ever. These ones here are the giant kind - see the oranges behind.

Vernaza is the jewel of the Cinque Terra. This is the view from our isolated place which was 546 steps up through the village and mountain side to get to. It made me think twice about going in to town for coffee!

View from a medieval village of 14 people in the Chianti Region

A neighboring village in the Cinque Terre Region. You can day hike through all five villages on a nature reserve trail, high above the sea.

Just one example of the amazing sea food. If you’ve never had fresh anchovies, you haven’t lived!

In Vernaza the church bells ring all through the day. How nice to wake up to!

FLORENCE

I climbed up to Brunelleschi’s Dome to get to the outside of the cupola. (me, below)About 500 steps. It was worth the panoramic view of Florence though!

After all that climbing, I did not feel guilty eating this “snack”!

Yes, it’s the real David in l’Academia. And so very magnificent. Lee, my drummer was taller than any of the grumpy museum ladies insisting he not take pictures. David is positioned under a light filled dome .

I performed a few times in the streets of Florence. But this day, my drummer met some Egyptians who couldn’t believe a white guy could drum like that!