Ten Things I Remember from My Italy Tour
So why did I write a
book called An American Girl in Italy?? Because I was an American Girl in
Italy! I didn’t have a whirlwind romance like my main character, Carly Davis. I
was in high school-with chaperones- but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have the
time of my life! Here are the top ten things I remember from my trip.
#1. Gelato. I learned that word pretty quick. Oh man, it was
so good- rich and creamier than ice cream in all sorts of flavors. I remember
going to every gelato shop I could find and barley pronouncing the flavors.
Even if I had no idea what I was ordering, I knew I couldn’t go wrong.
#2. The Coliseum. Everyone had talked this up so much, I was
disappointed when I saw it for real. It was old and crumbly and gave off some
weird vibes. I can’t imagine how many people died there. This was not the
highlight of my trip. Maybe now that I’m older I could go back and appreciate
the history of it better than my teenage self.
#3. St. Peter’s
Basilica. This place was so grand, I couldn’t even fit enough of it in my
camera to encompass the awe- inspiring majesty. It was just plain gorgeous and
left me breathless.
#4. Michelangelo.
Yes, I did meet a guy named Michelangelo on my trip. But, he’s nothing like the
Michelangelo in my book. Actually, he was a shy teenage boy living in one of
the host families houses. We played air hockey and that was it. End of story.
#5. Barber’s Adagio. This is one of the pieces the orchestra
played. It’s written for strings, so the
winds have to sit and listen to the entire thing without playing. It is such a
gorgeous piece, I remember listening to the string play the swelling tones at
our last concert with tears running down my face. It was a culmination of the
entire trip, and the fact that it was over. Awesome moment.
#6. The death mask of Giuseppe Verdi- 1813-1901. So Verdi
was a composer, and we visited his house in St. Agata . Inside they had this
stone death mask, the impression taken from his face at the time of his death. A
few of his hairs had been lodged in the clay. You could still see them in the
mask. So, this is what a teenage girl remembers when she visits Italy. Hmmmm…..
#7. The strange looking shells on the Mediterranean Sea. So we spent one day at the beach. I remember
collecting these strange swirly shells I’d never seen before- at least not on
the coast of NH. Made me think of the different marine life that must inhabit
the Mediterranean Sea. I think my mom still has the shells in my room in some
shoe box somewhere.
#8. One of my host families giving my cakes and cookies for
breakfast. There was this gigantic plate of pastries, cookies, and éclairs on
the table. I remember the Italian mom saying- please eat, EAT! She didn’t
understand why I could only eat one or two of them! I remember thinking- is
this how everyone eats breakfast? If so, then, I’d like to stay, thank you very
much!
#9. David Commanday- my orchestra conductor who has since
moved on to become a famous conductor around the world. I remember sitting
around a table in a garden and asking him if he enjoyed the movie Amadeus. It was probably the only time
I’d ever had the courage to speak to him directly.
#10. The beauty of the countryside. All of
Carly’s descriptions in An American Girl in Italy are from my own memories of
the trip. Pick up your copy and to see what I’m talking about today!
An Italian paradise is the last thing she wants… but the one thing she needs!
Surely any girl would kill for the chance to tour Italy’s most famous cities for the summer? To experience the warmth of the Tuscan sun, the culinary delights of the pizzerias and caffés and to stroll along the cobbled streets of the City of Love itself…
Any girl apart from ambitious oboist Carly Davis that is! For her, the Easthampton Civic Symphony’s latest European tour is one massive inconvenience. She can’t even put her smartphone down long enough to snap a picture of the Coliseum.
Only, there’s one Italian attraction that Carly hadn’t quite expected to be a part of the tourist route…
Tour guide Michelangelo is as dark and delicious as Carly’s morning espresso. And when she needs a few lessons in the language of love to land her an important gig, he’s a more than capable tutor.
But with her promising career back in Boston, can Carly really afford to lose her heart in Italy?
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Aubrie Dionne is an
author and flutist in New England. Her books have received the highest ratings
from Romance Times Magazine and BTS Magazine, as well as Night Owl Reviews and
Two Lips Reviews. She has guest blogged on the USA Today Happy Ever After Blog
and the Dear Teen Me blog and signed books at the Boston Book Festival, Barnes
and Noble, and the Romance Writers of America conference. Her books are
published by HarperImpulse, Entangled Publishing, Astraea Press, Spencer Hill
Press, Inkspell Publishing, and Lyrical Press. When she's not writing, Aubrie
teaches flute and plays in orchestras.
Adrienne Thompson's blog with an excerpt from Chapter Six
Today's Reborn tidbit: During
my revisions and edits, I delved further into the world of the Kingdom of Amora
and its people and culture. One of the things I added were slang terms. Yssa
and other people from the Island of Guntas use the term “golden” as their form
of “cool.” It is an older term that was popular in the City of Amora twenty
years ago. The current teens of Amora use the newer term “maj,” which stands
for “majestic.”
The authors of Untethered
Realms and I are giving away over $50 worth of books to one lucky winner. The
giveaway is open internationally.
