A perfect fall day.  Temps are in the mid-50s, the sky is spotless blue, and there is still enough foliage on the trees to tint the landscape red and gold.

The kids are out of school and we went kicking down the leaf-covered sidewalks to buy ice cream cones and celebrate good report cards.  I stopped in a bookstore and picked up a pocket map of Rome as well as a lavishly illustrated guide book.

Tomorrow we fly out of Zanventem to Italy. We're renting an apartment in the center of Rome. I'm packing long sleeve t-shirts and jeans for the mild temps we expect during our visit, as well as my favorite leather jacket and my first ever cashmere sweater--because we all know weather.com lies. Since I wore out my favorite black boots tramping all over Europe,  I have a new pair of Eastland oxfords to pad my feet on this trip. I'm bringing the laptop and hope to post during the trip if I can find an Internet connection.  If not, delve into the archives. The By Topic archive lets you fine tune your search for something interesting.

To all my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the turkey and a slice of apple pie for me and remember, always make your cranberry sauce from scratch, don't put giblets in the gravy, add garlic to the mashed potatoes, and don't let marshmallows touch those sweet potatoes.

Virtually yours,

V-Grrrl