Places to Visit: Toledo & Madrid

Hello all! I have returned from my visit to sunny Spain. 

It was, of course, amazing, despite some almost comical travel problems - at final count it took 1 delayed flight, 1 missed connection, 20 hours, 3 planes, 2 cabs, 2 buses and 1 train to get to Toledo. 

But it was worth it. If I was ever in the mood for tilting at windmills, Castilla-La Mancha would certainly be a beautiful place to do it. 

In addition to being just simply beautiful, the city also houses the Primate Cathedral of St. Mary of Toledo - one of the three thirteenth century Gothic cathedrals in Spain. 

It's gorgeously overwhelming. 

Though, if I'm being completely honest, those cherubs that are just heads and wings? They creep me out a bit. 

From here, it was off to Madrid, which now holds the distinction of being the first place I've ever seen flamenco or a public proposal. The first was amazing - graceful, sweeping arm movements paired with long, staccato bursts of footwork at an energy level I can't even comprehend - the second was pretty damn adorable. 

Plus, just looking at the palace all lit up at night is reason enough for the trip. 

I will say with all the sight seeing, my vacation reading time wasn't extensive. But that just means that the normal pre-book anticipation is building away and should make my State-side reading all the more fun. 

Also, I found that being stuck on a plane for hours to be conducive to writing daydreams. Meaning that I have work to get started on. 

Have a great weekend!!

Places to Visit: Nervous Nellie's

As mentioned last week, yesterday was National Camera Day, so I'm sharing some photos this morning. However, much more important that some amateur photography done by yours truly, I'm sharing a truly awesome place that you should check out if ever you have the chance.

It's called Nervous Nellie's Jams & Jellies.

Recently, I had the chance to visit Deer Isle, Maine, located just off the Blue Hill Peninsula in Penobscot Bay. The weather was absolutely beautiful, making every view look like a postcard. But I'm pretty sure that even in a total downpour it would have been gorgeous.

I was lucky enough to stop by during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the bridge that connects the island to the mainland. Walking across the bridge was a lot of fun, not to mention getting to dress up like a lobsterman.

But the real awesome began afterward, when my truly spectacular hosts took me away from the bustling crowds for some scones and jam. Really delicious scones and jam (my favorite was the cherry peach). Honestly, if that was all Nervous Nellie's had to offer, the stop still would have been an epic win, but thanks to the artwork of Peter Beerits, this place is definitely being added to my top ten list of favorite travel discoveries.

Beerits has created a sculpture village, Nellieville, through which I found it impossible to walk without being inspired to create stories for the all the different "people" I saw.

Was tempted to ask if they'd deal me in a hand. 

Despite that rather unsavory fellow in the bottom right corner.

Inspired by the Delta and really made me want to dance.

Not only do I think this establishment would always carry the necessities,

I feel confident that it should be the first stop of anyone looking

to get the latest gossip in Nellieville.

Found witches in the neighboring forest 

(not to mention a full medieval court).

The above confirmation that this town accepts the practice

of magic had me asking this lovely couple if I could move in.

Sadly for me, there appears to be quite a waiting list.

So, if you find yourself meandering up and down Maine's coast, make your way here and enjoy the feeling of inspiration. And don't forget to eat some jam. I won't got so far as to try to sway you on which jams. I trust you to make your own jam-based decisions.

But cherry peach was the best.

Audio Disconnect

As a kid there was very little I loved more than story time. Listening to someone relay tales of fascinating worlds and beloved characters was the epitome of magic. And as I've mentioned many a time I've pretty much always been a fan of out loud solo reading as well. Love hearing spoken dialogue. 

But something about audio books just throw me. I've listened to quite a few of them, and it's not exactly that I don't like them, I just don't feel the same connection to the story as when I'm reading. I get distracted by line delivery choices and the voices that the reader has decided to give each character. 

For instance, the other day I was road tripping it up and decided to slap the iPod on shuffle and let the music gods determine my travel soundtrack. This is something I highly recommend, especially for those of us who have some downloaded audio books. There's something oddly enjoyable about suddenly hearing one fifth of a random chapter in the middle of Ella Fitzgerald and B*Witched. 

Anyway, I've both listened to and read the book that I was getting tastes of, so I can say with confidence that I enjoy the story. But, during this I wasn't thinking, Man, I want to listen to this whole thing again. Instead I just kept wondering, Why do all the male characters have Batman voice? It's not like they were interrogating criminals. In the scene I got an excerpt from they were removing a roof. Impressive, sure. But not the sort of thing you generally need a secret identity for. Of course, maybe that's not it at all and they've all just been eating gravel during coffee breaks. Who can say?

The point is, the audio books I've tried thus far haven't given me quite the experience I look for. And I would like to change that, as occasionally my enthusiastic car ride scream singing gives me a bit of a rasp. And then I'm the one with Batman voice. 

To prevent any confusion in the streets of Gotham, it would be nice to break up my driving concerts with a good book. So, I'm coming to you. Suggestions for really well done audio books please! All genres welcome.