thanksgiving break

Finally here! I am staying at the Grand Beach Hotel on Collins Ave, just like last time. 

My friend does not arrive until tomorrow, so I have the room to myself for now. 

Got about 1 hour of  sun before it went away, so now I am relaxing in my room.

Probably headed out later, maybe do some shopping. 

AH, FINALLY BREAK!!

sorgenfri

After a long week, it's nice to be able to cuddle up in bed with a book.

Tonight I have a hot date with Harry Hole, the character in Jo Nesbø's books. 

I have started reading in Norwegian, because it was scary how long it had been since I read in Norwegian.

Anyway, my Friday night is not super exciting, but I don't always need exciting. Besides, Harry Hole catching bad guys and solving murder mysteries is just the amount of exciting I need.

PS: Bedding is from Bed Bath and Beyond

Happy Weekend!

heaven on earth

This is my favorite garden, maybe apart from my own at home. But my garden at home does not have a beautiful olive tree or the most wonderful people, Elena and Bruno Viberti.

The garden is part of a small hotel in La Morra, Corte Gondina. It is run by the Viberti family, and can most sincerely be recommended to anyone. Not only does it have a pool, wonderful food, idyllic rooms and wonderful service, it also has the most peaceful garden. 

Sitting here with my coffe and Jo Nesbø, life is perfect. 

Worth a visit. Maybe I'll see you there. 

"war is not over when it's over"

 

This book by Ann Jones portrays the effects of war in different countries and how the war continues after the war is over. Jones went around to villages and refugee camps, giving out cameras to the women so they could take pictures. The pictures helped portray the destruction and the problems in the different communties. One recurring problem that seemed to be common everywhere was rape.

Jones shows us, through the pictures taken and her words how rape is not only a problem by war, but the other problems stemming from war causes increase in rape.

 

A sad, heartbreaking book about the brutal reality in so many countries.

Definately worth a read. 

"mighty be our powers"

I try to read as much as I can, and I'll read almost anything. I find inspiration anywhere. If I don't know what to read I go online and look: amazon, nytimes bestseller list, time, blogs. I also read about books in other books. When I find an interesting book I write it down on a list I keep. Recently, I downloaded a new book from that list. "Mighty be our powers" by Leymah Gbowee. At the time I had no idea who this woman was (maybe I'm ignorant or something), but if I remember correctly Sheryl Sandberg wrote about her in her book "Lean In." Anyways, I just finished it, and it's one of the best books I've read. What an incredible woman, and what an incredible journey she's been through. I got curious and googled her, then found out I should definitely know who she is. She won the Nobel Peace Prize!

This book has put me on a "womens rights, political activism, human rights" sort of path, and I will now be reading a book about another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.