How a romantic trip to Sorrento... Can become important research!

Breakfast on the Terrazzo

It's no secret that I love to travel, but when you're an author, any trip can become a great way to research your next book... Or so I discovered on a romantic getaway this weekend to Sorrento with my DH! I love Italy, it's a place I've visited often (especially since meeting my DH who is of Italian descent), but I've never been to the Amalfi coast. What had I been thinking???

Turns out in March, with the sun not as scorching as the summer months, the air crisp and clear and the tourist traffic at a minimum, Sorrento is an absolute joy. The ornate palladian palaces clinging to the cliffs contrasting with the rabbit warren of cobblestoned streets in the town's historic quarter and the intimate little family run trattorias and pizzerias frequented by locals when you get away from the Piazza Tasso. We stayed in a little but luxurious BnB on the main drag with views of orange orchards and the scooters weaving out of traffic.

Pompeii selfie.. with my hero!

A trip to Capri on the hydro foil introduced us to hilltop villas where a hero could definitely have an amazing pad... I could see him there, his estate opening out from the narrow alley way that winds through the houses and terraces carved into the mountain side. Italian American maybe? Trying to get back to his roots after a rootless childhood? And could my heroine be a tourist? Or a classics graduate doing guided walking tours of Pompeii, the ancient city's mysteries fascinating her...? Until she meets a man who fascinates her even more?? Have no idea for a story yet, or even an opening hook, but Spring on the Amalfi Coast is looking like a very promising location already!! Maybe I could even make this trip tax deductible.