Some of you correctly guessed the country, but can you guess the town/region? Here are more photos. The poems are clues too. Later in the week, I’ll reveal the name of our hotel, which is, now, our new favorite hotel on earth. We decided today that we must come back here every year. But more on that later.
Today, the owners of this exquisite hotel took us out for a ride on their vintage, wood-hulled speedboat.
We toured the coastline:
Then we pulled up to a dock and walked barefoot up a ramp and into an open-air restaurant that served food that was so fresh that I believe the crustaceans actually snuck up the ramp after us and leapt into the cooking pots. We ate and ate and ate. Then we motored back. That’s the back of Denis’s big head. Where he keeps the giant brain.
Okay, here’s a final, very telling photo. And a poem, which contains a clue.
The Mermaid Poem
by William Butler Yeats
A mermaid found a swimming lad,
Picked him for her own,
Pressed her body to his body,
Laughed; and plunging down
Forgot in cruel happiness
That even lovers drown.
Capri!!! (?)
I am sticking with my Isle of Capri guess that I posted already. I just can not grasp the hints in the poems, why can’t I get poety, what is my problem.
Well – THE Mermaid is in Copenhagen, and I don’t think you are there!
Looks like Mexico, and Italy….
But in reality it doesn’t matter as long as you are all having a wonderful time!
Be safe and have fun!
Maybe the island of Capri? It looks like the Sorrento/Amalfi region but not as populated. Looks warm, lazy and wonderful. Look at the color of the water. wow.
Ann, I am guessing Italy as well, more specifically:
Vicenza, a city in northern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately 60 km west of Venice and 200 km east of Milan. As of 2007, Vicenza had an estimated population of 119,038. [1] Vicenza is the third-largest Italian industrial city as measured by the value of its exports.
So my question is if I get this right can I vacation in your Kitchen? Amidst the sunflowers?
Are you in the Latium region? Specifically Tivoli?
The flag on the boat tells me you are in Italy!
Maybe the Isle of Capri???
Could it be Naples?
I hope you don’t have a limit on guesses!
Hi Ann,
I too can’t believe you are taking the time to blog from such a divine looking spot. My guess is
you are in Capri, Italy.
Have fun!!!
Kathy C
The island of Malta in Italy!!!
????
I think the flag on the boat is an Italian flag, no?
This is a fun virtual scavenger hunt!!!
hmmmm………
Thanks for taking time for us and making a game for us!
Enjoy your trip!!!
Ann,
Snuck a peak of the flag at the back of the speedboat. Italy! Enjoy!
Christine
Are you taking Holiday in Positano Italy?
Ahhhhhhhh Amalfi. I LOVE the Amalfi coast – I just don’t like to drive it! Are you staying in Positano? That’s one of the best places on earth.
It also looks like you visited the Esmeralda Grotto – or the Blue Grotto.
Brava!
Isn’t that an Italian flag behind the big brain?
Looks like Italy to me, Florence? Lake region? have fun you two!!!
Bev
I’m guessing Greece….wherever it is, it looks beautiful and relaxing 1
Okay—I’m changing my mind—I think the flag on the boat is the flag of Italy….I looked up the poet Piutti…she is from Vicenza…maybe you are in her neighborhood??
It’s either Positano or (the favourite) Capri. Seems like so long since I’ve been to either, they are blurring in my memory. Enjoy!
Ann,
Thanks for posting while on vacation, I’m at the library,so I ‘m a little confused as to what’s going on.
I’m assuming you are in Italy(I think that’s the Italian Flag in the Pic with Denis’s brain container. The poem…Hmmm Lovers? be the clue?
Romeo & Juliet? Verona? Iam clueless just grasping at straws…The weather here is AWFUL, rain for the rest of the week and temps in the 50′s.
Have a great time…
Rose Ward
Blue Grotto, Ravello, Capri, ITALY! The best!
I’m guessing Italy somewhere….I think I am going with Capri as well….I am so jealous…The eating and Italian flag gave me a clue…..If there one place on earth I have to go before I kick the bucket…it is Italy…I am 100% Irish..but wish deep down inside I was Italian (don’t tell Denis )…their culture…food…entire outlook in life is just warm…if that is even undertandable..lol…It is just that the Italian culture is so welcoming and all about being comfortable and warm..ok enough of my ramblings…Enjoy…Slainte…I mean Ciao!
Gasp. GORGEOUS. Like others, I can tell by the flag you’re in Italy. With scenery like that, who cares the name of the city…a glass of wine and a beloved partner….Heaven no matter the name of the town!
Enjoy!
I’m going with Italy also, because of the flag. Where ever it is, it looks amazing! I won’t say, “Enjoy!” because, duh.
I’m so happy you decided to spend your holidays in Italy!!! Eat everything you can and enjoy yourself! God bless you!
Ps:While you are here, why don’t you come in Sunny Sicily? It’d be wonderful! Our dishes are delicious too, “Pasta con le sarde” “Parmigiana di melanzane” “Cannoli” “Cassata”…. We wait for you with open arms!
Last dumb guess
the wonderful wild cliffs below Fira, Santorini.
I mean, the cliffs. But I shall wait.. and I shall find out…how much I do not know.
Great seafood, huh?.
Also, the sun does not burn the same way it does in North America. Gentle, like it is in Mexico. Then again, with global warming, things may have changed. Did you take enough sunscreen? They have 85 (whatever) level now at Walgreens!.
Enjoy
Amalfi? Breathtaking photos. love,love, love it! enjoy! You are truly blessed. ps/ you look pretty in the picture., great head reference. lol for dl., hysterical.
Ok, so I was wrong w/ Greece, & now have to copy everyone w/ Italy. No clue where in Italy though.
Love the comment on Denis’s big head! lolol Wondering how his pale Irish skin is faring after a day spent in the sun on the water, ouch! Is he like most men, refusing to wear sun screen?
Looks absolutely gorgeous wherever the heck it is, I want to be there RIGHT NOW! I’m drooling w/ envy.
Ann; you always look fabulous stop playing yourself down. Looks like a magnificent locale!!!
Its not Sicily is it?
Barb, did you get my email yesterday about the Blogapalooza on Sun? Just wanted to be sure I had the right email address. Email me @ [email protected] so I know you got it. I want to give you Kristin’s & my cell #’s in case there’s a problem.
Kristin’s supposed to post the detials, but we’re meeting @ a cafe near NYU @ 11 am this Sunday if anyone else can make it. That includes you gentlemen too! If I don’t see her post the details by tomorrow, I’ll post them. I’m sure she’s busy getting ready for her trip.
Hope some others can join us!
Any questions, email me @ the above address.
Well,
We are all guessing…shall be interesting to learn. And in case the beauty of the place has gotten to you, please remember that Italy has the best leather goods you can imagine, that they have been craftsmen for centuries and that they know their stuff. That they can combine colors, and designs in a way that leaves you breathless, and do not forget the SHOES!!!. They have lovely shoes, even for a guy. They also have nice clothing for men, BUT if I remember correctly, I had troubles with all of the shirts I got for my then ‘him’ as they had tucks to emphasize the waistline, and that was not DONE in the USA, a Nuclear Power Plant, no less… in Vermont, no less. So all my shopping and it was not worn. Whatever, it is past.
Back to the shoes.
They also have the gyzmos that Mark can wear on his head, of nice soft pliable leather, forget the name, but it is a harness like, a delicate one.
And luggage!!
And I know that your girl is in college and she probably could not care less for fancy stuff (as nobody wears ‘thaaat’, but they have nice backpacks and weekend luggage.
Okay, just send me shopping on your behalf, I think that is what I am getting to.
Enough for now..
I am very impressed with my fellow readers’ detective skills.
I was thinking Spain, Italy or Greece, but couldn’t narrow it down.
The pictures are beautiful and it sounds like you’re having an amazing time. Thanks for thinking of little ol’ us in the midst of all THAT!
I like Mary L’s idea of vacationing in your kitchen. Hey, we’d probably even cook something for you, right Mary??
Ok, definitely Italy. Could be Capri, but from your hotel balcony, it doesn’t look like the Quisisana, or the Punta Tragara, furniture is too rustic. (if it is, don’t miss the segia via in Ana Capri for the amazing views!) (ok, now that I look at the pictures of the port, it is definitely Capri, but I have already written the rest of this post and if you decide to travel down the coast, you may want the advice!) And did you swim through the grotto verde?? and swim at the marina piccola and have yummy fish lunch there?? Ah, it is a magical place. Super romantic and the scene of many loves!
So, could be Positano, and the Syranuse, and if it is, say hello to Anna Sarsala, and old friend I met with Nicoletta Pucci. If it is the San Pietro, you must take pictures of the famous bath tub and its unique plumbing for your blog!! (and I hope the boat captain pointed out Sophia Loren’s house, amazing, and the little Island that Nureyev used to own, and have raving parties on!)
If it is Ravello, I do hope it is the Hotel Caruso, where I stayed last fall, fantastic, as is the Palazzo Sasso next door.
Lastly, and I am stretching here, but you did mention mermaids although the town in where the sirens lived, it could be Taormina and you are at the convent???? We would stay at the Saint Andrea with the Italian mafia families, but your pictures look higher than that, so maybe the Carlotta??
In any event, and if it is Italy, I am going to be upset that you didn’t ask for advice or recommendations!! (kidding!!) you can take a car or bus to Vietri sul Mare, and visit with Giovanna Solimene at her family’s ceramic factory and have some dishes made! This is where I have been designing and having mine made for (ulp!) 20 years! (now I feel old, but I was just 19 the first time I went!)
in any event, buon viaggio!!! baci di Connecticut
Your not going to believe this……….I was watching Matt Lauer this morning and he was doing an interview where photos were being shown and behind the individual he was interviewing was a photo shot EXACTLY as Photo Number 5. Geez – how frustrating.
Marcia,, you bet, not only cook but happy to clean up after as well.
Ylenia,, this is your stomping ground,, helps us bloggers out,, where is this in Italy???
Ann – next clue please? big head optional.
Really looks like Taormina!!!!!!!!!
It’s gotta be the Hotel Splendido in Positano.
I am amazed @ my fellow bloggers knowledge of Italy! Boy do I feel like a big dummy! lololol Oh well, I’m just glad to be along for your vacation, & look forward to more clues, & vacationing vicariously through you!
Mary & Marcia, I like the idea of vacationing in Ann’s kitchen. We could have the most wonderful welcome home meal waiting for Ann & Denis!
More pics please, just so we can all enjoy the vacation as well. Pics of you w/ the big brain in a beautiful setting would be nice too.
Looks like Capri. My daughter went a few years ago on a school trip. After that, she was ready to move there when she becomes rich and/or famous. Whereever you are, it looks beautiful. Enjoy it for all the cubicle-dwellers living vicariously, please.
PS – Our other daughter’s middle name is Yeats because my husband loves WB’s poems.
I am going to guess you are in Campania, Italy on the Amalfi coast in the small town of Positano. We are going there next year for our anniversary, so I am excited to see all of your photos and hear all about your trip (if that is where you are!). Have a wonderful vacation!
Hi Ann,
I am recruiting my cousin Wendy who lived in Italy for two years to enter and guess the locale.
… in the meantime, I know that boat’s trademark and it is called a Riva. Great history to these boats and well…many of the very glamorous people on earth have cruised around in them including you!… Viva Italia!
Not Positano! Portofino!
Totally off topic, but for all of you RM fans, Adam Ferrara has a new Comedy Central special premiering this Friday, 6/12 @ 11 pm Eastern time. He’s also doing a standup tour. The dates are on his facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1066772288&ref=name#/AdamFerrara?ref=s
And also on his web site: http://www.adamferrara.com/2009/index.htm
His standup is fantastic. I can’t wait till he comes to Philly in Sept!
I was soooooo wrong with Santa Barbara…
Beautiful pictures, Ann. I can’t wait for you to share more with us.
Given where you are, I think YOU’RE the one getting warmer in that lovely location. Ciao, bella!
The more I look, the more I think its Capri. I think the bloggers are EXCELLENT guessers!!!!
Tracy:
You are going to post all of the goings on for this weekend, right?. You see, some of us have a stuffy nose, itchy inner ears, watery eyes and are NOT going anywhere, and it is going to help to continue learning what you guys are up to and doing.The more photos, the better!.
Ann is telling us their whereabouts, and is that fantastique or what?. Yes it is…. Being from that ‘general’ area (Spain), looking at the photos makes me homesick, yet, I get homesick for Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Vermont, New York, New Hamshire and anywhere in California. You could say I am a complete ‘hybrid’ and I ‘bond’ with just about anywhere I have been in.
I wonder if Ann and Denis got to see the domes of the large cathedrals…and stuff. They were built a long long time ago. Also, what are they going to do in they find another Lulu in a shelter????
Also whether they had a chance to meet with Ylenia, and whether they would purchase some land there too!. My imagination is getting the best of me.
Tell/share all about this weekend. Looking forward!!! to photos, and stories and what SHOES you wore. Enjoying your post. You have as much enthusiasm for this blog as I do. Have got to be one to know one. Something like that.
Lupe
To all:
To share that I have the BEST photo of Nureyev in the buff that I could have EVER dreamed of. That is beauty personified (not a RM lingo in this case). He is/was georgeous, and so well put together!. And I probably could not post it here… but I could email it to Ann… and the second I get my hot little hands on a decent printer, I am doing it! and he is going up. No pun intended. I found it on a Russian online publication.. as the Russian peoples are more open minded than we are in that sense, by far.
By the way, his name came about because maybe he was the famous person you resided in the largest of the three islands that Ann was talking about..