Boone, NC (i took this pic with my new camera!)Rafa and I are just back from a wonderful long weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. The weekend was just perfect: filled with friends, food, activities, simply gorgeous surroundings, and Rafa really came into his own as a mountain dog! Our days were spent hiking, eating, playing games, painting, doing yoga, and reading (just writing that makes me want to go back). Though the hikes were challenging and the game competition fierce, it was really the reading that caused the most hostility during the trip.
Specifically, it was the book that I am reading called "Eat. Pray. Love." that caused all of my travel companions to get all up in arms. Apparently, they have something against self-discovery and contentment. I have to admit that I, too, was skeptical about reading this book. You may not know this about me, given my pedestrian movie tastes, but I am kind of a cultural snob. I have avoided the Da Vinci Code like the freaking plague and if there is a book you don't want me to ever read...just go ahead and put that Oprah's book club sticker on it and consider it done.
One Sunday, a couple of weeks ago, I was strolling around Border's looking for something new to read and EPL was prominently displayed on one of the front tables. So I picked it up and read the back and decided to give it a go. Here I should probably admit that Julia Roberts is currently filming the movie version of EPL and this played a not insignificant role in my decision.
Anyway, the book is about a woman whose life falls apart and who then decides to travel the world looking to explore the concepts of happiness, spirituality, and balance. I tore through the section on Italy where she described, in salivating detail, all the meals and pleasure she experienced there. Next, we were off to India to spend 4 months in an Ashram. This part was, admittedly, less up my alley. Not sure I am into all that deprivation and chanting.
I am now onto Bali and hoping that this section brings the book to a close on a high note. Spoiler alert: I already know she falls in love and it has a true-life, it could happen to you fairy tale ending...also a factor in my decision to read the book.
I will report back just as soon as I am finished.
