Tropical...I LOVED Club Med as a kid!!! The instructors were fabulous and oh so friendly! I learned to surf,wind sail,kayak and para sail. I wish we could afford to take our kids. It was so carefree not having to deal with money and just go and do stuff. The food was amazing and eating in a big ole open buffet meeting people from around the world was so different than the US. Everyone chatted as best they could with each other. This was back in the early 90's so you'll want to ask around and find out if it's still as good as it was.

I apologizes if I have been a little rude, may be, I should have written "I have to dissent" Instead of " I must", but the fact is, that I know badly one language, my own (Italian) and I know a few words of another one (English) besides I forgot to say that, when I read The da Vinci Code, I, like Cindy, enjoied it , but it was clear to me that....ok Cindy has already said the same thing I want to say it was a page turner for me. I think it was towards the end when things got too convuluted that I screamed 'enough'. I was surprised that it took such a hold. And very surprised how many people read this as non fiction. Anyway I want also back Woodnynph2 advice about Tim Parks, he is a really good judge of Italian behaviour, I've only read his non fiction books, because his novels are a little too intelectual for my poor education grelobe p.s. of course one Brown's book...is enough Here is a link that might be useful: Tim Parks non fiction books and other

I started summer getaway trips to Sanibel then Captiva on the Gulf coast of Florida with my daughter and her BFF when they were about 12. It became a treasured annual girls' getaway and over the years I also invited my sisters, then eventually my DIL joined us. I loved that place so much! It was like stepping out of the world for a little while; TPTB have deliberately kept it lowkey, no high rises and not even a stop light on the islands. Every trip meant staying somewhere on the ocean spending lazy sunny days relaxing pool or beach-side then cleaning up for a nice dinner out, lots of reading and watching trash tv :). Lather, rinse and repeat for a heavenly week every July or August and sometimes a quick trip over at some other month if I could do it. I even went solo a few times just to decompress from work and life stress. As my husband and I got closer to retirement age he actually asked if I wanted to buy a place over there, but it didn't make sense because he had zero interest in that area; there's no reef and no diving to speak of. Our family wasn't close so we'd have pulled up stakes to go live somewhere all by ourselves and that didn't appeal either. But. It got us thinking, which led to the fateful question he asked me a few years ago "what about the Florida Keys?". That turned out to be the perfect mix: he got his diving, I got my beautiful house on the water and we both got a place that has hosted lots of family fun and holiday memories. We are close to both families including aging parents and that is part of our equation as well. So even though I didn't end up getting to live in the place I love to vacation, I got something even better and I'm happy every single day. The only casualty has been that I've not been back to Sanibel/Captiva since!

I was going to warn you that Scotland from Italy in the summer would be a chilly shock and a separate wardrobe. When my spouse had a project in Newcastle, we ventured into Scotland from time to time, from Edinburough to Glascow and up into the Highlands. The Berner Oberland and if you like mountains, heading up into the Jungfrau is spectacular. Staying along the system of cog railways, cable cars and the like is a unique alpine experience I was an expat for a while in Lausanne and there is lots to see and do in that area as well, and into the Valais. If you end in Torino, you could end into Liguria and up into the Cote d'Azur and Provence. It is heading into lavender season (and peak tourist season, though). It can be blazing hot in some of these inland areas, like around Nimes and Avignon with the coast being more moderate. If you are interested in Greece, the islands do tend to stay a bit cooler than some of the more inland areas. There are so many to choose from, and the ferries are a nice way to island hop without a structured cruise.