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Musings on matters spiritual, sexual, political, philosophical,
scientific, and artistic...
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
Bon Voyage!
I’ve been dreadfully remiss in the
upkeep of my blog. Once school let out, I became a slave to my daughter’s schedule: swim team, tennis team, voice, piano,
and guitar lessons, trips to the library and the mall, and Scrabble, Wizard and Rummy-O marathons (with my mother) all of
which cut into my writing time, but I tell myself it won’t be this way forever and I cherish her desire for my companionship.
On 13 July, my daughter, Tirsa, and
I are going to Europe.
I was about her age when I went for the first time and I hope it shapes her life in the same way it did mine. I wasn’t conscious
at the time of the impact it had, but looking back I can see that it expanded my sense of the world, and gave me sensory input
that I continued to draw upon for years to come. It also engendered a desire to learn French and to return periodically to
speak it with the natives. This will be my fourth trip to Europe and I prepared by attending a conversation
group for the past year. Tirsa has already begun to learn French in school so I’m eager for her to catch up with me so we
can converse together.
Below is our itinerary. I probably
will not update this blog until after our return when Tirsa is ensconced in camp for a week and I can catch up on all my work.
A bientot!
GERMANY,
ALEMANIA, ALLEMAGNE
1.
Munich: Monday
14 July
Munich: Tuesday 15 July
somewhere in here is a visit to Dachau
2.
Heidelburg: Wednesday 16 July
Heidelburg: Thursday 17 July
somewhere
in here is a boat trip down the Neckar Valley
FRANCE, FRANCIA,
FRANCE
- Paris: Friday 18 July
Paris: Saturday 19 July
Paris: Sunday 20 July
Paris: Monday 21 July
- Nice: Tuesday 21 July
Nice: Wednesday 22 July
- Provence: Thursday 23 July
Provence:
Friday 24 July
SPAIN,
ESPAÑA, ESPAGNE
- Barcelona: Saturday 24 July
Barcelona:
Sunday 25 July
somewhere in here is a trip to Toledo
- Madrid: Monday 26 July
Madrid:
Tuesday 27 July
Madrid: Wednesday 28 July
Madrid:
Friday 29 July
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2008.07.01 |
2008.05.01 |
2008.04.01 |
2008.03.01 |
2008.02.01
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Karen de
Balbian Verster is the author of Boob, A Story of Sex,
Cancer & Stupidity. Anne Tyler read an excerpt
of Boob and wrote, “‘Mother’s Day’ made me laugh out loud.”
Another excerpt, “Tabula Rasa,” appeared in The Breast: An Anthology
and Publishers Weekly called it a “fluid, moving story.” (Select Book
Excerpt #1 to read the first chapter.) She is currently working on two novels:
Desperately
Seeking Dutch (select Book Excerpt #2 to read the first
chapter) and WYSIWYG (select Book Excerpt #3 to read the first chapter).
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PUBLICATIONS
& AWARDS
Karen deBV’s
essay, “Anne Frank Redux,” will appear in the anthology, Writers and Their Notebooks, to be published Spring 2009 by the
University of South
Carolina Press.
“The Bad Seed,”
an excerpt from Karen deBV’s second novel, Desperately
Seeking Dutch, won Honorable Mention in UNO’s Third Annual Writing Contest.
6TH ANNUAL
BREAST CANCER BENEFIT
Sunday,
September 28, noon-3pm
Delaware Water Gap Country Club
Karen
deBV is the featured speaker at this intimate and energetic fundraiser luncheon where copies of her novel, Boob, a Story of Sex, Cancer & Stupidity will be available for sale as well as in the delightfully diverse
Chinese auction.
Love Lies and the Unknown
Life of Mata Hari:
FEMME FATALE
Jan
Francois Leopold de Balbian Verster (b.1861), older brother of Karen deBV’s great grandfather, Abraham Henricus de Balbian
Verster (b.1866) is the J. T. Z. de Balbian Verster who is described as the friend who brought together via a newspaper ad
Mata Hari and her husband, Rudolf MacLeod (beginning on p. 37) in the wonderful biography of Mata Hari written by Pat Shipman.
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