On the Road with Anna Campbell: 2019 - Episode 2

Hi PJ! Hi Romance Dishers!

Back for another episode of On the Road with Anna Campbell. We last left our intrepid heroine halfway through her three weeks in Venice (you can read my first OTR post for 2019 here: https://www.theromancedish.com/2019/02/ ).

Our intrepid heroine was actually a bit of a naughty girl for those last 10 days or so in Italy. She was in town supposedly to edit The Highlander’s Lost Lady which is out at the end of April. But with the lure of so many beautiful places outside, she ended up being out more often than she was in. On the upside, she got some very nice photos!

As you can see, the weather continued glorious. It was even warm enough to sit outside and eat in the open air, which I certainly hadn’t expected to do in February. I walked for miles and got lost over and over. As PJ will tell you, that’s part of the fun of being in Venice.

I did a couple of museums, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/collections/index.html )which is full of wonderful modern art, and the Ca D’Oro (http://www.cadoro.org/?lang=en) which is full of medieval and renaissance pieces in the most spectacular palazzo. The picture of the Grand Canal from the colonnaded landing was taken from there.

I also caught up with a couple of friends and had a (very short) gondola ride across the Grand Canal. One of the highlights was a visit to the terrace of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/t-fondaco-rooftop-terrace)  with its panoramic views right across La Serenissima. You really do feel on top of the world there. If you’re planning a trip to Venice, I’d highly recommend doing this. It’s free but you have to book – they only give you 15 minutes up there!

The two pictures with the one of me in the gondola are from my last day in this beautiful city and are in the way of a promise to myself that I’ll get back there before too long. I shouted myself a rather extravagant lunch at a beautiful restaurant called Algiubaggio di Antonello. The moody picture next to it was my last shot from my last walk around the canals.

Venice continued to come up trumps for me the next day when I scored an upgrade on both legs of my flight to Dublin. This was just a quick visit to the fascinating capital of Ireland – I did a tour of Kilmainham Jail (http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/ )which has a tragic and dramatic history of convicts transported to Australia and the imprisonment of the heroes of the 1916 uprising, had a haircut, and did a lovely drive with a friend of mine, romance writer Abby Green (https://abby-green.com/), along the gorgeous sea coast not far from the city. The photo at the top of this column gives you an idea of both the scenery and the new coiffure!

Since then I’ve been settled in the lap of luxury at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre (http://www.tyroneguthrie.ie/) in Annaghmakerrig in Country Monaghan, up near the Northern Irish border. Because of my lack of achievement in Venice, I’ve had my head down but not so down that I haven’t taken a few nice photos in this gorgeous environment.

Tyrone Guthrie was an internationally renowned director, producer and writer from the 1920s through to the 1960s. After his death, he bequeathed his beautiful family estate to the Irish nation as a retreat for artists. I’ve been meeting the most amazing people here, painters and dancers and theatre types, and a whole stack of writers. Ireland seems to grow writers the way my lawn grows dandelions! I feel very lucky to be here.

I’m in the late Lady Guthrie’s room – which is definitely feeding into my fantasies of being the lady of the manor! Look at that lovely view from my desk out over the lake. If you look at the photo of the house, my room is upstairs on the far right-hand side above the main entrance. Very la-di-dah! The other pictures are from my walks along the lake where I go when I need to clear my head after spending all that time steaming up Scotland with my hero and heroine!

Check back next month for the next lot of adventures. I’ve got another two weeks here in Ireland, then I’m heading to Scotland. I’m visiting a new island, Bute, and also returning to the beautiful Isle of Eigg which many of you will remember from last year’s posts.

I’m finishing up with a photo that makes me smile. The day I went to Peggy Guggenheim, I walked for miles. It turns out Google maps are unreliable (to say the least!) amidst the twists and turns of Venice. Starving and dead tired, I stumbled into a restaurant called the Trattoria ai Cugnai. Very old and atmospheric and traditional, as you can see. And it turns out, the gondoliers’ choice for where to have lunch. I suspected I was in good hands—and I was.

I’ve got a download of the bestselling boxed set of my Dashing Widows stories to go to someone today. 

No geographical restrictions. Tell me about your favorite restaurant/café to be in the draw. Good luck and see you next month!