Doodlin' in Tuscany (accompanied by a cup of cappuccino)

My little travel companion is a thin cardboard case that contains several old book pages and a couple of fine point pens. I bring these wherever I go when I’m traveling, and I try to find time to make little doodle. I’ve been working on the same book for quite some time now, as I seem to only work on these book pages while traveling. I worked on a few of them in New Orleans this April. And this summer, I brought them to Tuscany and Amsterdam. My old friend, Isabelle from Switzerland, had a place to stay for free in Motepulciano in Tuscany from her home exchange deal. She invited her friend, Claire, and me to join her on this not-to-be-missed opportunity. (She calls it "organized by Isabelle's dream travel agency.") There we found ourselves cozily settled in the old Italian grandma-fashioned apartment with a Scottish ghost. Luckily, none of us encountered the resident ghost while we were there.

The favorite place for the coffee lovers – that’s Isabelle and Claire– was a café in the Piazza Grande, five minutes walk from our apartment. We went to this café often, because Isabelle and Claire needed a good espresso to function well for the rest of the day. I had my first taste of cappuccino after nearly ten years of not drinking coffee. (That was actually a big deal for me.) I remembered how difficult it was to order a cup of tea in Italy five years ago. People just didn't understand that concept. It was so much easier to just be able to say, “cappuccino.” Needless to say, I enjoyed drinking cappuccino and felt more “Italian.” (Changing diet to eating pasta and drinking wine everyday, why not add cappuccino in the morning to complete my sense of being “Italian”?)

Many of these doodles were done while sipping cappuccino in the morning or a glass of wine at lunch. As we didn’t have WiFi in our old apartment, we had to go to the Piazza to get WiFi for Isabelle and Claire to check emails. We usually lingered at the café, drinking espresso and cappuccino, contemplating what to do the rest of the day, and me doodlin’ while they were checking their iPhones. (Thank god I don't own a smartphone!)