Big News: My choir is going to Italy next spring! I have been singing with this group for five or six years now, and they are such a fun bunch of people. We are taking a tour which includes Rome, Florence, Assisi, Montepulciano and San Gimignano (pictured). As a group, we decided we wanted to spend most of our time in small towns in the Tuscany region, but we are also making some short visits to the larger cities of Rome and Florence. We'll sing several masses in different churches along the way. It is going to be fun, fun, fun. Paul, my fabulous husband, consented to go on this trip with me even though he doesn't know the group very well. What a guy. I'm so lucky.

The best part -- I think -- is this: Anna has been invited to go along with the group as an au pair. There's another couple in the choir that want to take their children on the tour. Anna has been babysitting for this family for a couple of years and they have offered to take her so she can help out. Wowza! I never landed a babysitting job like that! I'm really happy for her, but I was telling her that she needs to study up on the region and history if she wants to get the most out of the trip. So if anybody knows of some good, entertaining books that include Roman or Italian history, let me know. I'm thinking of books like "In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel" by Sarah Dunant. It's a work of fiction set in old Rome and Venice. Books like that would keep her entertained, while teaching her something about the country. Suggestions?