Tomorrow I’m off to Italy!

And I’m actually getting more excited than nervous!

Maybe I won’t trip on the way to the podium.

Maybe I won’t fall off the podium (like I did in Denmark!).

Maybe I’ll be able to remember which faces go with which names.

I certainly hope so.

I’m doing my Wanting Mor presentation in two different places. At a conference in Bologne (site of the international Children’s book fair) and in Rimini at the Mare de Libri conference.

I bought a Frommer’s guide to Italy and boy was it useful!

I asked the organizers a lot of dumb questions like what was involved in terms of boarding the trains, and I think, I really do think, that they didn’t take me for a complete imbecile. Well, I hope so anyway.

I’ve been warned by my husband, by my parents, by my kids and by the Frommer’s guide to watch out for pickpockets.

Apparently a certain segment of the subway is even known locally as ‘pickpocket express’ or something like that. So I plan to take every precaution!

I’ll be staying just down the road from the colliseum on Thursday, then off to Bologne on Friday morning and then to Rimini later on.

I’ll catch you all when I get back, insha Allah!

Take care, and God bless!