We were drawn to the Amalfi Coast by our friend Ginny Talucci who declared about three years ago that she was celebrating her sixtieth birthday at an Italian restaurant between Sorrento and Positano. 14 of her firends joined her there for a wonderful dinner at Don Alfonso 1890 -- a spectacular restaurant.

Ravello was a wonderful hillside town with an amazing 11th century castle owned by the Rufalo family until it was donated to the state. It now houses wonderful gardens that overlook the Amalfi Coast. I'm sure this will turn up as a location in my next vampire book, ONE WITH THE SHADOWS.

We visited Pompei and saw some wonderful ruins. It's huge!

click here for more pictures on Harry's site from this trip

Herculaneum is another city destroyed by Vesuvius. I found it even more interesting than Pompei because it is better perserved and not so large. It exists right in the middle of a modern town, which you can see (along with Vesuvius in the background) in some of the pictures. It can't be completely excavated because much of it is under modern buildings. It was a seacoast port at the time of the eruption, and many bodies were found at the docks where people were trying to escape.

We stayed for seven nights in Siena, a marvelous Medieval town. From there we cruised the hills of Tuscany on wine tours for Chianti and Brunello, and bused into Florence for art and a taste of the Rennaisannce. The oldest known bank sat in my favorite square in Siena. This was also the site of Il Campo, a marvelous piazza lined with restaurants where we sat and watched the people go by as we sipped Lemoncello until midnight. Florence was the site of Michaelangelo's statue of David--truly magnificent and sure to play a big role in my next book. Of note is that at the church of San Domenico, there is the (semi) preserved head of St. Catherine on display. Half religious relic, half horror movie. Interesting to say the least.

Rome was all about the Colliseum and the Vatican for us. I am a big fan of the movie GLADIATOR, so a visit to the Colliseum was a must. And we hired a private tour guide for the Vatican. There is so much there to see I think you would get lost in detail and not sort out the most important things without a guide. This picture of the walled garden, is the garden Harry used in his next book, called THE GNOSTIC FORMULA, as a secret meeting place. It's secret all right. It isn't on the regular tour but Harry managed to talk the Swiss Guards into letting us visit.

Click here for Harry's photo gallery on his adjoining site for more pictures!