Along the Amalfi Drive

Book excerpt: When Victoria Romano, an Italian-American woman, decides to move from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Amalfi, Italy with her dog Murphy and her cat Tiger, she intends to spend a placid, restful, salutary year doing absolutely nothing. Instead of dolce far niente, though, Victoria is seduced by the magic and lure of the Amalfi Drive, a land of sweet sun and mellow wine, Greek and Roman ruins, volcanic cliffs and flowering gardens, deep caves and miniature inlets, orange and olive groves, Russian dancers and cocktail parties, writers and artists, and amore.