A Dream of Success, with a Side of Cheese, Grapes, and Tomatoes.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you’re here.

Now, you may be wondering why I am here, and what Mediterranean & Me is all about.

As I write this, I’m remembering Meryl Streep in her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia, specifically the moment when she arrived outside her Parisian home, exclaiming upon entry, “It’s Versailles!”

Every time I watch that movie (and it’s a serious feel-good movie for me, so I’ll just say I watch it often), a huge grin spreads across my face at Streep’s reaction to her new home, as well as her admiration for the food at the restaurant where she and husband, Paul (the incomparable Stanley Tucci), discussed what she would do with her time, and her confession that she loved to eat. (Tucci’s exclamation, “You’re so good at it!” has me hugging the nearest pillow, stuffie, or child every. single. time. for the amount of love and humor delivered in that line.)

And the more times I watch the film, the more I appreciate the moment when Tucci wrote a letter to an old friend, describing Streep’s easy connection with native Parisians.

The film has become more important to me in recent months, not only because of my writing and dreams of success, but because I moved to Croatia late in 2020 with my family and have fingers…