A Beach Pedi And A Tiger

Coco Blue by Chanel pedi
 

I am back from my beach vacation, we got back Sunday night already. It seems incredible that only a few days ago I was with my feet in the soft sand of Bavaro beach in the Dominican Republic. What can I say? We had great weather, I got a nice tan, the beach was just gorgeous and we loved the resort. The only negative note has to be the (unusual) presence of mosquitos that left me scratching my legs for days.
Every beach vacation is a bit different from the previous one and a bit of the same and if I had to name the most important thing that makes a beach vacation memorable to me I would say a good book. I tend to remember or date each vacation by the books that I read, that's why choosing a good book to put in my suitcase is as important to me as choosing the clothing (for example last year was the year when I read "Freedom" by Jonathan Frazer).

Well, I was in a bit of a panic this year: usually when buying a book to take on vacation I pick from a list that I already made up in my mind but this year I had no clue so I went to the bookstore literally hoping that a book would jump at me with the promise of an engrossing read that I would not regret once on a beach. While I typically want to take advantage of a vacation to read books that challenge a bit my imagination and that I normally wouldn't read at home, for lack of concentration, I don't do very well with the too unfamiliar, either in the past or geographically, I tend to read contemporary stories set in the Western world (for example I could never read "The kite runner"). So it was a bit of a gamble when a little voice pushed me to buy "Life of Pi", a book that in the past had never picked my interest despite the high praises. Maybe seeing the images from the Ang Lee movie made the book more relatable to me even if I normally don't go for castaway tales, especially if they involve the presence of tigers. But 7 million readers can't be wrong.

I am so glad that I picked this book, this is a book that everybody should read, it brought tears to my eyes. Of course the Caribbean sea was the perfect background to read a story like this one but it really is one of the greatest stories that human imagination could come up with. And the author voice made the life of Pi in India, pre-castaway, so vivid that I thought I was a friend of the family. This is probably the reason I could go through it: the first part of the book, describing the life of Pi and his family in India, lasts 100 pages or so and by the time Pi is in the middle of the Ocean you know the character very well and you. It wouldn't have worked for me if it had started "in medias res" and proceeded by flashbacks, I would probably have abandoned. Now I can't wait to see the movie!

Anyway, the book and the vacation are over, I am back to my routine even if my daughter is still on Spring Break and I have to keep her busy and take her to playdates around town. I was a bit bummed to see the JCrew promo when I came back because it catapulted me in my habit of the checking the website and making a list and going to the store a little too soon (this time I didn't check my emails at all during the whole vacation and it was very relaxing). But on  a positive note I have new pictures to share with you soon (after the laundry, that vacation nemesis, is done). Stay tuned!

Have you read Life of Pi? Watched the movie?

ps: I have a new friend at school who works for Chanel and before I left she gave me a few nail polishes, including the Coco Blue one that you can see on my sandy feet above. I really liked this color for a beach pedi, a nice change from orange and gold.