Cappuccino Per Favore
A Life Journey, A Travel Odyssey, and an Invitation to be Inspired, Uplifted, & Entertained
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In 2008, at the height of the U.S. housing crisis, and just when novice real estate investor Mary Lehman thought things couldn’t get any worse... they didn’t! Instead, she parlayed her financial woes and failed investments into a fascinating adventure, fulfilling her lifelong dream to travel.
No stranger to difficult times, Mary grew up working long hours on her family’s backbreaking mid-western fruit farm while steering clear of her irascible father, only to end up a pregnant teenage army bride with an abusive husband. Single again and with a young son, Mary returned to college believing it would make a difference. Yet, her journey to better her life continued at a slow pace until she ultimately landed a dream job in the Florida Key’s hot real estate industry. There she experienced a level of success beyond anything she had ever imagined, only to watch everything she had worked so hard to build vanish practically overnight. Fighting back against the depression that threatened to consume her, she cashed out what little she had left in savings and set out on a three-month trip to Europe. |
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Cappuccino Per Favore tells the story of that uplifting, life-affirming journey. Part memoir, part travelogue, part celebration, it is, first and foremost, a love story. Not for another person but for a magical place, northern Italy’s incomparable Treasure Mountain with its breathtaking vistas, challenging hiking trails, great food, and generous and hospitable people.
Excerpt
Chapter 11, “Waltzing Across the Atlantic,” paragraph 5, pages 74-75
Once onboard the royal ship, I stopped at the top of a grand stairway and pinched myself to ensure I wasn’t dreaming. I felt lightheaded as I thought about how painfully close my past intersected with this magical moment. How was it possible that just months before, I was living in a downcast world filled with stress and devastation? Yet, here I was, stepping into an opposing world of decadence and luxury. But this world was not a dream, and thank goodness my mind knew the difference. Symbolically, I shook off those hard times of yore and allowed myself to drink in the grandeur of the magnificent ship. I could feel the thick royal red carpet that cushioned each step beneath my espadrille sandals. Grand staircases with highly polished balustrades rose before me. Enormous glistening chandeliers sparkled like diamonds, and copious bouquets of fresh-cut flowers decorated every corner. And I could hear the merriment of skilled musicians playing violins, harps, and a grand piano. That incredible moment could only be summed up as over-the-top dazzling and the likes of which I’d never known. I was thrilled beyond description and immediately called my sister, Connie, to share my starry-eyed experience from a lovely café. Hearing her familiar voice and laughter helped to dispel the loneliness I had felt moments earlier while I sipped my first cappuccino in a porcelain cup.
