Going to Europe as a budding cook opened my eyes to food in a different way. When I got to Italy, the first thing I did was put my little basil plants in the ground and watch them turn into big, healthy bushes. Frances Mayes Read Quote
When my husband is away and I’m by myself, my neighbours will insist I eat with them every single night because they see it as unhealthy to eat by yourself. Frances Mayes Read Quote
I think I went to Italy initially for the art, architecture, food and history, but I stayed there because of the people in Cortona. Frances Mayes Read Quote
I got the idea that to write books would be the best way to spend a life. I never thought of anything else that seemed like half as much fun, although in my next life I would like to be an architect, too, so I can have an easier time restoring houses. Frances Mayes Read Quote
Living in a small Italian hilltown, and having lived in a small town in south Georgia, I understand that you can recognize a family gene pool by the lift of an eyebrow, or the length of a neck, or a way of walking. Frances Mayes Read Quote
When I was twelve, I started reading Eudora Welty, Thomas Wolfe, Flannery O’Connor, James Agee, and – do we dare breathe the name – William Faulkner. Frances Mayes Read Quote
It’s kind of amazing that people will travel because of a book. I admire that. Frances Mayes Read Quote
The Italians have their priorities right: They’re driven, they do their work, but they really enjoy the day-to-day and they don’t put off the enjoyment of the everyday for some future goal. Frances Mayes Read Quote
