My Meeting with Veronica

The following is Kari's first article in 'Becoming Jane Fansite'. Thanks a lot, Kari! So nice to have you here!

My Meeting with Veronica

Hello dear friends! This is my first article for BJ Fansite and I am so excited to not only have finished it (all the ladies laugh) but to be able to share it with you all. I do not fancy myself a writer but I love to tell stories so I'll do my best. : )


It's been quite the whirlwind since discovering this wonderful website some months back, and the events that followed are truly amazing.

If you follow the events on the blog you know that we were able to make contact with Veronica, the daughter of Nadia Radovici. As fate would have it, she found the website and contacted us. Through a few emails back and forth I found out that we would be very close to each other as she lived in Amsterdam - and I would be going there on vacation in less than two days!

I must say that thinking about how it all happened still gives me chills and brings a big smile to my face.

If all this wasn't wonderful enough, here was the chance to actually meet Veronica in one of my favorite cities, to talk about one of my favorites topics - Tom and Jane, via her mother's book. I was thrilled at the chance to meet and learn more about Nadia, Veronica and the back story to how the book came to be.

Veronica and I were able to coordinate a time to meet on almost my last day in Holland. I didn't know what to expect but was very eager and grateful to her for meeting a stranger from America!

I met Veronica on the steps of the Westerkerk in the beautiful Jordaan neighborhood in Amsterdam. I didn't know what she looked like but we seemed to know we were each other right away and I instantly felt we had met a dear friend. I cannot say enough how lovely Veronica is!

She took me to a wonderful 16th century tavern/restaurant where we sat upstairs and drank hot chocolate. Over the next two hours I was privileged to hear all about the creation of the book, stories of Nadia and of their family. As we were winding down our meeting Veronica gave me a copy of her mother's book and I read it cover to cover almost immediately. What an amazing book! I hope everyone will get a chance to read it.

It was truly one of the best experiences I have had and I am very grateful for it! My deepest thanks to Veronica and all the ladies at the blog for helping to make the meeting happen!

I hope you have enjoyed the story and I look forward to writing more as the story continues to unfold!

Cheers!
Kari

Pic 1: The lovely Jordaan area in Amsterdam, photo by Kari
Pic 2: Veronica Nahmias, from her site www.veronicanahmias.com