I love the small market town of Ledbury, England. My friend Hilary lives there. I first made friends with her more than 25 years ago when she worked with my husband. She, a British citizen and her husband, an American Navy officer lived here in Virginia. After her husband retired, they moved back to the UK to her hometown and invited us for a visit. We have been calling it home away from home ever since. The local church, St. Michael & All Angels, is a place we always pay a visit to as it evokes a calming sense of spirituality. It is a very old church with long history. As you walk around the inside of the church one gets a feeling as if you are absolutely welcome. The wood is dark, the floor is made of engraved stones of persons of note who rest there and everywhere there are signs that the church is still very much alive with the grace of God. Along one wall there is a very large painting. At one point it was a very dark painting of which you could barely make out the Last Supper. In desperate need of restoration, patrons were found, and experts were hired to do this delicate work. As the painting was being restored the experts were shocked when they suspected and then confirmed it was a genuine Titian. How could this tiny town have such a painting in their midst? Research and restoration began in earnest. The painting, a gift to the church, now hangs resplendent for all to enjoy and admire not only for the subject matter but for its rebirth. Now, here I was checking into my room at the local Feather’s Hotel, room 21, labeled The Titian Room. (How appropriate for an artist?) Inside along every wall were framed replicas of the famous painting and stories of how the Titian was discovered, restored and reinstated in the local church. But best of all was the portrait hanging near the door of the man himself, Titian, and why I can name this blog, “Sleeping with Titian.”