The Arm Chair Traveler: Boating on the Amalfi Coast

In one of my favorite movies, Out of Africa, Karen von Blixen entertains Barkley and Denys with dinner on her beautiful Limoges (woman after my own heart), wine, and stories of faraway...

New Colosseum Security Procedures in Rome.

Hello fellow travelers!  Travel always seems to give us reasons to practice our Yoga breathing!  It's time to put on your Patient Hat--especially when visiting Rome...and the Colosseum. Please be...

La Morra

My Fiat Cinquecento buzzes down the hills of Barolo to my first appointment and I try not to stall the engine…again.   We dubbed the Fiat St. Benito, patron saint of lost tourists and tight...

The Venice Saga: A trip down Gondola lane

Typically when I think about Venice, I imagine a romantic sunset ride in a gondola with a man rowing and singing Luciano Pavarotti in his masculine operatic voice:  Te voglio bene assaie ma tanto...

Venice – The Bridge of Sighs

I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and a prison on each hand. I saw from out the wave her structures rise As from the stroke of the enchanter’s wand --Lord Byron The Bridge of Sighs...

Mask Making in Venice

Our tour guide met us at the lobby of our hotel to give us a quick art-based walking tour of Venice on our way to the Venetian Mask Artist’s studio. We strolled through the labyrinth of alleyways...

Tuscan Summer

Tuscany has been on my mind all week long!!  On this Photo Friday, I wanted to revisit a few of my favorite shots from our last Tuscan Adventure--wine tasting, sampling local fare, my discovery of...

Bellini al la Cipriani

It's Friday--the start of the weekend.  The spring weather takes me back to my time in Venice last spring…before the crowds and the summer heat.  One of my favorite experiences was sipping a bellini...

Girasole dei Cortona

Roman Forum

The first moment I stepped foot inside the Roman Forum twenty years ago, I almost stopped breathing.  The stories of my youth of gods and goddesses, caesars and slaves, Paul and Peter came to life...
New Colosseum Security Procedures in Rome.

New Colosseum Security Procedures in Rome.

Hello fellow travelers!  Travel always seems to give us reasons to practice our Yoga breathing!  It's time to put on your Patient Hat--especially when visiting Rome...and the Colosseum. Please be advised that due to new mandatory security regulations every visitor...

read more
La Morra

La Morra

My Fiat Cinquecento buzzes down the hills of Barolo to my first appointment and I try not to stall the engine…again.   We dubbed the Fiat St. Benito, patron saint of lost tourists and tight roundabouts.   St. Benito speeds through a maze of dirt roads past...

read more
The Venice Saga:  A trip down Gondola lane

The Venice Saga: A trip down Gondola lane

Typically when I think about Venice, I imagine a romantic sunset ride in a gondola with a man rowing and singing Luciano Pavarotti in his masculine operatic voice:  Te voglio bene assaie ma tanto tanto bene sai (I love you very much very very much, you know). This...

read more
Venice – The Bridge of Sighs

Venice – The Bridge of Sighs

I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and a prison on each hand. I saw from out the wave her structures rise As from the stroke of the enchanter’s wand --Lord Byron The Bridge of Sighs is a beautiful limestone structure standing between the Doge Palace...

read more
Mask Making in Venice

Mask Making in Venice

Our tour guide met us at the lobby of our hotel to give us a quick art-based walking tour of Venice on our way to the Venetian Mask Artist’s studio. We strolled through the labyrinth of alleyways and bridges--soaking in the colors of the canals, balconies and...

read more
Tuscan Summer

Tuscan Summer

Tuscany has been on my mind all week long!!  On this Photo Friday, I wanted to revisit a few of my favorite shots from our last Tuscan Adventure--wine tasting, sampling local fare, my discovery of burrata, and of course, the Tuscan sunshine. Our Fiat Cinquecento was...

read more
Bellini al la Cipriani

Bellini al la Cipriani

It's Friday--the start of the weekend.  The spring weather takes me back to my time in Venice last spring…before the crowds and the summer heat.  One of my favorite experiences was sipping a bellini poolside at the Hotel Cipriani.  A Bellini is a delightful mixture of...

read more
Roman Forum

Roman Forum

The first moment I stepped foot inside the Roman Forum twenty years ago, I almost stopped breathing.  The stories of my youth of gods and goddesses, caesars and slaves, Paul and Peter came to life before my very eyes.  They were real......and they were grand.  I felt...

read more