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...
Remembering Tuscany

Remembering Tuscany

My favorite part about travel is the memories it creates.  Images of dramatic hillsides, crayon blue oceans and bright flora fill my soul.  They mix with a remembered scent of bougainvillea, fresh baked bread and underground wine cellars to create a perfect moment in...

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Villa Tuscany

Villa Tuscany

The sun rises and I hear the rooster crowing outside my window at the break of dawn.  I quietly slip out of my bed and walk down the stairs to brew myself a cup of tea.  The tractors in the vineyards start up and I can hear their faint rumble in the distance.  I walk...

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Bellissimo Cone.issimo

Bellissimo Cone.issimo

Gelato.  The very word puts joy in my soul!  The thought of lush, bright fruit flavors, deep chocolate and vibrant nuts is enough to make a girl pack a bag in a jiffy to catch a plane to bella Italy.....stat! While traveling, my favorite question to ask taxi drivers,...

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Tuscany – Have You Ever…..

Tuscany – Have You Ever…..

Viewed the Florentine landscape from your hotel rooftop? Driven the famous Fiat Cinque-Cento through dusty Brunello vineyard roads? Watched Italy play a championship soccer game just steps from the Campo in Siena? Brewed coffee the old school way in a Tuscan hillside...

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