A friendly reminder from a courageous, intelligent, loving being: Maya Angelou   “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou in Wouldn’t Take Nothing For… Read more »

There are some tourist sites that are so obvious, you barely need to research them.  Obviously you’ll be visiting the Uffizi Gallery or the Accademia’s David in Florence. Obviously the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum in Rome are important, St. Mark’s in Venice and the Archeological Museum in Naples. It doesn’t seem to be so obvious in Milan. Milan is… Read more »

I have so much fun blogging. I genuinely like crafting stories, taking pictures and sharing my love for Italy on this site. But the truth is, sometimes blogging can be super lonely.   I work hard to write entertaining, comprehensive blog posts for my readers. I haven’t missed a Monday publishing date in more than two years… Read more »

After only four months in Italy I had successfully navigated the labyrinth system to get a permit of stay, taking what seems like dozens of passport photos, paying for dozens of marche di bollo, the required stamp (with newly raised prices!) and visiting multiple different bureaucratic offices; I’d also found an apartment, applied for residency, gotten married and started… Read more »

It seems with every turning of the wheel, travel media remembers a fundamental fact about travel: There’s plenty to do close to home. You can absolutely “travel” in your own town, state or region and discover just as much as you would after a transatlantic flight. Your senses are turned on, your wonder just as available…. Read more »

We often use the start of a new year as a way to stop and take stock of our life. Where are we now? What have we accomplished? What have we learned? And of course: where do we go from here? Now is the time to plan our coming year. Whether you want to make resolutions… Read more »

The end of the year always centers around the same big meditations: Another year has passed. What happened in the world and what happened in my life. What did I accomplish in the meantime?  Online it seems nearly unanimous: 2016 was rough. The state of the world feels catastrophic, and yet I feel it’s unfair to classify an… Read more »

Italian national holidays are, for the most part, Catholic holidays. This means that Italians not only get a day off work for things like Labor Day and Republic Day (think, 4th of July for Italians) but also for Ferragosto (Mary’s Assumption into heaven) All Saint’s Day, the Immaculate Conception, Christmas and Santo Stefano, celebrated the day… Read more »

Winter in Northern Italy means bone-chilling humidity. The damp air seeps into our bones, making even the most virile young person feel achy, tired. Though life goes on at top speed with school and work, Christmas preparations, and twinkling lights that attempt to shine through the fog, there’s little to do to escape the heavy… Read more »

Apparently travel makes us happier than love. Or at least, happier than a date out with our partner, having a child or even our own wedding! Online hotel booking website Booking.com held a 17,000 person study in 17 countries and found that travel gives us a stronger spike in happiness than some the most important moments of our… Read more »