Why I Write About Italy: An Invitation
Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations. ― Oscar Wilde Five dedicated Italophiles are about to celebrate their first anniversary together as the Italy Roundtable. Auguri a tutti! Their commitment to Italy and to spreading the word about Italian life, food, wine, history, oddities, accommodations, traditions, events and more is admirable. Plus, it makes for very enjoyable reading. Who are…
World Book Night: 500,000 free books given away in the U.S. tonight!
Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. — Groucho Marx Lady Maxine of the Ozarks My dog, Maxine, always wanted me to start a blog post like that. She’s got quite a sense of humor. But April being National Poetry Month and tonight being World Book Night,…
Bethesda’s Bella Italia — Ottimo!
Let’s face it, there’s something special about Italy . . . Suzy & Bill Menard Mangia! When I’m missing Italy (which is whenever I’m not there), it helps to surround myself with Italian things. Food, ceramics, music, wine, movies. . . you name it, it all helps. A fresh fig can keep me happy for days. Well, I recently found…
Orchids!
… Me? I’m not off for anywhere at all. Sometimes I wander out of beaten ways Half looking for the orchid Calypso. — Robert Frost, “An Encounter” The city of Richmond, Virginia includes an array of treasures and the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is surely one of them. Located just a few minutes outside of the downtown on Lakeside Avenue,…
10 Reasons to Love Sulmona
Nowadays nothing but money counts: a fortune brings honors, friendships; the poor man everywhere lies low. — Ovid The "Old Man Fountain" and our guide, Francesco My friend Novelia tells me that the tourists are finally coming back to Abruzzo. It’s been a long, cold, ridiculously snowy winter and she is ready for guests. Ready to make pasta. Ready to…
Still a Helluva Town
They say life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans. But sometimes in New York, life is what happens when you’re waiting for a table. — Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw Sabrett's on Fifth For those who don’t know, I’m a native New Yorker. Father born and raised in Brooklyn. Maternal grandmother born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen.…
Believe It Or Not . . .
I cannot make this stuff up. — Linda Jenkins You’ve gotta love those wacky Brits! As I sat down with my nice cuppa this afternoon to read the latest issue of one of my industry newsletters, I was stopped by a headline that read, “ Stranger events in England UK.” Of course I read. And I still have no idea…
A GEOMETRIC GUEST POST: Italy Squared – Four “Must-See” Piazzas
Open my heart and you will see/’Graved inside of it, “Italy.” — Robert Browning Having visited several far flung destinations around the world in 2011, our guest blogger Matthew Nunn is now focused on exploring nearer home in Europe. His next blogging targets will be his Sardinia holidays and a few other islands dotted around the Mediterranean. Matthew also helps to run…
La Bella Cucina d’Abruzzo
Cooking — and eating — our way through the fabulous food region of Abruzzo Figs in the city I’ve always said that there’s a whole lot of Italy to explore beyond the tourist triumvirate of Rome, Florence and Venice. Seeing those parts of the country that are traditionally overlooked by American travelers was our goal last year, so we headed…
To Dorothy
No matter how far we travel, the memories will follow in the baggage car. — August Strindberg, Miss Julie Creepy fact? Tim’s father, whom I never met, died on my birthday. My mother, whom Tim never met, died on his birthday. So each year, August 8 and February 6 come and go with very mixed emotions. What does this have…
Travel Tips Newsletter
Every once in a while, Linda posts useful gems about mustn’t-miss travel info. Group travel? Packing? Where to go? What happens when an emergency strikes?
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