I’m taking a SITA bus along the Amalfi Coast. If you’ve ever taken this nerve-racking trip, you know it’s a roller coaster ride. Every time we go around a corner we swing well into the other lane of traffic, and the driver’s blowing his horn frantically. A year ago I actually had to walk the […]
After a few days at Italy Farm Stay, I’ve pinpointed the reason that it’s so unique: Guests are able to directly experience the lives of the Siragusa family. Antonello manages the Farm Stay; his mother, Maria, teaches cooking classes and prepares lunch and dinner for guests and volunteers; Antonello’s father, Giuseppe, takes care of the […]
An hour of curvy roads brought me to Rocca delle Macíe winery in Tuscany. It’s a special time of year because the olive trees are in flower, the tiny, white, star-shaped flowers lasting only five to six days. This morning, I had a private tour and wine tasting with the winery’s top sommelier, Georgeta Perhald. […]
To travel through Italy’s Chianti region is to visit the den of Bacchus (the god of wine and merriment) and forget about reality’s freeways and traffic jams. Its only a 45-minute drive once you get out of Florence, but first, you have to get out of Florence. I made the mistake of thinking that we […]
A small town on the Amalfi Coast, with a light rain on the roofs of the buildings built into the sides of the cliff, is enough to put every nerve in my body at ease. Sections of the Amalfi Coast are microclimates, thanks to the sheer rises and falls in altitude, producing gigantic waterfalls and […]
It’s 8:42 am, and hiking is out of the question. I’m bummed. The peaks of the Alps are some of the most stunning in the world, but everything’s telling me to stay put in Verona: real-time local weather forecasts and live video feeds show rain, and it’s predicted to get worse. As much as I […]
I’ve never felt more a part of Italy, which makes for a sad goodbye. Spending so much time in its mountains (even shaping them with my own hands!) and all the people I’ve met over the last two months of travel—these are things I’ll never forget. Georgeta Perhald, Sommelier and Manager of PR for Rocca […]