Solo Travelers Italy-- Meet Your Friend in Florence! Meet one-on-one with me for an hour and a half, and get my insider advice on making the most out of your stay For the first 45 minutes we will go to the best coffee place near where you are staying, and I will orient you with maps and share dining and sightseeing information, as well as tips about how
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Special Places on the Via Francigena
The Via Francigena (fran-CHEE-jee-nah) is a pilgrimage route from the Middle Ages that starts in England and crosses France and Switzerland before entering Italy at the Gran San Bernardo Pass. Less known than the Spanish pilgrimage route, the Via Francigena was revived in the 1990s and is becoming more traversed each year. In the first week of my trek on the Via
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The City of Padova– A Surprising Beauty
This post won best general post of the year in Italy Magazine's awards Visit Italy off the beaten path! How can one country the size of California have so many beautiful cities? This is what I kept asking myself when I was in Padova. After thirty years of coming to Italy, and living here twice in the past, I had still never been to Padova, until last weekend. Padova
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What to do in Gallipoli
"Era considerato l'oro verde," (It was considered green gold,) Marco says as we leave the whitewashed light of the via, and take a tunnel-like stairway down to a cave under the street. I'm in Gallipoli, on the Ionian coast of Puglia, with Italian friends. This area was once part of Magna Grecia (greater Greece,) and Gallipoli's Greek name was Kallí Pólis (beautiful
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The Pathway of the Gods–Italy’s Most Stunning Hike
I arrive on the Amalfi Coast by bus from Salerno. It’s early October, and while high season has passed, the bus is over-packed with travelers; some are forced to stand in the aisle. Oh, but I’m lucky. I have a seat on the left side where I can view the dizzying drop straight from the bus window down hundreds of feet of sheer cliff to the sparkling sea. The bus driver,
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