All posts tagged: Italy Vacations

Craving Travel

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Before the pandemic I travelled several times a year to all sorts of destinations. Two years in lock down, and just when it felt safe enough to do the bit of travelling outside of camping and quick getaways, my mother fell ill. Resetting and reprioritizing all of my plans to venture across the pond like the good old days and just immerse myself in all things novel writing worthy. A hundred times I stood in this very spot and snapped a photograph, each time as if it were my first time seeing St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Dozens of times I strolled down the narrowest of cobble-stoned streets of Paris. Always in aw over the smallest of villages perched along the hillside along the Amalfi coast. Timeless train travel through Switzerland Right there… …and here Dean Village in Edinburgh Reminders of Days gone by through Ireland I long for it all

Sidewalk Cafe Scene

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Do you miss it? Or have you been able to hang out in your favorite cafe for a while now? I suppose that depends on which part of the world you pin yourself. Then again, I suppose restaurants offering outdoor meal seating has sort of been the new cafe scene here in the states. I just hope they don’t get rid of them once it is very safe, or safer than today, to eat indoors. But I do miss it – sidewalk cafes in Paris, Rome, and other small towns and villages around the globe with mismatched tables and chairs, colorful uniformity and all variations of a place where you can simply sit and soak up the day while people watching. What is your favorite outdoor cafe scene?

A Burst Of Hope and Our Collective Love For Italy

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I felt a burst of hope yesterday when, after standing in line for 40 minutes to enter the grocery store, I saw stacked cases of my favorite water. I thought it was a mirage, but I walked up and managed to secure  my two-per-cart cases of water feeling as if I were on top of the world. Baby steps. Don’t give up hope, we are going to get through this. Lately, or let’s just say, every year around this time, I experience much wanderlust-particularly anywhere in Italy. Funny thing is, I keep sharing photos of Italy with my loved ones courtesy of Instagram to up their moods, or maybe mine – with a note saying remember this? or can’t wait to travel with you here or  how about that restaurant in Venice?  What is it about Italy-time and time again, that I feel the need to include this fascinating destination to my annual travel plans. Except this year, it will just have to be an imaginary tour of what these editors have detailed here. Here’s …

Travel: Coastal Towns In Italy

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You know, I think I’ll just let the photos do the talking – because if you are planning a trip to Italy in the Summer, plan with coastal towns in mind – as Rome, Florence and inner cities are always too hot and too crowded. And yes, so are the beaches, but the subtle breeze and the cooling effect of the water makes an Italian vacation the most memorable. For example: On another note – I’ve always imagined renting out an entire Villa overlooking some body of water in Italy and just exist for a few weeks, while allowing my creativity to shape another novel {featured image source}

This Morning’s Focus…Italy

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The city (San Francisco) is not the place to be in the summer months if you are a sun worshiper, and the fact the fog is holding steady at bay, and the weather is unpleasantly windy and cold – all of it is enough for me to shift my visual focus – to simply Italy: {Click on photos for destination information}

Boutique Hotel Pick – L’Albergo della Regina Isabella – Ischia, Italy

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This hotel I found, when I did my daily ritual of reading about my celebrity crush – Gerard Butler. Who is currently in Italy attending a festival of sorts and then some. I’ve been to Italy a million times, but have never ventured to Ischia. The most has been Capri.  So, it’s wonderful to discover and based on all that I have read about this wonderful destination – I am definitely in!

Travel: All About Italy

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I have settled on a trip to Italy late September, early October this year, as my annual destination in Europe. And, although I have been to the country every year for the past decade or so, I cannot get enough of it. Alternating cities every year or not, making the trip always memorable. So here is what I am thinking:  Venice, Verona, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Positano, Capri with a few Tuscan cities in between.  I haven’t done this combination nor been to the southern Italy for a while, so I am excited. Of course research is always fun, and I have found some interesting articles to keep the momentum, and set the mood. {featured  image credit }

Food: Caramelized Onion Focaccia Bread

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The best Focaccia bread I’ve had, was in Portofino, Italy at any of the number of bakeries aligning the narrow pathways leading to the water’s edge. One in particular was Panificio Canale. I stuffed my face at one sitting or standing actually since there is no space to take a seat inside. And then brought some to go – which hardly lasted past the night. In San Francisco I often search for the best of   Focaccia in our Italian neighborhood, North Beach, and although I find them here and there worth a try, they are not the same as the ones in Portofino. For this holiday season I decided to contribute to the get-togethers with home-made Focaccia, hoping to capture a little bit of Italy here .