Stupidly Speechless in Abruzzo
/How I lost my breath and found it again in Abruzzo.
Read MoreHere’ll you find trip reports from up and down the Boot, from Turin to Sicily, from Cinque Terre to Puglia. If you want new wanderlust stories delivered to your email inbox once a month, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, the Grapevine. As a special welcome gift, I’ll send you an e-copy of my bestselling novel, Santa Lucia. Imagine that! In a few keystrokes, you’ll be transported to the landscapes, the cities, and the beauty of Italy. No passport required.
How I lost my breath and found it again in Abruzzo.
Read MorePlanning your first family trip to Italy can be daunting. From getting passports to using ATM’s to planning an itinerary to asking for a highchair, I’ve got you covered.
Read MoreSicily is ripe with incidental adventures. Letting them happen was part of what made our trip wonderful. And Favignana was the butterfly-shaped island that brought that into Sicilian-water clarity.
Read MoreYou'd think that since Sicily is where Keith and I began our decline, it would be associated with illness and shortness of breath. But it's not. It still seems magic—painted in bold brushstrokes and wreathed in sunshine. Such is the power of Sicily.
Read MoreScopello is also home of a tonnara, a historic tuna fishery that sounds evocative but was actually an example of the downside of under researching. Yes, going in cold can lead to adventures and a sense of discovery. It can also lead to significant grumpiness.
Read MoreSicily is scented with jasmine and wild herbs—fennel and oregano and something sweet and toasty, maybe fenugreek? This mix of cultivated and untamed is seen everywhere. Trim lines of grapevines leading to dramatic, craggy mountains. Neat rows of olive trees divided by a riot of shimmering undergrowth. Stately Greek ruins rising from a profusion of colorful, delicate wildflowers. That's just Sicily, or at least the tiny corner of Sicily we were able to explore.
Read MoreWebsite for Michelle Damiani, author of Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, the funny and heartfelt memoir of an American family living in Spello, as well as Santa Lucia, a page-turner set on the Umbria border.
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