Even if Siracusa Is Not Your Destination, Ephron’s Book Will Delight You I’ve been sucking up just about everything the Ephron sisters put out since I discovered Nora Ephron’s Crazy Salad Plus Nine many, many years ago. It’s no surprise, then, that I pick up Delia Ephron’s latest book, Siracusa, and read it in less…
Category: Italy
Should You Take the Kids to Murano?
Do youthful adventurers and glass really mix? Will you and your family have fun in Murano, Italy?
Tea Partying in the Eternal City
A Visit to Babington’s Tea Rooms As if we needed a break from our vino rosso and carb-filled Italian vacation, the Brawny Sherpa and I decide at the bottom of the Spanish Steps that it is time for tea—and carbs of a slightly different sort. Here in the land of espresso and grappa, in we…
Dust, Chariots, Spas, Pompeii
A Visit to the City Buried by a Volcano The first time I go to Pompeii, the journey is work: a missed train from Salerno to Pompei, followed by a train that surely must be the local rather than anything direct, followed by an arrival at a train station a healthy distance from the ruins….
The Mystery of Volcanoes
The Lure of Hot Lava Living in New York State, as I do, I haven’t historically had to worry much about volcanoes and the possibility that they might at some point obstruct my way, or worse. The first time I came across their devastation was on a long-ago trip to Italy where I toured Pompeii,…
Back at the Palazzo: Westin Hotel Europa & Regina
What is a stay in Venice without a palazzo on the water? A stay at the Westin Hotel Europa & Regina
Is Pisa Worth the Effort to Get There?
More than 15 Minutes and a Selfie in the Land of Pisans A good way through planning my latest trip to Italy, I wonder, is the Leaning Tower of Pisa really worth the effort, or should I just skip it? On the adventure, there will only be time for, at most, a day trip from…
Meeting Hemingway at Harry’s Bar
Literary tourism lives as the Bashful Adventurer ventures into Harry’s Bar in Venice looking for Ernest Hemingway. Will she find him?
Over the Overwhelm: Avoiding Sensory Overload in Italy to Savor the Art
How to Get Youthful or Just Impatient Adventurers through Art Museums without Tripping Alarms The first few days of any trip to Italy might be just fine for a visitor, what with the jetlag and the joy of being in a different place and the marveling at all that is there. Visits to ancient ruins…
Staying in Rome near the Spanish Steps
Could You Get Any Closer than the Scalinata di Spagna? With less than 24 hours to spend in Rome, the Brawny Sherpa and I would need to be strategic in selecting a hotel so that we could see those last few sights we had missed on the first leg of our trip to Italy. We…