I'm just trying to walk myself home.
Browsing Tag
Wisteria and Sunshine Wisteria and Tuscany just go together for me. Maybe it’s because I usually seem to visit Italy in the springtime, so many of my memories there are draped in the violet boughs. I love wisteria anywhere though, and I seek out its fragrant blossoms wherever it grows: behind the church in Arkansas, …
Snapshots of Rainy Siena, Italy: A Few Days in the Heart of Tuscany It’s been three years since I wandered a hilltown in Italy by myself. My trip to Orvieto and Assisi was well before I watched with the rest of the world as Italy was ravaged by a pandemic, a memory that is clearly …
Is there anything more dreamy than a Tuscany Italy Retreat? Come enjoy an enchanted April writing + yoga retreat with me in Italy where I’ll be teaching yoga this year for Radiant Jane Retreats! Plus enjoy vineyards and olive groves at a gorgeous agriturismo!
A Visit to The Home of The Beloved Saint Francis of Assisi What can I say about Assisi? I hardly know where to begin. Maybe it’s best to start with the ending. As I left the convent in Assisi, the same nun who welcomed me in, took hold of my face and kissed me twice, …
Snapshots of Orvieto, Italy I WISH you could have heard me in the car when I got my first glimpses of Orvieto coming into view! “OH MY LORD, you have got to be kidding me!” I actually pulled the car over. (Because it’s just me and I can do that if I want.) The whole …
Snapshots of a A Walk to Civita di Bagnoregio, an ancient hilltown in Italy reachable only by a pedestrian bridge. So 2500 years ago, some very ingenious folks (Etruscans) built this city on top of a hill. Hill towns are a common theme in my travels around Italy, but Civita is special because you can …
Lake Bolsena: Driving tour around the lake from Montefiascone After enjoying the view of Lago di Bolsena (Lake Bolsena) from our hilltop town of Montefiascone, we decided to take a day to get closer to the water. We could not have had a more gorgeous day, so we took our time driving all the way …
Snapshots of Montefiascone a hilltop town in Italy overlooking Lago de Bolsena (Lake Bolsena). Here are a few highlights from my first days in Italy: Squeals of delight upon seeing dear friends. A room in a hilltop monastery with a view of the valley below. Wisteria-lined roads. The ancient town fortress of Montefiascone. Following cobblestone …
ROME ITALY The face I’m making in this picture could be summed up like this: OH MY GOSH I’M IN ROME AND THERE ARE A MILLION PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND I WANT TO GO BACK TO TUSCANY BUT ACTUALLY IT’S REALLY BEAUTIFUL HERE BUT I’M EXPERIENCING SENSORY OVERLOAD SO…GELATO IS THE ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING! I am …
On our first day in Tuscany, my sister drove and I navigated. Between giving her the next directions (3 more kilometers on this road and then turn left) and catching up on stories about our kids, we were gasping at the scenery. Anna, look! Vineyards and towers on hills and cypress trees and red poppies …
The scent of ylang ylang filled the air, knocking me over with its sweetness. I looked up from the map I was following to stop and smell the flowers, then to see the columns, and to smile at the bright blue sky. A few blocks later, I found my hotel, dropped my backpack and crossed …
Walking and Eating in Venice with Walks of Italy I think that you plan a trip to Venice because you’ve seen how gorgeous it is in pictures and in films. And when you go, the canals, bridges and alleys of Venice will totally fulfill your expectations by being as enchanting as you always imagined. But another reason …
Me to Taido in October: Oh my goodness. Direct flights to Venice from Stuttgart are less than $20 right now! What do you think? Christmas in Italy. We could surprise the kids! Taido: Let’s do it. (My husband is a man of few words.) It’s funny how many of our trips have begun with an exchange like …
Oh Manarola, Italy. How do I love thee. Let me count the ways. So, I know I wrote about the end of our trip to Italy last week, but I have one more post because I really like to save the best for last. And maybe it is just because we stayed there and we …
One Day with Kids in Pisa, Italy After our glorious week in Cinque Terre, we were all a bit sad about leaving Italy. We had a 1pm flight out of Pisa, so we packed up the night before and left the beautiful town of Manarola at 6am. We each had a small daypack and then …
Hiking in the Cinque Terre from Manarola to Vernazza, Italy via the 506/AVT5/507 Vernazza was the only one of the five villages in the Cinque Terre we had left to visit at the end of our week in Italy. We had taken a day off from hiking to rest and enjoy Manarola and so I …
Hiking in the Cinque Terre from Manarola to Riomaggiore, Italy Here’s something you should know about hiking in the Cinque Terre in 2016. Once upon a time there was a trail that ran along the coastline all the way through all five towns of the Cinque Terre. It started in Monterosso al Mare and went …
Hiking in the Cinque Terre: A Hike from Monterosso to Levanto, Italy There’s just nothing like sitting in the blinding sunlight on a platform, waiting for a train to Monterosso al Mare. This is the start of a beautiful day! Steps off the train in Monterosso is the sea! We had to stop and play …
Hiking in the Cinque Terre: A Walk from Manarola to Corniglia, Italy. Right outside the doorstep of our apartment in Manarola, we climbed to the vineyard trail that runs around Manarola to begin our first big hike in the Cinque Terre, a trail that goes to Corniglia via Volastra. Corniglia is the next town up …
A Story About Deciding to Travel To Cinque Terre in Italy Alone With My Kids In Scotland, children have two weeks off of school in April, so back in January, the kids and I had a little family meeting to make some plans for our Easter Holidays. Taido would not be coming with us this …