My Life in Italy, Part 2: Where are the Walls? and How do I Flush?
So… I left off in Part 1 on my first full day in Italy in 1983. I am at the tip of the boot in Reggio Calabria, suffering severe jet lag, having walked miles and miles for an awful cafeteria meal, and now I am boarding a...
What to Expect on a Culture Discovery Vacation
Why is Culture Discovery Vacations different? You see it all over our website. Family, Family, Family. This is not a marketing term for us. It is the way we operate. It may sound like just a word to some, but it is what makes us...
Rome Fiumicino Airport: 5 Things to do When You Land
I love Italy, the people, the culture, the food, the coffee, it’s my very favorite country. One thing I will fault Italy for though, is the Rome airport, this airport is not user friendly and nobody is in a hurry to move...
Why Pizza is the Best Food
I’ve been trying to think of a blog post to write all day long, and no matter what I did, all I could come up with was one word: Pizza. How do I write a blog post on pizza? Pizza is the best food in the world! Do a I write...
My Life in Italy, Part 1: “The Warm Table”
“The Warm Table” For years, people have asked me to tell the story of how I ended up with my dual US-Italy life. The reality is that it was a series of somewhat unrelated events that all came together to create an...
Starbucks digs its claws into Italy, and why that saddens me.
With its massive global expansion, Starbucks has always left Italy alone. After all, how do you open a store in the country you copied your model from?
Italian Coffee – What and How to Order
Italian Coffee Protocol There are many things that Italians hold dear, coffee being one of the big ones. But there are unspoken rules about how to order Italian coffee, and if you do it wrong, every Italian will judge you, even...
Our Amalfi Coast Vacation in 13 Gorgeous Photos
Our Amalfi Coast Vacation is one of our best selling tours. The dramatic coastlines, the perfect towns built into the cliffs, it is absolutely stunning from every angle. The Amalfi Coast was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site...
10 Tips for New Travelers
These are great tips for new travelers, but also useful for seasoned travelers or people who haven’t traveled in a while. It can be scary to travel to a new country, especially when there is a different currency and...
7 Reasons Why Bologna is an Italian Food Paradise
Bologna, the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, is one of Italy’s best kept secrets. While many American tourists don’t even know Bologna exists, Italians consider it as a major food capital. Bologna is the birthplace...