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The Discovery CompassThe Discovery Compass

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Culture & Lifestyle

My Life in Italy, Part 16: Two Weddings and a Funeral


What do The Nazis, Audrey Hepburn, Ronald & Nancy Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, The Chernobyl meltdown and Mother Teresa all have in common? I knew you would ask! As always, if you are just jumping in, this will make a lot more sense if you start at the beginning of the series....

  • Michael Kovnick
  • September 2, 2026
  • 0
Culture & Lifestyle

My Life in Italy, Part 15: Race Against the Clock


Every time I think about a wedding, Wallace Shawn shows up in my head lisping about “mawwiage” and “twue wuv.” Sorry, can’t help it! It ruined weddings for me forever… in the best possible way. As with every post in this series, if you’re jumping in here, it’s like...

  • Michael Kovnick
  • August 29, 2026
  • 3
Small Group Travel

Small Group Tours in Croatia: 8 Checks Before You Book


Full disclosure before you read a word of this: I run one of the companies that offers small group tours in Croatia. So treat what follows as a method, not a recommendation, and run it on us too. Our own numbers are in here wherever they apply, including the place where our price comes in higher than every operator I...

  • Michael Kovnick
  • August 19, 2026
  • 0
Personal

My Life in Italy, Part 14: He Speaks! & Mirror in the Bathroom


As with every post in this series, if you are jumping in here, it is like jumping into the middle of a movie. Please start with Part 1, or this will make absolutely no sense. Yikes, it has been a long time since I wrote the last part of this series! This part is going to cover a fair amount of ground because by...

  • Michael Kovnick
  • August 17, 2026
  • 4
Small Group Travel

Best Small Group Tour in Italy: 10 Checks Before You Book


Full disclosure before you read a word of this: I run one of these companies. So treat what follows as a method rather than a recommendation, and run it on us too. I have put our own numbers in wherever they are relevant, including the two places we come off worse. The useful thing I have learned after 20 years of...

  • Michael Kovnick
  • August 16, 2026
  • 0
Culture & Lifestyle

Why There’s No Little America in Italy: 6 Reasons, and Only One of Them Is Romantic


I first came to Italy in 1983 and moved here in 1985. Nineteen years old, straight out of The Valley. There was no Facebook group. No welcome committee. No English-speaking realtor with a golf tan and a business card. Nobody handed me a list of “the American bars.” I found an apartment because a a friend...

  • Michael Kovnick
  • August 11, 2026
  • 0
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Culture
Culture

25 Tips For Traveling In Italy


With all the experience the CDV staff has collected from living and working in Italy, we thought it would be nice to share some of the things we have learned that make visiting Italy, that much easier on you. Most of these...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • January 11, 2016
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Culture
Culture

Tuscan Pumpkin Soup


  Pumpkin everything isn’t only a big deal in the United States of Starbucks, Italy loves their fair share of pumpkin recipes as well, here is Carla’s delicious pumpkin soup that she makes during our fall Soriano...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • December 8, 2015
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Culture
Culture

Italy: Where Even The Graffiti Is Romantic


If you’ve been to Italy, you may or may not have realized the very real graffiti problem. Such a beautiful country, with historic and significant buildings, covered in graffiti. It drives me insane, you can find some form...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • October 27, 2015
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Culture
Culture

The Best Tuscan Bean Recipe Ever


On Thursdays in Soriano we go to a winery and olive mill and learn how their exceptional extra virgin olive oil is made. After a tour of their olive mill, Serena (the owner) treats us to some home made food out on the terrace,...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • October 12, 2015
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Culture
Culture

10 Movies To See Before Going To Italy


I cant tell you how many times I have been watching a movie, or TV or even a [Super Bowl] commercial and started pointing at the TV and screaming “LOOK LOOK IT’S [insert Italian town here]!!” (Pitigliano, for that...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • October 2, 2015
  • 3
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Culture
Culture

4 Restaurants Locals Love in Rome


There is no shortage of restaurants in Rome, but the truth is, most of the ones you see when you are touring around the city, are catering to tourists and a local would never be caught eating there. Rome is a huge city, and it...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • September 12, 2015
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Culture
Culture

Dark Chocolate Gelato with Peperoncino and Cinnamon


It’s the middle of August, its hot, the AC is working overtime, you’re daydreaming of gelato, but alas, Italy is so far away! Here is a simple recipe for some gelato that will satisfy your sweet tooth, as well as your...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • August 20, 2015
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Culture
Culture

The Best Time To Buy Airline Tickets


We have all faced this struggle of looking for a flight, finding the perfect one at the perfect price, just for the price to go up 5 minutes later… ARRRGH! Here are some of our favorite tips to try and beat the system and get the...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • August 3, 2015
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Culture
Culture

The 10 Best Beaches in Italy


Italy can get extremely hot during the summers, and this year is no exception! With two consecutive heat waves coming up from Africa, the heat is really getting intense. This last heat wave, named “Il Caronte” was named after a...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • July 17, 2015
  • 3
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Culture
Culture

Italian Stereotypes – True or False


  Every culture is associated with stereotypes, and while they can have some truth to them, many of them are exaggerated or generalized. This is being written by someone who is constantly stereotyped as a guido (thanks...

  • Alyssa Saltzman
  • June 30, 2015
  • 6
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Culture Discovery Vacations
Leading Small-Group Culinary & Cultural Immersion Tour Operator
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Recent Comments


  • My Life in Italy, Part 14: He Speaks! & Mirror in the Bathroom - The Discovery Compass on My Life in Italy, Part 15: Race Against the Clock
  • My Life in Italy, Part 16: Two Weddings and a Funeral - The Discovery Compass on My Life in Italy, Part 15: Race Against the Clock
  • My Life in Italy, Part 15: Race Against the Clock - The Discovery Compass on My Life in Italy, Part 2: Where are the Walls? and How do I Flush?
  • My Life in Italy, Part 16: Two Weddings and a Funeral - The Discovery Compass on My Life in Italy, Part 1: “The Warm Table”
  • Robbie Huddleston on My Life in Italy, Part 15: Race Against the Clock

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