The three words for Italy that best describe the country are, in my opinion: Historic: Culture, art and history are everywhere; a feast for the eyes and for the soul Passionate: From the cadence of spoken Italian to the lovers on the streets, Italians are passionate about everythingand, I struggled to come up with a … Read more

There are a few thoughts rolling around in my mind that are good Italy tips and tidbits (some informative, others funny) that I couldn’t make fit in any other blog entry, so I decided to lump them all together in this final post about Italy: At least 50 percent of everything you want to see … Read more

All the literature indicates that you can walk the trail between the five towns of Cinque Terre, Italy in five hours but as far as I am concerned, that would be a sin. Instead, I chose to split the hike over two days, beginning with the western portion from Monterosso al Mar to Corneglia, which … Read more

Having had my fill of art and culture, I headed for the district of Liguria, located in Italy’s northwestern corner where it borders France. Liguria forms an arc, with one side facing the Ligurian Sea and the other backing up against the Apennine Mountains. Better known as the Italian Riviera, it is a continuous line … Read more

Yes, there’s a tower. It leans. And that’s the only thing of interest in the city of Pisa. That’s what I WAS going to say. Until it started raining. But I’m getting ahead of myself…. I left Florence on the train early this morning, bound for Cinque Terre, and stopped in Pisa for a few … Read more