Carefully planning a vacation can be the difference between a good trip and the trip of a lifetime. Rather than taking on this important task on your own, let me help. I’ve been visiting and studying Italy for nearly 20 years. I’ve experienced every range of the Italian travel spectrum from backpacking and hostels to flying first class and staying in luxurious accommodations. With my first…
Movies/TV Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy available on CNN, Hulu, YouTube TV, and Sling TV. This show premiered in early 2021 on CNN. Each episode highlights the food of a specific region of Italy. It’s a perfect combination of travel inspiration, cultural background, history, and food porn. There are two seasons of this incredible show, and despite winning an Emmy, CNN recently canceled the series. I’…
Over the summer, I was watching TCM and found an old movie that was set somewhere in Italy. I honestly don’t remember what it was called or who starred in it, luckily it isn’t important. The main character kept ordering a drink that I had never heard of before called Strega. After researching online, I learned that it was an herbaceous liqueur that according to legend…
According to the notes app on my phone, I created this dish on Jan. 18, 2016. I was watching an old episode of Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals and she was trying to make a money-saving dinner of beans and rice. Her version was a spin on Louisiana Creole dirty rice. The whole premise of the show was that few things are as cheap as beans and…
Like most avid travelers, I’ve been obsessed with checking the daily news about border re-openings, quarantine restrictions, and the delta variant. In April, I found a great deal on business class seats to Italy in late August, and I jumped on them. The Italian border wasn’t even open and we weren’t vaccinated at the time, but I couldn’t resist. Luckily, the…
Italians love their coffee, and they have very strict guidelines about when it is appropriate to drink different types depending on the time of day. In fact, according to research by the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Italians drink up to 4 coffees a day on average! I don’t drink coffee on a regular basis, except for when I’m in Italy, when I drink it daily and…
