Two points to make. 1) The great thing about sculpture – unlike paintings – is that you get a complete view from all angles. 2) Florence is a lovely city for sightseeing. And even though Florence is…
A night with Giotto in Assisi
When I told my mother I was going to Assisi, she said that she and my father had gone there on their honeymoon, aka the penniless but thrilling art tour of Europe, to see the Giotto frescoes. “You mean…
The big news – getting engaged
The day started out normally enough. In the blistering heat of an Umbrian afternoon my boyfriend Mark and I left our farmhouse/villa at Guesthouse Runcini to cool off at Lake Piediluco. And I roped Mark into going on…
Shopping battles in Florence, Italy
Oh, sure. Florence has Michelangelo. And it’s got the amazing Uffizi Gallery, where Mark and I discovered we were very on trend as Madonna and her toyboy visited the gallery in July (if I managed to decipher an Italian…
Terme di Saturnia in Tuscany: hot springs of the gods
I don’t care what anyone says, hot springs are mystical. Think about it, you’re connecting with a part of the earth you can’t see. That water trundles along deep beneath the rock, soaking up minerals to deliver them straight to…
Tuscany – when disaster strikes.
As I was bounding around our villa in Umbria at 8 in the morning, Mark eyes me sleepily. “You are soooo excited, aren’t you?” “Yes!” I say. I love hot springs spas more than anything and we doing a…
Umbria: Falling for Ferentillo
Well, here we are in Umbria. Overlooking the little town of Ferentillo to be exact. Umbria is not Tuscany. It doesn’t have the profusion of hot springs that Tuscany has, though it has some. It doesn’t have the same…
Is the Roman Colosseum falling down? Could it mean the end of the world?
Is it true? Can the famous Colosseum in Rome be leaning? Recent reports say that the south side is about 16 inches (40 cm) lower than the north side and this, dear friends, could mean very bad news. It could…
The Vestal Virgins of Rome
You can’t shed the blood of a Vestal Virgin without angering the gods. That’s why the Vestal Virgins were buried alive if they got caught fooling around – no blood was spilled but they still got their punishment. (They…
Women travellers are from Venus, male travellers are from that dwarf planet Pluto
Mark, my boyfriend, found his perfect vacation rental in Umbria. A little stone farmhouse at the edge of a medieval village. The area is craggy and hilly and I admit it does look wild and lovely. Apparently it’s a rock…