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…
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…
My Aeroplan addiction
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a gambling addict. When I found myself getting up in the middle of the night twice last week to go online, I realized I had a problem. No, it’s not an online casino and blackjack…
Searching for a vacation rental in Tuscany – I give up!
Which is more fun, planning a vacation or sticking your face in a blender? Hm, let’s see. It depends on what kind of trip you’re planning. If you’re trying to find a vacation rental in Tuscany, and trying to…
How to choose a spa in Tuscany
Renting a villa in Tuscany is so done. With hot springs spouting out everywhere through the rolling countryside, the real fun is at the spa. But how, one may ask, does one choose? It’s not as if there is a…
Travel hassles: eating alone
I’m just glad I brought a suitcase full of heels and skirts because spas in Italy – at least the ones I’ve been visiting – go by a drowned-rat-in-a-bathrobe look for day and Italian glam by night. (And if this post sounds like…
Under the Tuscan rain cloud
You won’t find the Hotel Rex in Lucca in any guidebooks – at least I doubt you will – but it suits me perfectly. My main goal being to get rid of my fat heavy suitcases, and the Hotel Rex…
Planes, trains and taxis through Italy
You know a day isn’t going to be good when it starts at 3 a.m. But it takes a long time to organize 50 travel agents, tour operators and journalists for a 7:20 a.m. flight from Bari to Rome, so…