Sicily Podcast
August 29, 2009Listen to my 30-minute podcast about Sicily. I was interviewed by Chris Christensen of The Amateur Traveler. Click through to listen to it here. Photo of me in Taormina by Sanjay
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Umbrian ceramics
August 28, 2009Italy is famous for ceramics. The most well-known ceramics are probably those from Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, Caltagirone in Sicily, Deruta in Umbria, and of course Faenza. The photo below is of some Umbrian ceramics that my…
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The 5 Best Things to Do in Italy, Regardless of your Itinerary
August 26, 2009It doesn’t matter whether you’re visiting Rome, Florence, and Venice or whether you’re spending 2 weeks in the countryside; whether you’re going to Italy in the height of summer or the middle of January; or whether you’re museum-hopping or spending…
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What to see in Palermo, Sicily
August 24, 2009Sicily has been inhabited by the Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Normans, Spanish, and of course, modern-day Italians – and the evidence is everywhere. The bustling city of Palermo, on the island’s northwest coast, has a gritty feel, but a vibrant…
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What to Buy in Sicily
August 19, 2009If you’re going to Sicily and want to bring home something locally made and truly unique, here are my recommendations for what to buy in Sicily. I have purchased 3 of the 4 items below, and I bet you…
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Biking in the Dolomites: An Easy, Scenic Ride from Italy to Austria
August 14, 2009You’d never guess from looking at the photo below that any biking path in the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy could be easy. But the paved cycling route from San Candido, in the Sud Tyrol region of Italy, to Lienz,…
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The Best Italian Souvenir, Ever
August 12, 2009Bottles of Limoncello, pottery from Tuscany, or Venetian glass may be the best gifts to bring back from Italy, but they are heavy, breakable, and inconvenient to travel with. So what do you buy for all those friends who…
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The World’s Most Famous Lie Detector
August 10, 2009Nestled in a church portico in the center of Rome, a tourist could easily walk by the Mouth of Truth, or Bocca della Verita’. You may recognize the face below from the 1953 film Roman Holiday, but if not, here are…
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Where to eat and drink in Turin
August 05, 2009[Updated October 2015] I have a good friend from Turin who is smart, gorgeous, athletic (a Ph.D in chemistry and a SCUBA instructor), and knows the best places to go out. So on my request, she and another friend put…
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Write a blog post for Italy Beyond the Obvious
Would you like to write a blog post to be published on Italy Beyond the Obvious? Read this first.
