Italy Tours

Today, in Catholic tradition, is the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrating the day when the Angel Gabriel swept in and announced: THE DIVINE IS WITHIN YOU! Nine months later came Christmas. It’s no coincidence that both Florence and Venice chose March 25 as the date for their founding. Florence became a Republic in the 12th century, and traditionally celebrated their New Year on March 25, all the way up until the 18th century. This is still a day of grand parades and celebrations in the city. Venetians felt so connected to Mary that they chose the day to officially establish their Republic in 421AD.  TheyRead More →

Buona Befana! Tonight’s the night this dear signora rides through the night sky, sweeping away last year’s troubles with her broom, bringing in a Bright Happy New Year to All! Here’s an excerpt from my book, Letters from Italy,that tells my story of celebrating the holiday in Rome… Postcard from Rome: The Legend of La Befana* “There is no Santa Claus in Italy,” my Nana told me when I was a kid. I had nightmares of how awful Christmas must be over there. Nana said she had to wait until January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany, to get gifts. The presents came from an oldRead More →

100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Susan Van Allen, Women Only Tours to Italy, Small Group Tours Italy, Women's Travel, My Brilliant Friend

So happy to see HBO’s My Brilliant Friend Episode 6 , where Lenu gets to leave the Neighborhood and go to Ischia…She was so pensive on her way there, and there’s me, returning ecstatic to one of my most beloved places in Italy… The island has been adored for its restorative springs since the days of the ancient Greeks, and today is the largest thermal-water destination in Europe, with over 300 spa-hotels and thermal parks. I fell in love with Ischia 10 years ago, while doing spa research for 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go., and keep returning to discover more of this treasure…The AragoneseRead More →

I’m often asked: “I have 10 days in Italy, can you please help me with my travel itinerary?” Oh how I’d LOVE to! Except when that question is followed by that very looonng, heavy bucket list of ALL the traveler expects to  pack in to 10 days. While I love enthusiasm for Bell’Italia, and totally understand  “not wanting to miss anything”, the Truth is This:  When you cram too much in to an Italian vacation, you miss out on the most essential Italian experience: La Dolce Vita=The Sweet Life. A trip to Italy is a chance to open yourself up to the old world wayRead More →

It wasn’t my idea to design and host For Women Only Tours to Italy. Yes, I loved traveling there for decades, writing about Italy, going to Italy with family and girlfriends, arranging everything so we’d certainly have the most marvelous time. And I always loved meeting female travelers along the way, who, like me, were swept up in that fabulous magic Italy gives us women.All those women travelers and my own experiences inspired my first book, 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. Then came The Surprise. During my book tour, after my presentations,  hands would fly up, and woman would ask: “Can weRead More →

It was glorious to spend October days in Sirmione…a magical destination on the tip of Lake Garda, Lombardy… So many pleasures are contained in the historic center of this tiny treasure-of-a-peninsula, surrounded by the lake. It’s pedestrian only, and you can actually leisurely stroll from top to bottom in about 20 minutes… The best way to arrive is by ferry from Desenzano del Garda…another charming lakeside town that has a lot of major train connections–that is, you can train from there to Venice in 1.5 hours. Then you cab to the port, catch the Sirmione ferry…CLICK FOR SCHEDULE… Dominating the whole pretty scene is theRead More →

Buona Primavera = Happy Spring! The Romans considered April the Sacred Month of Venus, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and Sex… Her presence is eternal…you see her all over Italy, in sculptures, paintings. You feel her spirit beckoning you to lighten up, enjoy all the flavors and pleasures…Here in the Uffizi in Florence is the Botticelli painting of her being born from the sea… The Romans believed they were the chosen descendants of this beauty. As Virgil wrote in the Aeneid, it was Venus who seduced a Greek mortal and thus became the grandmother of Romulus and Remus, those twins suckled by a she-wolf onRead More →

On a hilltop in the southeast corner of Basilicata, sits the medieval village of Bernalda… I became intrigued by this spot in 2012. That’s when Francis Ford Coppola opened his newly-renovated 5-star Palazzo Margherita here. Coppola’s grandfather Agostino was born in Bernalda, and left in 1904, never to return. I’m grateful to have a friend who visited– Kathy McCabe, Editor of Dream of Italy newsletter, and Producer/Host of the fabulous PBS Dream of Italy TV series. She’s here to share her experience of this extraordinary place… “The town itself is like being in Italy in the 1950s,” she says. Coppola calls it “the real Italy.” The unassuming Palazzo Margherita entranceRead More →

Ciao Amici! I’m so grateful that 2016 included the release of the Third Edition of “100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go.” Wonderful surprises have come into my life since this book first hit the stands in 2009. It’s been thrilling to hear from travelers who enjoyed discovering new places and experiences through its pages, and that the book added so much fun to their Italian travels. Here’s a Sneak Preview/Excerpt… It’s the Perfect Gift for the Italophile in your life… AVAILABLE at your Local Bookstore, AMAZON, and BARNES & NOBLE PREFACE I fell in love with Italy at a dining room table in Newark,Read More →

Outside Acerenza’s historic center, grazie to Salverio Cancerllera and Antonella D’Andria, I met some of the village’s finest artisans…In a cave at Le Cantine del Grillo.. There was rich, soulful Aglianico…straight out of the barrel… Next was Il Re dei Panettoni=King of Panettone, Vincenzo Tiri, at his humble, family run bakery… Vincenzo rocked the Panettone World, twice winning the Grand Prize in Milan for this Christmas time sweetbread…a triumph for this young, 35-year old baker in a remote southern region, AND quite a surprise, as Panettone is a specialty of the north… Making Vincenzo’s parents in this family run bakery, (since 1957), very proud… Tiri’s panettone is a taste bud revelation. He’s a genius/master,Read More →