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A few year’s back, I had the pleasure of meeting Pietro Navarra in Los Angeles. He’d been in a bookstore, found 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, and liked it so much (I love that Men enjoy it too!), that he wrote to me and said we should meet so I could sign his copy. A delicious dinner at Terroni followed, where I found out about Pietro’s Italy — his wonderful Italian travel company that combines his passions for Italy and the USA. Having grown up in Bologna and traveled in Italy extensively, Pietro creates customized itineraries for travelers, bringing to each one his uniqueRead More →

Susan Van Allen, Auto Europe

View from our window in San Quirico d’Orcia… OUR meaning me and my two sisters. We’d not traveled together since our days as Jersey Girls when Daddy would be at the wheel of the Country Squire Station Wagon and we’d go from West Long Branch, New Jersey to the beach at Cape May where the sand was LIKE AN ASHTRAY! MANY years later, we rendezvoused at the Rome airport and picked up the keys to a gem-of-a- White Volkswagen from Auto Europe. What I love about this company is that they are partnered with the best car rental places all over Italy, so you get aRead More →

Memories of a Golden Day at Gennargentu Park, Sardinia…The park is on the eastern edge of the island, home to the region’s largest mountain range, that stretches out in breath-taking silence. Our gang got escorted up in jeeps on a rocky path above a gorge to reach a shepherd’s hut. There, shepherd Giovanni, who’s been tending his flocks for 50 of his 67 years, roasted meats, spooned fresh ricotta out of a big metal pot onto thin, crisp Sardinian bread (Carasau), and topped it off with a drizzle of honey from hives kept near the spring below. I could have stayed there just eating that ricotta forRead More →

Many years ago, when I was writing the Active Adventures chapter in 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, I had the great fortune to meet the fabulous, fun-loving Barbara Kossy, a California based Italofile who designs and organizes kayaking tours in Elba, Sicily and Sardinia. She describes them as “Soft adventures. We sleep in a hotel every night and can wash the salt out of our hair before dinner. ” They give travelers a great social experience, meeting kayakers from all over the world, and combine explorations by kayak around the destinations with hiking and great food. Barbara is also inspired by Italian style, and has recently startedRead More →

We’re grateful to have Alexandra Redmond join us to give her expert advice about Ogliastra in eastern Sardinia.  Alexandra is a lover of nature, a vegan, and a yoga  teacher, who moved to the paradise of Sardinia from Brighton, UK. In 2009 she blended her love for the island with her longtime practice of yoga and meditation, and created Yoga in Sardinia, a non-profit organization that offers travelers Yoga and Mediation classes and retreats in Sardinia and an online Stress Management Course for those that can’t attend in person. We’re grateful she’s joining in with us to share her advice for a Golden Day in Ogliastra: Here are a fewRead More →

We are joined next by Silvia Cabras, who is from Iglesias, in southwestern Sardinia. She is now living in Cleveland, attending Case Western Reserve University as a research scholar in Biomedical Engineering, where she met our Golden Days Intern, Whitney Hickey. We’re grateful Silvia has come along to share advice for a Golden Day on the Masua Beach, a ten minute drive from her hometown of Iglesias… Here I post some beautiful pictures of the sea near to my city. The name of this beach is Masua which is a beautiful beach with sand and gravel. You can enjoy various activities at the beach such as enjoying a café andRead More →

It’s wonderful to have Maria Paola Loi of Sardinia Tours and co-author of the app Sardinia Inside Out, (who joined Martha Bakerjian to give us advice about a Golden Day in Alghero),  come back to give her advice for A Golden Day in Cagliari. Maria and our other Cagliari friend and expert, Lexa Dudley, from Golden Day 120, agree on some of the same places in Sardinia’s capital city–so with two thumbs up, take their advice when traveling there. Here’s Maria: In Cagliari, the Capital City of Sardinia, it is worth seeing the old Medieval  part of town —Castello. Take a lovely stroll along the narrow, and admire manyRead More →

We’re returning to our Golden Days series, thanks to Mauro and Antonello Demuro, brothers who are co-owners of the Live In Sardinia agency. For ten years this company has helped clients find dream properties in Sardinia. Here is their advice for a Golden Day on the island of Tavolara and surroundings. The island of Tavolara can be visited by boat from the sea side village of Porto San Paolo, 10 km south of Olbia, in north east Sardinia. It’s most impressive feature is a 500 meter high massif of limestone and granite, which is part of the Marine Protected Area of Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo. The seaside aroundRead More →

Ladies! 2015 is Your Year to Experience La Dolce Vita with author Susan Van Allen! Custom designed and led by Susan, for women to enjoy the pleasures of the Bel Paese to the max! * Small Groups Maximum 14–Great for friends to share a special time together and solo travelers to meet and share the wonderful experience with fascinating women * Luxury Hotels Only unpack once, be taken care of by an expert staff in lovely surroundings * Exquisite Itineraries [col1][/col1] [col2][/col2] [col3] [/col3] [col1][/col1] [col2][/col2] [col3] [/col3] Blending art, culture, delicious food and wine, fabulous shopping, a cooking class, and a relaxing spa dayRead More →

BUON NATALE! Celebrate Italian Style… with Sweets… and Angels and Music…On this Holy Night! (Click for Pavarotti & Domingo’s marvelous version) Auguri to You and Yours!Read More →