Amalfi Coast T shirt says, “Save water, drink limoncello.” Good advice!

You’ve decided to explore Italy for your 2012 vacation. Where to go? You face endless, tantalizing possibilities and feel like shouting, “Help!” Help is on its way…right here. 

1. “What kind of travelers are we?” Choose the best regions for you. 

Are you big wine lovers and want to experience your favourite wines right where they’re made with the producers? If you love Amarone, choose the Veneto. For Barolo—Piedmont. For Chianti or Brunello—Tuscany. For Nero D’Avola—Sicily. 

If food is your number one priority in life, ask yourself, “What kind of Italian food?” For silk-like pasta,Emilia-Romagna. For healthy vegetable dishes and seafood, the Riviera or Puglia among others. 

If you love adventures in nature, what season to go? In winter, you can ski in the Dolomites north of Venice, in the mountains near Turin in Piedmont or on Mount Etna in Sicily. 

In summer, you can hike on paths on the Amalfi Coast or in hills in many parts of Tuscany and Umbria. Italy’s two coasts of beaches may beckon you like in Sardinia, the Riviera and Calabria. 

If you adore art, what period of art and architecture? Florence focuses mostly on the Renaissance. For me, Rome shines for the antiquities and Baroque. Puglia offers imposing castles, Greek temples, quaint trulli houses, white Greek-like hill towns. 

Find regions that match at least one of your passions. How? Stay tuned for your next newsletter! 

David and his shadow at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence

 2. “What kind of travelers are we?” Slow or fast?  

Do you like to settle in one place, hang out for a few days and get a good feel for life, food, wine and culture there? If you have a week, pick one region as a base, or two regions a short trip apart. If you have two weeks, choose two or three regions. You’ll avoid spending too much time traveling and getting settled in too many hotels. 

Some flights cost less money and time than longer train rides. For example, flying from Rome to Catania in Sicily takes one hour and costs from 98 Euros return so you could do Rome and eastern Sicily in a week. 

Do you want to see as much as you can in the short time you have? Plan to stay at least two, or better three nights in each place. 

Travel time between places can eat up half a day door to door.Venice to Florence is about two hours by train. But add time to get to the train in Venice from your hotel, find your train in Venice (assuming you bought tickets in advance), get from the Florence train station to your hotel and get settled, and time for the unexpected. You’ve lost a morning. 

If you stay night #1 in Florence, tour Florence day #2, stay in Florence night #2 and leave day #3, you’ve spent about 1.5 days there.  Hardly doing this magnificent city justice.

Planning Your Trip In Italy: Where Should We Go?

2012 poster for the Baroque Carnevale in Castiglion Fibocchi in Tuscany

When I think “carnevale—carnival” in Italy, Venice’s famous one pops first into my mind (see carnevaledivenezia.it for an incredible line-up of events for Feb 4-5 and Feb 11-21). However, wherever you go in Italy, cities and towns celebrate Carnevale, some more flamboyantly than others. 

In Tuscany, the popular beach resort city, Viareggio (about 90 minutes west of Florence by train) is world famous for its lavish Carnevale celebrations, especially its gigantic, fantastical paper mache floats and allegorical characters in its parades. Up to one million spectators will marvel at five masked parades on the Liberty style seaside avenues on February 5, 12, 19, 26 and March 3 in 2012. The floats move among the public, so you can participate in the parades too. The entertainment program offers a wonderful variety of music and culture for the whole family. Check out Viareggio.ilcarnevale.com and have fun looking at the flamboyant costumes! 

If you want to celebrate carnival in Tuscany but partying with 1,000,000 joyful people makes you cringe, how about venturing to a 12^th century Tuscan hill town near Arezzo, Castiglion Fibocchi? Their carnival festivities with a Baroque theme February 5 and 12 sound utterly enchanting. 

They transform the whole town into the “Carnival of the Children of Bocco” with masked parades, street theatre, gastronomic stands and fireworks. (carnevaledeifiglidibocco.it) Arezzois about an hour south of Florence by train. You’d probably need to rent a car to easily get to Castiglion Fibocchi. 

On the Amalfi Coast, for 10 days the coastal town of Maiori turns into one big carnival with parades, floats, masks, dance and music performances, traditional games and general fun. The towns people work hard for about three months to make it happen and are all too ready to celebrate by carnival time! 

Other popular carnivals happen in Ivrea in Piedmont (famous for its orange fruit battle),Verona, Cento near Parma (twinned with a Brazilian carnival), Rome and Acireale, the most beautiful and fun carnival in Sicily. 

The best web site I found for lists of carnival celebrations all over Italy is travelitalytravel.com/Italian_carnevale_season which gives links to Italy’s 20 regions and carnivals in each region.

Where To Have Fun At Carnevale in Italy: Tuscany, Amalfi Coast & More

Margaret picking grapes in the Barolo wine country

On Saturday I attended a lovely memorial service with potluck lunch for a good friend, Sofia who died suddenly at age 57, far too young, younger than me. Her death hit me hard and made me stop and ask myself what else I want to do in my life, what I’d regret not doing, what’s on my bucket list. 

As you know, I love traveling. In Italy

I want to:

• pick grapes for at least a day in the Barolo wine country at harvest time (About five years ago I picked for two hours but had to leave for an appointment.)
• explore towns and vineyards around Lake Garda
• see an opera outdoors on a summer night in Verona’s Roman theatre
• pick olives at harvest time in Umbria or Tuscany
• snow shoe on trails under Mount Etna
• dress in costume for Carnevale–carnival in Venice,Verona or Acireale (in Sicily)
• climb to the top of the island of Stromboli to see the volcano closer up   

Outside Italy for travels, I want to:

• explore the Douro Valley in Portugal on a hiking & wine tour
• experience St. Petersburg in Russia at summer solstice time
• ride the rails across Canada stopping to visit many towns along the way
• take part in the Quebec City winter carnival
• don cowboy boots at the Calgary Stampede
• French Polynesiais taken care of on my Dec 18 to Jan 8 trip! 

In  Vancouver, some things I want to do:

• share more good times with good friends
• perform more stories, my own or others, like Lily Tomlinson’s monologue, The Rubber Addict. (See it on YouTube—it’s hilarious!)
• fall in love again with a man who feels the same about me
• become an excellent ballroom dancer
• immerse myself in nature more, like snow shoeing or hiking in alpine meadows
• take a clown course 

What about you? What experiences are on your bucket list? As Helen Rowland said, “The follies which a man regrets most in his life, are those he didn’t commit when he had the opportunity.”

Travel & Life Experiences: What’s On Your Bucket List?

mother from Australia with daughter living in UK enjoying Capri on their cooking tour in Sorrento. Courtesy of Elizabeth Sykes.

More and more parents are gathering their adult children, and sometimes their grandchildren, to share meaningful vacations where you learn something new and have fun together, as well as discover new cultures or ways of living. 

At the same time, you reconnect and deepen relationships with loved ones you may not see as often as you’d like to, and create wonderful memories your family will treasure forever. 

Here are some true family travel tales from our Italian cooking tours this year. There’s something about cooking and laughing together in Italy with local people and eating your efforts that brings people together! I’ve seen it happen so many times in Italy.

A 60 something uncle and aunt from South Carolina took their 16 year old nephew, who lives in Massachusetts and loves cooking, on our cooking tour in Emilia-Romagna. They wanted to spend more quality time with him and encourage his interest in cooking. Who knows, he may become a chef specializing in Italian cuisine! They had a fabulous time together, seeing first hand how parmesan cheese is made from scratch and making all kinds of pasta by hand. Their nephew loves cars too, so they visited the Ferrari museum. 

A 50 something mother and her 22 year old daughter from Florida enjoyed a week of cooking, wine and exploring Tuscany at a wine estate near Florence. The daughter had just graduated from journalism school so this special trip celebrated an important achievement. These two foodies had happily travelled together before but not for awhile and had lots of fun in Italy. 

A 60ish mother from New Hampshire travelled with Mama Margaret in 2001 with a group of women friends to Piedmont, Cinque Terre and southern Tuscany and has been getting our newsletter ever since. Her 26 year old daughter lives in Boston and as her mum put it, “needs a break”. With our tour colleague in south east Sicily, we custom designed a Sicilian cooking tour with extra outdoor activities for these active souls starting November 26, 2011. 

I’m 61 and very healthy, but am thinking I need to travel while I still can. A good women friend of mine died last week at age 57. Many baby boomers are traveling now with their adult kids while their health is still good and while their adult kids aren’t tied down in jobs, marriages or parenthood. 

I’m off to French Polynesia and Hawaii for Christmas and New Year on a ballroom dance cruise—my first cruise ever! Before sailing away, I’ll explore islands Tahiti, Moorea and less touristed Huahine, staying in more rustic accommodations, soaking up sun, slathering myself in insect repellent and savouring local food.

Share Meaningful, Fun Vacations With Your Family: True Tales

What are your favourite places in Italy? Feel free to add to my list. Let’s have a conversation and widen our horizons for our next Italy trips! 

1. Florence is my favourite city in Italy. I especially love walking along the Arno River at night, sitting in the ancient San Miniato Al Monte church above the panoramic Piazzale Michelangelo, looking at frescoes in Santa Maria Novella church and taking my time at the Ferrgamo shoe museum.
   

   moon over Arno River with San Miniato church lit up top right.

2. Stromboli, an island in Sicily’s Aeolian Islands. Visually stunning, live volcano, black sand beaches, far away from it all.

   

   typical street in Stromboli

3. Sitting on the balcony of my room at Hotel Tramonto D’Oro in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast, in awe of the view of Positano, with a glass of prosecco in hand.

   

   View of Positano from my Praiano hotel balcony

4. walking the paths in Piedmont’s Barolo or Barbaresco wine country hills, especially with fall colours

   

   walking path from Monforte to Barolo

5. walking the paths in Cinque Terre, especially strolling and sitting under the olive trees between Corniglia and Vernazza and then lying on a sun cot right at the sea’s edge on the beach in Monterosso’s new town.

   

   beach in new part of Monterosso

6. Dining at Roberto Rossi’s restaurant, Il Silene in Pescina, a Tuscan hamlet near Mont’Amiata. Amazing food, wine selections by Roberto and hospitality.

   

   Margaret and friends with Chef Roberto

7. standing on the Strada Panoramica in Ravello looking down on the Amalfi Coast. Someone said, “Ravello is where poets go to die.” I can see why. Stunning beauty.

   

   view from Ravello of Amalfi Coast

8. browsing and taking photos in Bologna’s colourful central food market, especially the creative window displays that either amuse or disgust you.

   

   butcher shop window in Bologna’s market with a pig head as the centerpiece

9. Montepulciano in Tuscany is one of my favourite hill towns: spectacular valley views, walking paths, drinking Vino Nobile in Caffe Poliziano or Piazza Grande.

   

   Margaret at one gate into Montepulciano

10. walking in Ballaro and Porta Carini markets in Palermo in Sicily, gazing at food and houseware displays and watching the exotic parade of shoppers

    

    Palermo’s Porta Carini market

My Top 10 Places In Italy (in no particular order—it’s a stiff competition!)