Though it’s akin to picking among your children, everyone who visits Italy’s Cinque Terre region holds a secret favorite among its five villages. It could be argued that Vernazza is the sexiest; that Corniglia offers the most amazing views. My favorite? The simple, steep-sided hamlet of Manarola, because an amazing stay there let me sink […]
Italy
The Whispering Walls of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio
When I visited Florence, Italy’s Palazzo Vecchio last spring, its’ walls seemed to hold a whiff of mystery. I lingered in the grand hall meeting hall, Il Salone dei Cinquecento, soaking up the sort of spooky ambiance, picturing the De Medicis holding court with foreign potentates and generals returning from battle. It’s the kind of […]
Stay Local in Venice: Al Tramonto Dorato
After all I’d heard, I didn’t know what to expect when I visited Venice. Packed gondolas plying the waterways like piranha? A mass of humanity crowding the thoroughfares and choking the causeways? Venice was a surprise and a delight. Tourist-ed though it may be, it remains a truly magical place, and one that I feel […]