I’m finishing the second leg of my Italian adventure. I’ve spent the last five days in the seaside town of Tropea. As soon as I arrived, I slowed waaaay down after being in the city life of Rome. Here, there’s nothing more important to do than lounge on the beach or have an aperitivo with a friend. Il Dolce Far Niente There’s an Italian concept, il dolce far niente, which is about just slowing down and enjoying life. Not having an action-packed agenda. Just…being. I can get down with that, and there’s nowhere better to practice it than Tropea. There…

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PHEWWWW! That’s the sound of me blowing the dust off this ole travel blog, as well as the sound of relief at FINALLY. TRAVELING. AGAIN!!! Despite being a very planny-plan kinda gal, a week ago, I decided not to wait any longer to visit my favorite place on earth. Italy. Here in the U.S., they’ve been quite aggressive with the vaccines (my international friends are stunned that we are able to travel already) and Europe is clamoring for tourist dollars. I took a quarantine-free flight (American) from Dallas to Rome. When we arrived in Rome, we had to wait for…

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quiet mind retreat

As a travel writer, it’s making me CRAZY to not be traveling this year. I missed out on planned trips to Sedona, San Miguel de Allende, and Hawaii. Itching to go somewhere, I decided to journey up to Julian, a mountain town an hour northeast of San Diego. But unlike previous trips there, which centered around shopping and eating, I planned something totally different: a stay at Quiet Mind Retreat Center, a sanctuary overlooking Lake Cuyamaca. The retreat center opened just before COVID-19 changed everything, and while its objective is to host mindfulness retreats, right now it’s more of an Asian-inspired…

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always italy

If you’re a reader like I am, you probably have a few rock star authors who you nerd out on. For me, at the top of that list, is Frances Mayes, she of Under the Tuscan Sun. Lest you think her repertoire starts and ends with that book made famous by the movie of the same name, let me educate you: she’s written a dozen books, most of which deal with my favorite place on earth: Italy. I was fortunate enough to have met Mayes last year when she glided through San Diego on her book tour for See You…

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