A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

"It was only decades later, in my little house here in the shadow of the Apennines, that I was completely free to forge my own path"  Shadow of the Apennines, Kimberly Sullivan Welcome to Episode 71: Kimberly Sullivan works in International Development by day and moonlights as a fiction writer by night.  Kimberly has written three books that she has Independently Published, and her fourt...

"In writing about Peggy, it's important to listen to one's own instincts. Don't listen to critics.  What do they know? What one should say about Peggy is, simply, that she did it. That no matter what her motivations were, she did it"  - Lee Krasner Welcome to Part 2 of my epic share on the 20th Century Art Collector and Art Patron Peggy Guggenheim... Here is the story of P...

“I have never been in a city that gave me the same sense of freedom” - Peggy Guggenheim, Out of this Century: Confessions of an Art Addict Welcome to Episode #69: Are you dreaming of visiting Venice and one of the iconic galleries  on the Grand Canal - The Peggy Guggenheim Collection? If you would like to know more about Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) listen to the story of her life and how she foun...

"The old cypress trees along the ancient noble roads stand tall as if to welcome you into their home"  -  Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen Welcome to Episode #68, This week I share Part 2 of my conversation with Author Sheryl Ness about life in Tuscany and the writing of her book Love in a Tuscan Kitchen: Savouring Life Through the Romance, Recipes and Traditions of Italy. Today we...

"Everything around me gave me a feeling that I was at home, from the foods to the people and the unique landscape.  I was falling in love"  -  Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen Welcome to Episode #67, Today I share a wonderful conversation with Sheryl Ness about her time in Tuscany and her memoir, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen: Savouring Life Through the Romance, Recipes and Traditions of...

“The appeal of this floating city built on stilts in a lagoon is real.  Venice remains a place always beckoning me to return.  Far from perfect, this island shaped like a fish entices me” -  Margie Miklas, Introduction, The Venice I Know Welcome to Episode 66, Margie Miklas has a special connection to Italy as a second generation Italian/American.  Come along for a sweet conversation about Margie’...

"And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again - to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more"  -  Pico Iyer,  'Why We Travel' Welcome to Episode #65: The thing is Italy has so much to offer.  Twenty regions and each with something special and unique.  I wanted to share all of the beautiful things about the city of Padova or Padua (in English) in the...

Welcome to Episode #64: I couldn’t resist but share a few books and artists that are truely inspiring me and feeding my spirit in the realm of Muse Italia. Enjoy, The Art of Excellent Products: Enchanting Customers with Premium Brand Experiences by Riccardo Illy   A Place in the World:  Finding the Meaning of Home by Frances Mayes Visit:  Frances Mayes for the Book Club Questions and Reading Guide...

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware“ - Henry Miller Welcome to Episode #63 This podcast share is a great window into my world… Have you ever wondered why a place is calling you, why you cannot stop thinking about it or more so, why you want to visit, or stay forever?  Well this share might shed some light on how a particular loca...

"Nature accompanies me, exalts me" - Henri Matisse A Serenade to a Sunday....  Reflections on a house and a garden. "I buy another five cypress.  I work hard, water, pray, read them poetry.  I listen to books as I dig... A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnet….A Paris year, John Baxter….and I dream of a day where they will drill their taproot down into the earth, deep, hardy...

"I think that a writer should observe the real world before imagining a non-existent one" - Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words In a day and age where the universe is at our finger tips and we can meander the world with a smart phone in our pocket.  A device that has the ability to solve most of our problems, pay the bills, track your kids, read you a book, take you from A to B, or wander the...

“Do you know the land where the lemon trees grow, in darkened leaves the gold-oranges glow,  a soft wind blows from the pure blue sky, the myrtle stands mute, and the bay-tree high?  Do you know it well?”   -   JW Goethe,  Author of Italian Journey Welcome to Episode #60: When I think about Limoncello immediately I find myself in Italy.  In particular on the Amalfi coast wandering the side streets...

"Now I know why I keep a diary. I am not at peace until I continue the thread into the present. I am interested in analyzing myself, in trying to discover the reasons why I do such & such. I cannot do this without dropping dried peas behind me to help me retrace my course, to point a straight line in the darkness".   Patricia Highsmith, Her Diaries and Notebooks So many writers have...

"The only joy in the world is to begin"  - Cesare Pevase What do these people have in common?  Jean Cocteau, Cesare Pevase, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Mann, Kurt Cobain, Frida Kahlo, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Anais Nin and John Ruskin….   They were all Diarists and writers of a certain moment in time.  And they found solace on the page, and for some of them their diaries were published for publ...

"We often need to be alone to reconnect to life and to ourselves, which then allows us to connect more meaningfully to others" - Sarah Wilson, This One Wild and Precious Life Welcome to Episode 57: Solo travel is make or break in my opinion and not for the faint of heart.  However, traveling alone can be a lot of fun too.  I love sharing the journey of travel with family and friends, yet...

“It’s not just the great works of mankind that make a culture.  It is the daily things, like what people eat and how they serve it” - Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking Welcome…… There is something about food that weaves its way in and out of life, that we cannot deny.   When I wrote this some time back I was in the middle of the day to day yet, musing over women and food, and how everything was pulsing...

“ Recipes are like stories. Once told then re-told, they become familiar and part of our families heritage. Families would share food and recipes with one another and through this organic process a cuisine was born.  Spread a little wider, and this tale becomes regional. There is handmade pasta created without eggs, sources that are meat free and celebrate seasonal vegetables. So now, in each regi...

"You can make the world beautiful just by refusing to lie about it" - Gio Ponti (1891-1979) Welcome to Episode #54: The last day of a travel adventure can be a quite distilling, generally it is a tricky day where the emotions run up and down, with that inner knowing that something special is about to end.  Sometimes it can be a relief, sometimes the wheels fall off the cart, and sometime...

"Let us be honest: who hasn't wanted to be just a little bit Italian?' - Kay Plunkett-Hogge, Aperitivo..... Welcome to Episode #53: Have you ever wondered how the effervescent Spritz drink customarily enjoyed at Aperitivo time in Italy became a cultural icon?  Once a purely Northern Italian cocktail and now very much a sign of the Good life wherever you are.  On my recent adventures...

“Sometimes I think we only half live over here.  The Italians live all the way” -  Ernest Hemingway,  (letter to his sister) Welcome to Episode #52: Come with me on a journey to Turin, we will board the Italo service at 10.35 at Milano Centrale and arrive an hour later at the Porta Nuova in the beautiful and the elegant Torino in Piemonte.  Travel days are such great experiments, where occasionall...

“I never travel without my diary.  One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”  -  Oscar Wilde Welcome to Podcast #51 I thought it would be great to share a little more of the adventure and what happened next in Italy on the journey from Liguria to Milan.  On the last days  there was much to savour and explore.  I love the adventure of it all, and the time to reflect on mom...

“Place will have its way with you” - Frances Mayes, ‘See You in the Piazza’ Welcome to Episode #50 I am sun kissed and sharing this moment with you from Liguria.  I am in Camogli on the Italian Riviera, a surreal and beautiful experience I have to say.  And so I share this with you as I reach the happy milestone of 50 Episodes!  So that is kind of fabulous.  I never really imagined I might be in I...

"Whatever it is I am trying to preserve may not be entirely real, but it isn't altogether false" - Andre Aciman.....'Homo Irrealis, Essays' Welcome to Podcast 49....And another in the moment share while traveling in Italy... Reflections on Parma, Genova, La Spezia and more.... Enjoy, Michelle xo Shownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the travel jo...

"These are the days that must happen to you” - Walt Whitman Welcome to Episode #48 Ciao from Italy, Salutations and greetings from the beautiful city of Parma in the region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.  I was sitting in front of the Palazzo del Governatore on Strada Garibaldi at an outdoor cafe, O' Bistro in the piazza, when I decided to record this travel share.  In other words, this is a...

"If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it's lethal" - Paul Coelho Ciao from Italy. I am on the Grand Canal recording this to share with you.  It is an off the cuff, on the wing travel share.  I will add in some show notes later as I am off for my morning cappuccino and a cornetto.   A Presto Michelle xo Shownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the...