Travel Smith

10/06/2021

So here’s a little secret…I am REALLY excited to see this new kid’s movie because it’s set on the Ligurian coast!

Mama Mia! I will take Italy in cartoon form these days😂

This summer, you’re invited to Portorosso. Watch the new trailer for Disney and Pixar’s Luca and see the film June 18 on Disney+. Set in a beautiful seaside ...

03/06/2021

Watch the trailer!

I have always felt that no one was more surprised by his fame than Anthony Bourdain himself.

Fans have been given a first look at the upcoming film about the late Anthony Bourdain. "Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain", directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville, "examines the uncommon life of the world-travelling chef." A trailer is set to drop on Thursday. RELATED: Anthony Bourdain Docume...

19/05/2021

I’ve been feeling the optimistic travel vibes in the air lately.

THIS is where I’d like to be when the world opens up again.

Pictured is the vineyard dinner set-up at Querceto di Castellina in the Chianti region. https://www.quercetodicastellina.com/en/q-diary/vineyard_dinner/

17/05/2021

🙋‍♀️

You too?

30/04/2021

Today's view from the pool is spectacular from the Alpin Panorama Hotel Hubertus in the Dolomites, Italy.

WOW!

25/04/2021

A castle in Tuscany? Sure!

Today's view from the pool is from the Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany's Maremma area.

23/04/2021

Today's view from the pool is from the Art Hotel Villa Fiorella.

Who wouldn't love to take a dip in this pool on the Sorrentine peninsula in Massa Lubrense?

22/04/2021

“Now it’s confirmed: following a successful first season, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy will be back for seconds. Having already covered the ‘Big Six’ on a food safari through Italy (Milan, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany), where should host - and late-blooming sex-symbol - Stanley Tucci head next?”

Read on for Sara Porro’s fabulous suggestions, complete with humourous ideas for the show, and Stanley 😃

A second season of 'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' is in the pipeline, but where will the affable American actor and food lover go next? Nobody knows. But Fine Dining Lovers has some ideas in this tongue-in-cheek series guide. Take a look.

21/04/2021

I just bought my copy and can’t wait to start reading.

https://www.eater.com/22388507/anthony-bourdain-world-travel-book-laurie-woolever-interview

17/04/2021

I’ve really missed posting “today’s view from the pool”.

Maybe it’s time to start dreaming about travelling again someday and beautiful views should help!

Today’s view from the pool is from the soon-to-be-opened Castello di Reschio Hotel in magnificent Umbria.

15/02/2021

Did you see Stanley Tucci eating zucchini pasta at Lo Scoglio in Nerano? Here is the recipe if you want to recreate it at home and invite me over 😉

http://sirenusejournal.com/en/recipes/lo-scoglio-spaghetti-zucchine-amore

14/02/2021

One can find heart-shaped islands, lakes and rock formations all over!

Here is Lago di Scanno in the Abruzzo region of Italy. If you hike the Sentiero del Cuore (“Path of the Heart”) from Scanno, there is a vista that allows you to see the heart-shape of the lake.

Happy Valentine’s Day ♥️

15/01/2021

Valentine’s Day just got a little sweeter for all of us because Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” debuts on CNN at 9pm EST on February 14th.

In each episode of this six part series, Tucci visits a different region or city of Italy, including Tuscany, Sicily, Milan, Rome, Bologna, and Naples/The Amalfi Coast.

Should be fun!

01/12/2020

One of my favourite chefs in Tuscany, Judy Witts Francini, is hosting an online cooking class with her friend from Sicily.

Even if we cannot be in Italy right now, we can take a great Zoom class with them and learn some Sicilian specialties!

Wednesday December 9 6pm Rome time, 9am in California, Noon in New York Join me with one of my favorite chefs we study with on my Sicilian trips. Angelo Pumilia is a wonderful chef and story-teller as well. He has cooked around the world and is now the head chef at the Planeta Estate in...Read More....

16/11/2020

Anyone else feeling this?

10/09/2020

Who is ready to escape to an Ontario cabin just about now?

From a gingerbread house to the tiniest of eco cabins and a cottage with glass walls, we bring you the best cabins to rent in Ontario.

06/07/2020

Ennio Morricone has passed away today at the age of 91. He was so talented, and perhaps my favourite of his compositions is from the movie Cinema Paradiso. Have a listen:

From The Academy Award Winner Cinema Paradiso. Featuring the Music of Ennio Morricone.

12/06/2020

Beautiful Venice as seen as the lockdown ends.

Roberto (the gondolier featured) is the husband of writer Marie Ohanesian Nardin, author of a book about Venice called “Beneath the Lion’s Wings”, a love story which is about an American woman who falls in love with a gondolier 💕.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic more than 10 million tourists flooded Venice every year. But now with tourists gone, for the first time in living memory residents have the city all to themselves. As Venice starts reopening, its citizens have begun re-imagining what their city might look like, and wheth...

11/04/2020

Sunset in Viareggio, Tuscany ♥️

09/04/2020

One of my favourite group tour companies has set themselves up to do online tours.

So, for a fee that is around the cost of purchasing an online movie, you can explore places and learn new things from the comfort of your living room (or kitchen as they have cooking classes available too)!

Tours from Home

07/04/2020

While we can’t travel now, we can sit back and enjoy some movies featuring our favourite European countries. Here is a great list!

An incredible list of movies to watch based on travel locations you might be headed to or may inspire you. Share yours with me!

07/04/2020

Andrea Bocelli live from the Milan Duomo this Sunday at 1pm EST.

On Easter Sunday (April 12, 2020), by invitation of the City and of the Duomo cathedral of Milan, Italian global music icon Andrea Bocelli will give a solo p...

29/03/2020

Take a look. Not just for parents but for all of us while we are looking for interesting content!

14/03/2020

Natalie of the excellent Italian travel blog “An American in Rome” shares 6 Italian museums that can be visited virtually online - for free.

Grab a glass of your favourite Italian wine and sit back and enjoy until you are able to travel there again.

Every single museum and cultural site in Italy has been closed since March 8th. Since then, the restrictions on movements within Italy have become much stricter. At the same time, the restrictions on coming into Italy also keep growing, with travel bans, flight cancellations, and airport closures. I...

13/03/2020

In the hardest of times, this street in Siena is filled with music ❤️

A powerful moment of music during the government-imposed coronavirus lockdown in Siena, Italy – as neighbours lean out of their windows to sing together.

24/02/2020

Happy Monday!

Today's view of the pool is from a countryside haven called Relais Ortaglia located near Montepulciano - one of the very best parts of Tuscany!

https://www.relaisortaglia.com/en/

17/02/2020

Happy Monday and Family Day here in 🇨🇦!

Today’s view from the pool is from an indoor spa pool at the Brufani Palace in Perugia, Umbria (home of the Perugina chocolates 🍫).

https://www.sinahotels.com/en/h/sina-brufani-perugia/

15/02/2020

To recline or not to recline? That was the question of the week!

I recently asked a gentleman in front of my son to please decline to recline because:
1. My son was sitting squished in the window seat and he's 6'2";
2. It was only a 3 hour flight; and
3. The guy in front happened to be sitting in a bulkhead seat with no wall or seating in front of him...lots of free leg and foot space.

You’re either a recliner or you’re not. There appears to be no middle seat here.

14/02/2020

Happy Valentine’s Day

Buon San Valentino 🇮🇹

03/02/2020

Monday’s view from the pool.

From Villa Scarpariello in gorgeous Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.

https://www.villascarpariellorelais.it/en/