Unlock Italy Guided Tours

31/07/2024

Italian summer ☀️ it started slow but the heat has arrived! Also … where did July go? 😅

19/02/2024

POV: You’re a tour guide in Florence watching your spring calendar fill up but you’re chanting to yourself: balance balance balance! Trying to hit that Goldilocks goal of juuuust right 🤞 Other freelancers - can you relate?
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Last year I made a major change in Unlock Italy. Since 2017 we have been offering private guided tours in locations all over the country. But last year we reached a combination of too many requests (a good problem to have!) and a huge change in the ticketing system for the Vatican and Colosseum that now makes individuals compete with bots and massive tour operators to get tickets.
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So I decided to change.
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Unlock Italy now offers trip planning services to book tours around the country alongside logistics advice and suggestions for how to best explore this beautiful country in a way that’s suited to you and not to the masses. Luca and I still offer “à la carte” tours but only in Florence and Tuscany where we mainly work.
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It was so hard to make this choice and change the business model I’d been using for years and it’s taken me months to get used to this new normal. But the result is infinitely more space to grow in other ways (teaching, studying, writing) and to be more present on the tours I’m giving.
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I hope this year brings me to more off the beaten track places, special experiences and the time to connect with people both in the world of tourism and without.
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Today I stopped to watch the sunlight on Santa Maria Novella instead of just speeding by on my way to the train home and that in itself felt just right.

11/02/2024

Rain or shine, is there anywhere as magical as Venice? I’m always struck by how you can find a completely deserted alleyway just seconds away from the absolutely packed main thoroughfares in the city. It helps to have a local showing you the way like or I would definitely have been lost in the labyrinth!

31/12/2023

Auguri a tutti from Lauren & Luca! Thanks to all of you who spent time with us in Italy in 2023!

12/12/2023

‘Tis the season for vino rosso! 🍷 😍

17/08/2023

Buon Agosto! And long live the Italian tradition of totally detaching during the month of August. Sharing zuppa di cozze and Prosecco with friends on the cliffs after a sunset swim… it doesn’t get much better than that. Buone vacanze a tutti ☀️

31/07/2023

If you're coming to Florence in September, check out the Firenze jazz festival!

Returning this September, Firenze Jazz Festival brings international jazz stars to Florence’s most dazzling locations.

06/07/2023

The fourth issue of Open Doors is out and we’ll be having a little celebration tonight (July 6th) in Florence at Santa Rosa Bistrot at 6:30 to celebrate 1) the completion of another collection of incredible short stories, poems, essays from around the world 2) more English and Italian parallel text! 3) the presentation of Studio 124 gallery space in Livorno and 4) that ALL the issues of Open Doors are now free in flip book form and for download (open the flip book and click the upper left hand corner arrow to download a pdf of the magazine).
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I started Open Doors during the pandemic when I was missing connection to other writers and I am always honored and humbled by the opportunity to read so many people’s work. This is a magazine based in Italy but not necessarily about Italy. The bios of the authors describe their connection with the country and I always find reading them is one of the most amazing parts of the magazine - don’t skip them!
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I’ve been experimenting with the model for Open Doors and the subscription method seemed to limit the number of people who would read the collection. As the purpose of the magazine is to create community this was starting to feel counterintuitive. It is not free to produce the magazine - subscriptions to editing software, podcast platform, website, and flip book site are all expenses I currently cover. If you believe in Open Doors, and would like to support it with a donation, I would be grateful! But also just liking, sharing, commenting and above all reading are the best ways to get the magazine out there to new readers and new writers.
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I hope you like this issue! Let me know what you think and happy summer reading!

13/05/2023

Photo collage of last week in Florence: peeking into Renaissance courtyards and loggias, writing with students at San Miniato, exploring gardens in between rainstorms, & spying the duomo from all angles. Apart from the actual thunderstorms we had this week, it feels like the quiet before the storm … our coming creativity & yoga retreat, a busy tour season with Unlock Italy, summer sessions teaching writing in Florence and the next issue of the Open Doors Review is nearly ready! For now soaking in the beauty, getting some reading in, and grateful for the train rides that give me time to get some work done between home in Livorno and work in Florence 💕

27/04/2023

The beauty of the Iris Garden in Florence is just sensational 😍 little paths to explore, olive trees to lie under, views over Florence … a must visit at this time of year! A how to: Go up to Piazzale Michelangelo, enjoy view of duomo, then head to opposite corner of the piazzale and there is the gate to the Iris garden. Donation encouraged but no entry fee. Can’t wait to go back again!

26/04/2023

There are still spaces for our retreat taking place HERE in less than a month 😍 Are you joining? Write us an email for more details or check out the blog post on our site. In the meantime, enjoy some armchair travel through the grounds of the beautiful Agriturismo Alberelli where we’ll be staying May 24-28 to do all things writing, yoga, rest and relaxation.

Join us for a creativity and yoga retreat at the beautiful Agriturismo Alberelli in May 2023 or consider this this beautiful location for your next Tuscan Co...

24/04/2023

Moody skies over Florence today for about one hour before the sun came out again - the clouds gave the duomo and skyline of Florence the perfect sense of drama! Views from and conversation with - so nice to see you in Florence!

21/04/2023

After many year, I finally made it to the gardens at the right time of year to enjoy the wisteria! This is the perfect time to visit the famous tunnel of wisteria and sit under the olive trees overlooking Florence with what must be the absolute best view of the city yet. And what made it all the more special was doing so in the company of the beautiful and life affirming .with.love talking about magic, coincidences, circles of our lives and families and all of the beautiful things that await 💜

21/03/2023

The view from my class today where a student told me, all in a rush, the incredible story of reconnecting two estranged sides of his Italian family separated by generations, by emigration, by family secrets and scandal and now reunited by his return to a small town he’d never been to before but where everyone already knew his name. 💕

18/03/2023

I spent a blissful morning yesterday and seeing it in the warm sun, I’m even more excited for the retreat I’ll be leading here with ! You asked and we listened… we’re keeping most of the five retreat days in this gorgeous place where we can hike to the sea, do yoga, write, read and relax. This also brings the price down significantly so I think it’s a win win :) As always, write me for more details! The retreat will be May 24-28 (4 nights, 5 days).

28/02/2023

My ideal writing location used to always look something like this picture: tranquil solitude (with a nice view of course!) and an entire day free for writing. I’d lament, “when would I ever get this time!” Now I will create moments of space for this type of writing but I’ve been learning (imperfectly, but learning) that on a daily basis I write all the time even without that perfect desk space. The notes jotted down in a journal on the train or on a piece of scratch paper next to my bed before falling asleep or even just the time spent thinking about a character and a story on my way to the store … all of that is part of writing too. My previous narrative of: “only uninterrupted time counts” or “quit your job to write a novel” are not realistic or even desirable. What about this one: “if I don’t produce something “good” in this writing session, it’s a waste of time.” I have to do mental battles with that one most weeks!

Dismantling some of those unhelpful creativity narratives are part of what I’ll be doing with and those who can join us for the creativity & yoga retreat we’ll be leading this May.

What are some of your creativity killing negative thoughts that you’re working to leave behind this year? I’m curious!

Creativity & Yoga Retreat: Tuscan Coast May 24-28, 2023- write me for early bird pricing and more info 💕

09/02/2023

Some views of Florence over the last month as I settle into the routine of teaching, reading more pieces of travel writing than I ever thought possible, writing and preparing for a summer that is already full of tours and two retreats both centered around nature and writing. It’s a lovely moment of busy-ness but with balance ✨

08/02/2023

https://www.unlockitaly.com/a-tuscany-creativity-yoga-retreat-this-spring/
We are proud to announce our very first Tuscany retreat combining creativity, yoga & somatic teaching THIS MAY. Get ready to write, move and discover the wine and food of Tuscany's coastal region. Early bird pricing lasts until March! Who's coming? :)

We are excited to announce our first multi-day retreat in Tuscany! This May, join Unlock Italy’s Lauren & Rachel Zitin on the coast of Tuscany in a haven of tranquility as you rediscover your creativity and somatic awareness with daily yoga practice and creative workshops. When This coming May 24-...