I’ve been to my share of Italian weddings but Saturday’s in the lakeside ville of Anguillara Sabazia was different. Short and sweet, heavy on scenery, food and reception. Marina shot the wedding and I tagged along for support and a slice of true Italian culture.
If you have Italian heritage and would like to move to Italy, you can obtain Italian citizenship. But it’s complicated. It’s difficult. It’s time consuming. It’s confusing. Annamaria Borelli came to Italy from New Jersey and managed to obtain citizenship. This is her story and advice.
Anyone see “Eat, Pray, Love”? It’s the movie where Julia Roberts plays a lost divorcee who travels to Italy, India and Bali to “find herself.” My favorite scenes were shot in Rome, particularly when she’s ordering lunch. The dishes being cooked appear on screen as she orders them. I ate at that Ristorante Santa Lucia Saturday night and talked to the owners about the “chaos” during filming.
When people travel to Venice, they should stop in Ferrara, a thriving former Renaissance cultural power between Venice and Bologna. It sports a 14th century castle complete with a moat and drawbridge and numerous museums showing off art from its glory days during the Renaissance. The town is rich and hopping, thanks to a progressive mayor and a citizenry with pride in its past.
The Pudding Shop is an Istanbul institution that played a role in “Midnight Express,” the international bestseller and Oscar-nominated movie. It is where Billy Hayes met the cab driver who took him to his first hashish deal. The Pudding Shop was the nerve center for backpackers following the Hippy Trail that blossomed at the time. Today it’s a tourist trap but it still has a soft spot in Billy Hayes’ heart. I visited the Pudding Shop last month and talked to Hayes last week.
Istanbul’s estimated 125,000 stray cats have become almost as big a tourist attraction as its mosques and Grand Bazaar. Documentaries have been made of them and endless articles have been written. But behind all the fat, happy tabbies eating handouts and sleeping in cat shelters are thousands of others being abused and killed. I sat down with one of Istanbul’s leading cat safety advocates to get the other side.
Everyone knows kabobs. Every town has a kabob shop. Turkey is the birthplace of kabobs and I had my fill during a four-day stay over my birthday two weeks ago. But there is more to Turkish cuisine than long roasted meat rolls. Turkey has the best baklava I’ve ever had (Psst! Greece! Add more syrup!) and an appropriately named snack called Turkish Delight.
I went to Istanbul last week to celebrate my birthday. It was my first trip back in 30 years. What I found was a city all cleaned up with a depressed population beaten down by runaway inflation and devalued money. Many expressed their frustrations while still welcoming me to their city which is remarkably more beautiful than I remembered. Even the Grand Bazaar got a makeover. This is the first of a four-part blog.
I’m going to Istanbul today. Turkey is one of 17 Muslim countries that I’ve traveled in, much to the chagrin of many Americans. I love traveling in Muslim countries for a variety of reasons, from the history to the architecture to the fact that they are just so different. I give 10 reasons why I’m lured to the land of Islam plus some travel tips for worried travelers.
Asia is not only the world’s biggest continent, it’s also the most diverse. Cross a border and you’re in a totally different world. It has something for everyone: foodies, budget backpackers, adventurers, history buffs. Guest blogger Elizabeth Long talks about three of her favorites: Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
What I love about Rome is you can walk all over town without ever walking down a busy street. Thanks to all the piazzas and the maze of narrow, cobblestone streets, it’s easy to lose yourself in the quiet parts of this chaotic city. And you always stumble onto historic sites, beautiful piazzas and interesting shops. For the second time, I traversed the city while avoiding traffic. I walked from Termini train station to my home in the Monteverde neighborhood. I zigzagged eight miles for 5 1/2 hours. Here’s my report.
Is America really the greatest country in the world? It may be for you. But it’s not for me. It’s not for everyone. Then why do so many Americans say it? A reader’s friend accompanied her to Italy recently and complained the minute she hit the ground. She compared everything to the U.S. and provided more evidence that, indeed, America’s the greatest country in the world. I took issue with that and mentioned some very scary statistics that show the U.S. lags behind in a lot of categories.
