Piedmont, or Piemonte, is the region in Italy’s northwest bordering France and Switzerland. It’s aptly named; Piedmont (‘foot of the mountain’) is surrounded on three sides by the Alps. Italy’s highest mountains and largest glaciers are found here. Piedmont is… Continue Reading →

I’ve always thought a hairdresser is a bit like a spouse – finding the right one can be hard and when you do, you want it to last forever. My Brisbane hairdresser and I have been together for years. We… Continue Reading →

When we first visited Lucca in February, the city was tucked up for winter. The weather was cold, the sky was grey and the trees were bare. It was striking and beautiful. Now we’ve returned to see Lucca looking summer… Continue Reading →

We’ve just settled into our seventh home in eleven months. This one’s in an old building in the very lovely city of Lucca, Tuscany and it’s great. The apartment has been beautifully renovated and it actually feels a bit like… Continue Reading →

The second stage of our tour of Sicily, through the northeast corner of the region, had it all – forests and cities, hill towns and highways, beaches and back roads. It’s fair to say that over the past few weeks… Continue Reading →

Visiting Sicily’s capital hadn’t been a priority for us; we’d heard Palermo variously described as big, rundown and rough. We went anyway. The description turned out to be pretty accurate – Palermo is all that, and a lot more. It’s… Continue Reading →

As the famous Giro d’Italia heads to Rome tomorrow for the final stage of the 2018 race, Greg and I have completed the first stage of our own ‘giro‘ here in Sicily. From our base in Syracusa, we headed south, then… Continue Reading →

You won’t be surprised to learn that Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country. There are 53 in total and seven of those are here in Sicily. (China is next on that list with 52). The region… Continue Reading →

On our way south to Sicily we decided to make a brief stop in Campania, a region of Italy we really didn’t know at all. Specifically we wanted to see Naples and the Amalfi Coast. We’d been looking forward to… Continue Reading →

Here we are in Syracuse, or Siracusa, on the east coast of Sicily. The city’s oldest residential district, Ortygia – which itself is an island – will be our home for a month. Apparently there are significant differences between Sicily… Continue Reading →