iPhone Puglia Vacation – Join Me!

April 29, 2013 by
The Blissful Adventurer - iPhone and Puglia

The Iconic Trulli Cones of Puglia

The iPhone Puglia is an 8 day – 7 Night Journey with me, The Blissful Adventurer, and iPhone Photography Icon  Sam Krisch to the must-see region of Puglia, Italy. From October 22-29 of 2013 an intimate group of passionate travelers will experience the most authentic journey into the heart of Southern Italy. Equipped with iPhones, passion, and lots of local wine, we will document one of the last remaining realms of traditional Italian living. Southern Visions Travel, the most authentic operator in the region will be managing every detail for us on this trip, and trust me, they are the absolute best in the business [Read more...]

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Twenty Five 25 Word Travel Essays

April 23, 2013 by
Travel Photos - The Blissful Adventurer

Maroon Bells, CO

Twenty Five 25 Word Travel Essays is a quick link to the very cool-

TRAVELING ALONE: 25 Very Very Short Stories  (click this link to read)

I am # 25 and I encourage you to read them all before you get to mine. Also, please subscribe to the wonderful Your Life is a Trip experiential travel blog. I am a regular contributor.

Cheers,

Michael

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Italy Images – iPhone 5 Editing Tutorial

April 22, 2013 by
The Blissful Adventurer - Italy

A Solitary Vineyard Near Marsala

Italy Images – iPhone 5 Editing Tutorial is a sampling of my recent work editing standard DSLR images using only my iPhone 5. I am very excited about the quality and style of these photos and I want to share with you today some details on how and why I edit as I do. [Read more...]

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Italy Rules – Expanded

April 17, 2013 by
The Blissful Adventurer - Michael Housewright

Spaghetti with Clams – Le Marche

What a wonderful and sometimes intense set of responses from my previous post – The Italy Rules. I want to take a little time today to expand and expound on some of my thoughts and provide further insight into traveling in Italy.

1. Italy Guides – Here is my short list of who I would travel with and why in Italy.

  • The Rome Digest - This new and wonderful consortium of talented Rome guides includes my dear friend Katie Parla, who is my champion of all things Roman (pork, gelato, beer, wine, art, history, and life) If you are going to spend time in Rome, and you should, let the Rome digest draw a map for you
  • Venice – Row Venice Nan McIlroy is one of the most knowledgeable people in Italy regarding living life, eating well, and getting out on the water. Don’t pay 200 euro for a snooze on a gondola. Pay less and get out there and learn to do it yourself. Easily one of the greatest experiences I have ever had in Italy
  • Tuscany – Judy Francini will cook with you and teach you what it means to truly experience life in Tuscany. Reach out to her. She has been cooking successfully for her Italian husband for years. She will teach you how to impress anyone.
  • Puglia – this is a bit biased but I can vouch for the unbeatable quality of Southern Visions Travel. Antonello Losito leads this superior company leading the most authentic excursions into Italy’s tastiest region. From 1 day to 1 month, these guys are amazing
  • Le Marche – Mariano Pallottini - the best guides are sometimes not guides. For this truly under-the-radar region no one can show visitors the ropes like Mariano. Please tell him I sent you.
  • Travel for Teens - If you would like to send your son or daughter on one of the most amazing experiences to be had. I strongly suggest using Travel for Teens. Managed and operated by a group of passionate, intelligent, and experienced men and women, TFT is the leader in volunteer and cultural travel in Italy for students. Ask for Ned or Nick and your young adult will be blown away
  • For other Italian regions I have friends of friends and would be happy to do some research for you [Read more...]

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The Italy Rules

April 15, 2013 by
Sicily - The Blissful Adventurer

Cathedral – Mazzara del Valo

The Italy Rules are my set of guidelines for the first-time and infrequent Italy traveler. I have traveled to, lived, and worked in Italy frequently over the past 20 years. In this time I evolved from a curious tourist to hardened, salty veteran of the trials, travails, and pitfalls of one of the world’s most visited countries. One usually dreams of Italy for years before finally setting their foot into the proverbial boot. The dream usually crashes in much less time. This post is really for the traveler who has not been deep into the Amazon or climbed to base camps in Nepal. This post is for those of you who enjoy modern conveniences, large bathrooms, and the amenities of a comfortable Western life. For the most part, I am you. I love my big bed, my central heat and air, and my very fast wi-fi connection. However, Italy is reason enough for me forego these luxuries for a few weeks or months out of every year. [Read more...]

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Lost Images of Turin, Italy

April 8, 2013 by
The Blissful Adventurer - Turin

View from the Church Steps – Turin.

Lost Images of Turin, Italy

I made my first trip to Turin, Italy in August of 2010. I was simply blown away by the architectural influence of the French Savoy family. However, like most of Italy in August, the city was practically deserted. The empty streets along with the general resignation on the faces of the locals, during this holiday month, gave one of Europe’s richest cities an eerie and sickly feel.

The Blissful Adventurer - Torino, Italy

A haunting bridge over the Po.

I love the ghostly light emanating from the center tunnel in this image. This one ray of sunshine seemed to encapsulate the spirit of this very challenging summer in Italy. [Read more...]

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Friuli – Friday Photos Finale

December 28, 2012 by

 

The Blissful Adventurer - Friuli Photos

Trieste Canal

Friuli Friday Photos Finale is my final Friday blog of 2012. These shots are from an extraordinary spring adventure in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and one from the Veneto just next door. We are in Northeast Italy here, in a land still seeking an identity after changing hands frequently in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I never would have thought I would have eaten the best sauerkraut of my life in Italy, and I did. Tall people, Fascist art, pork  in a dozen ways on one plate, my kind of weirdness shared with friends. Nicolas Emery, the famous Rubicon explorer, his fiancée Giulia Laveto (aka juujee), and of course The Schmee were all present and on board for wine, food, and Friuli. [Read more...]

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Lost Images of 2012 – Venice

December 22, 2012 by

 

The Blissful Adventurer - Lost Photos of 2012

Surreal, Haunting, Spectacular

Lost Images of 2012 is my year-end series of photos that did not make a blog post and that have the merit to stand on their own. In celebration of the Holiday I chose Venice for its perpetual capacity to wow a lens and evoke awe. I encourage you all to click the images and view them in large format. [Read more...]

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The Blissful Adventurer – 2012 Blog of the Year

December 18, 2012 by

The Blissful Adventurer - Blog of the Year

The Blissful Adventurer – 2012 Blog of the Year

Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the link from Cara Olsen to her outstanding blog This Little Light and saw she had selected me among a few of her very talented peers as Blog of the Year for 2012. Cara herself had received the honor and as the protocol dictates shared her love and recognition with other writers she admires in the same vein. Cara, as many of my readers already know, is a novelist/blogger of exceptional mettle and integrity. Her work proves one can have faith and a firm grasp of the human condition and that they are not mutually exclusive. To be chosen by such a talented scribe is truly a blessing in these end of 2012 days. Thank you Cara Olsen. You are blessed and blessed with good taste :-) [Read more...]

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Hipstamatic Haiku Sunday

December 16, 2012 by
Hipstamatic Haiku Sunday is back and bolder than before. Hipstamatic iPhone images post-processed, imbued with magical lyrics and shared in a stream of consciousness format to entertain, prod, and provoke. Enjoy the countdown to the holidays.
Hipstamatic Haiku - The Blissful Adventurer

scratching away now
solid as before he looks
down upon us in awe

[Read more...]

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