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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2012 Year in Review Haiku

December 31, 2012 by
One of my favorite icons on earth.
One of my favorite icons on earth. (copyright The Blissful Adventurer)

Here is The Blissful Adventurer 2012 Year in Review Haiku. Haiku was one of my most successful creative expressions here in the blog world in 2012 I want to share some of the best of the best with you all today for my final blog of 2012; easily the most successful year I have a had as a storyteller. [Read more...]

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Italy Images from a Month on the Boot (Part 2)

October 30, 2012 by
The Blissful Adventurer - Italy Images

The Trulli Cones of Gelso Bianco

Italy Images from a Month on the Boot is a 3 part series of photos I have found deep in the annals of my iPhone from this past May in Italy. I have recently attended some seminars on iPhone photography and I am getting better at creating images that I believe invoke the feelings I have when I travel.

I took the shot above at the wondrous Masseria Gelso Bianco in Puglia, Italy. This facility owned by my very dear friend Antonello Losito is one of the most stunning properties along the heel of the boot. The 5 bedroom villa with pool, 11 trulli  (the conical-shaped iconic roofs of the area), and a world-class professional kitchen is the perfect getaway for family or friends to one of Italy’s culinary and scenic gems. Staying here felt like coming home to a place I will always treasure. I loved being on the roof and shooting this shot as I watched the sun sink after a very rare rain shower. [Read more...]

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Haiku Sunday – Italy iPhone Photography by Juliet Housewright

July 22, 2012 by

This week’s edition of Haiku Sunday – Italy iPhone Photography by Juliet Housewright celebrates the eye of my talented wife on our most recent Italy journey. Juliet’s work will have its own gallery on The Blissful Adventurer soon and these images will certainly be part of it. Enjoy today’s Haiku and stay tuned for a big announcement tomorrow!

Haiku Sunday - Italy iPhone Phothography - The Blissful Adventurer

Feet seem happiest

when dappled lights and warmth find

a place to alight [Read more...]

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My Dinner with Malcolm Gladwell (Epilogue)

May 31, 2012 by

Making a Living

Bounty hunter #1: You’re wanted, Wales.
Josey Wales: Reckon I’m right popular. You a bounty hunter?
Bounty hunter #1: A man’s got to do something for a living these days.
Josey Wales: Dyin’ ain’t much of a living, boy.

- The Outlaw Josey Wales

TUESDAY: I had to come up with a plan. It had to be fate that Malcolm “Blink”ing Gladwell rolled up next to me at the Catalina having what appeared to be a cappuccino while looking nervously at his computer screen. I could leave him alone, or I could see what he was all about. This is Texas, and we are nosy, chatty, and very much want to tell people about ourselves; therefore, if I just start a chat it will either become a legitimate chat, or possibly one of the suicide scenes from Airplane. I took a shot of Rwanda to instill some bravery and —–I quickly decided that if it was fate I would indeed see him here again and we might even have a meaningful chat.

[Read more...]

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True Italy Stories – Out of Gas in Puglia (Part 1)

May 3, 2012 by

 

The Blissful Adventurer - True Italy Stories

Baroque Fascists

It was 03:45 am and my wife Juliet and I were pushing a 2005 Audi A4 wagon on the very busy SS16 from Monopoli back to our villa in Capitolo.  Cars filled with mostly drunken disco douche bags were streaming by at 150 kilometers per hour and we were making at best 10kmph into a headwind.

This was clearly a dangerous situation and we were in fact, out of gas and ¼ mile from safety. [Read more...]

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Celebrating 20 Years of Italy Photos

April 18, 2012 by

TBA 1992 - Photo by Leo Landin

To celebrate 20 years of Italy Travel I present you 20 years of Me :-) As you can see I still love cameras and sunglasses.

TBA 2012 - Photo by Mike Fiveson

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Camaraderie -Postscript

March 28, 2012 by

I am A-OK

Wow! The response I received from yesterday’s post was amazing. I put out a bit of an open-door piece on personal feelings as a writer and I received such a supportive and candid set of responses I feel it necessary to keep the energy moving.

Before I dive into my thoughts for today, thank you all for being part of this. I enjoyed reading how many of you have experienced similar shifts in friends and social/work life over the years. It was fascinating to hear how some of you managed these shifts and how some of you continue to struggle. [Read more...]

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Italy Itinerary – May 2012

March 26, 2012 by

There is a good chance we will see a few of these

The Blissful Adventurer returns to Italy on May 7, 2012 for a 24 day run of blissful, wine-soaked, photo-laden, pursuits of new experiences to share with all of you.

Our trip this year is partly vacation and also important research for upcoming writing and photo projects.  [Read more...]

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Italy Memories – Photos that Make me Happy

March 2, 2012 by

A Late Evening Stroll Discovery in Cisternino - Puglia

This has been an amazing week here at TBA and I would like to share some photos I discovered researching my upcoming Photo-Travel Book. These are shots that make me smile as the memories attached are endearing. Please enjoy friends of Bliss and know that Italy has memories waiting for you to discover as well. [Read more...]

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