Passion For Italy Travel Podcast

This is the third part of the recent Joe and Lori trip to Italy. Naples Train Station An adventure with a private transfer An abbreviated Pompeii trip Positano: Buca di Bacco, L'Incanto, Le Tre Sorrelle, La Pergola, Cafe Positano, the beach, the stairs, plenty of food, wine, shopping, and gelato. Capri: the day trip there was worth the trip! The best experience with a private transfer we have ever had...

In this episode of Passion for Italy, Joe and Lori visit beautiful Firenze. Follow along as we leave Roma and travel via train from Roma Termini Station to Santa Maria Novella station in Firenze. We walk the streets and visit Accademia and see the statue of David. Joe walks to the top of the Duomo. In the show we discuss: Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria. Crossing the Ponte Vecchio to see Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. We visit Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, and San Lorenzo. Mercato Centrale, Mercato Nuovo. We loved the food, wine and gelato of this beautiful city. Try the Gelato at Perche No, Grom, My Sugar and so many more locations. Trattoria Za Za is fantastic. This was our slow down time after Rome and before Positano and Capri.

Joe Mulinaro joins the Passion for Italy Travel crew. He will be having a number of guests join him to discuss their trips to Italy. In this episode of the Podcast, Joe invites his wife, Lori, to discuss her recent trip to Italy where they visited Rome, Florence, Positano, and Capri. In this first show, they discuss the Rome portion of the vacation. They start with their planning and flight. The episode continues with five days of filling their agenda with all the major points of Rome. Monti District, Santa Maria Maggiore, Spanish Steps, Piazza Republica, Altar of the Fatherland Villa Borghese, Laghetto, Piazza del Popolo, Via Del Corso, Trevi Fountain Vatican Musuem tour, Castel Sant Angelo, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Campo di Fiore, St Agnes Church, Piazza Venezia, St Peter's Basilica Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Teatro Marcello, Jewish Ghetto, Capitoline Museum, Tiber Island So much, pizza, pasta, wine, gelato and cornetti.

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How do you start organising a trip to Italy? Passion For Italy Travel is here to help you and some great information about Travel to Italy.

As we start to wrap up a year that has seen such significant change and heartbreak, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be healthy and safe and we hope all of you are as well. While we have been unable to travel abroad this year, nothing can take away our ability to dream about where our next travel destination will be. This holiday season, I have been reminiscing about a trip my family took to Italy last December.

Hi and welcome to the Passion for Italy Travel Podcast. This is Lindsay, from the Tampa, Florida office. Have you ever noticed the power of flavor and aroma to transport you to places far from home, but close to your heart? One night this week it was storming in Tampa. Our usual evening walk was not possible. So, instead, my husband reached for one of our special bottles of wine and we went out on the porch to listen to the rain and dream of Tuscany. Today, we will share with you the winery that has brought us and all of our clients who have visited such joy through the years. We will hear from the wine maker himself as he shares a special message with our Passion for Italy Travel clients and followers, and some stories about the family; their recipes, their wines, and their passion.

Today we’re talking about the Italian language. Its beauty, its history, and how we can use this time when many of us cannot travel to Italy, to be able to assimilate once we land in Il Bel Paese. This is a hard time we’re facing, for many reasons. Illness, job loss, fear of both, exciting plans cancelled, trips to Italy cancelled, couldn’t we all use something good to focus on? A way to not only better ourselves but make those trips we hope to take in the not so distant future even more special? One thing we can do, wherever we are, is learn the Italian language. Is this a necessity when visiting Italy, not really. Most Italians, especially in the tourism sector speak English very well if not fluently. It will, however, elevate your experience beyond your imagination.

The 15th day of August is a national holiday to celebrate Ferragosto or Assumption Day. In 18 BC, Emperor Augustus declared August 1st a day of festival to thank his workers and give them time off to recharge by the sea. Often the festivals were marked by celebratory games such as horse races, like the famous Palio in Siena. Later, the date was moved to the 15th of August to coincide with the Catholic Feast and the Assumption of Mary. Passion for Italy Travel Designers are big fans of Italian beach life so we thought it would be fun for some of us to tell you about our favorite beaches in Italy and why we love them so. Allison discusses the beach culture of the Amalfi Coast and Puglia. Gemma lets her favorite secret slip, a beautiful hidden gem in Campania. Lindsay takes you to her favorite beach in Sardegna's Golfo di Orosei. Sabrina shares an insider's view of a lesser known beach in Le Marche.

Ciao, this is Allison Spiegel with Passion for Italy Travel in the New York office. This summer’s unique challenges have prompted a return to the summers of our youth. Simple, lazy days filled with nature, family time and lots of creativity and imagination. And as wonderful as these days may be, many of us are yearning to travel the world again. As a mom, I understand how the prospect of international travel with kids can be as daunting as it is exciting. As parents, we question everything, from ground transportation and hotel amenities to sleeping arrangements and food options. And ultimately, the biggest question we ask is how family friendly will our destination be? Having traveled to Italy with our own children, we know the ins and outs of designing a trip that will be culturally enriching and most importantly, manageable. So, the answer to the question, can you travel to Italy with kids, is yes you can!

We turned on the news one evening this week. I sighed my nightly sigh. Here we go again. More fear. More anger. More uncertainty. More isolation. But then, my husband picked up his guitar and began to play the first few notes of Spunta la Luna Dal Monte, a song we adore by Andrea Parodi and Pierangelo Bertoli. It’s sung in a mix of Italian and Sardinian. As he played, we looked at each other and immediately, my spirit calmed. I realized, this is why we have to keep going. Because no one can distance us from our dreams. No one can take away the love in our hearts. And no darkness lasts forever.

Over the past few weeks, you have heard stories from our suppliers about their lives during COVID, how they’ve gotten by and made the most of a difficult time. You’ve also heard from Gemma and Allison about their love stories with Italy. Today, I’m sharing mine. This is a personal story, but I hope it inspires you to make the most of the time you have with the people you love, to live every moment, and to get out and see this beautiful world together. Many of my clients ask me about bringing their teenagers, how to make the trip interesting for them so they won’t get bored. It is one of my favorite questions. And the short answer is, “Bring them with you, and watch what happens.” Italy changes people. Italy creates. Rinascimento is the Italian word for Renaissance, rebirth. We almost always think of it in relation to art, and Italy as its home. However, there is another type of rebirth that occurs for many of us when we visit Italy for the first time, and every time. And another still, that brings back the memories of loved ones no longer with us, and keeps them alive in our hearts.

Discover the charms of Ischia with PFI Travel designer, Allison Spiegel.

An introduction to my story and how I came to discover my Passion for Italy beginning thirty years ago, by the director of Passion for Italy Travel, Gemma Green Close

As summer inches closer many of us have had to cancel travel plans to Italy, myself included to Positano on the iconic Amalfi Coast. As travel designers, we know how much time and care goes into planning every moment of a trip to Italy, so we understand that the disappointment cuts and it cuts deep. I thought I would share a bit about one of my favorite summer destinations in Italy in the hope that it will keep your travel dreams company and inspire you to look ahead and plan for next summer. So, let us take a virtual visit to a place near and dear to my heart - the iconic fishing village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

This week, we’re visiting Rome through the words of Carlotta, founder of our Rome Elegant Residence 217 near the Spanish Steps that all our clients and each of us personally adore. I love her letter, because her joyful personality and the same friendliness we find in the guesthouse come through in her story. The rooms themselves are decorated in the family’s own antiques, and art work, and the styles of the antiques meeting a clean, modern design capture the city’s personality.

Over the past few weeks, we have been sharing messages with you from our suppliers in Italy. Today, we’re back to Rome, my favorite city in the world. Every city has a personality, and to me, it’s hard to find one more vibrant and alive than Rome. The effortless mingling of ancient history and modern life never ceases to amaze me. Every visit leaves me more spellbound than the last. Today, we meet Marilena, a guide herself, and owner of the incredible tour company we partner with in Rome. When my husband and I were last in Rome, we planned several tours with them so that I could experience the exact same tours and meet some of the same guides that our clients always rave about once they come home. Our first tour was with Marilena herself. The tour was the Dolce Vita orientation private tour of Rome. It is almost impossible from any description to understand the true value of this tour. The temptation is to think, “Ah, I’ll just wander on my own and see the fountains, piazzas, Colosseum.” And it’s true, you can see them. It’s understanding that makes a guide so worthwhile.

Travel designer Allison Spiegel on how she came to work with Passion For Italy Travel and how to nurture our passion for travel to Italy at a time when no one can travel.