It’s been great fun to get to know the group of women from the schools here. Now and then, when a few of us are available, we’ll go out for aperitivi.
Here, from left to right, are:

Keryn, from Australia
Ashley, originally from the U.S. (but recently London)
Anna, from Iceland. Now her parents are in Norway.
Monica, from England
Meltem, [...]

When I rounded the corner and saw the wall of red and cream damask patterns, I skipped both a breath and a heart beat. These are the textiles I came for. These are the fabrics I prowl and lurk for at the antique fairs.
“The Thread of Dreams – Il Filo dei Sogni” is a show at [...]

Dinner the night before was followed by a long lunch the next day. Renata and Angelo, who live in a town within walking distance from Sanremo, were having some friends over on Sunday and I was invited to come along. So gracious! It’s a real treasure to have people open their doors and ask me [...]

It’s a natural for friends to gather for food and conversation. This is worldwide, but I find that the Italians do it well and do it often.
Last weekend, in Sanremo, seven of us got together for dinner around the table: my landlady, Sandra, and her husband, Mauro, and their friend, Sandro (all of whom I [...]

Having swooned at the sunny, blue sky and t-shirt day along the seaside path in Sanremo three weeks ago, and having made new friends in town there, (and being up-to-my-ears in Winter in Milano), last weekend I went back to Sanremo for another dose of Springtime.
The train route goes up over mountains, and we rode [...]

How many people travel to Italy and include construction shots in their set of “vacation photos”? When I went to see an apartment being remodeled I didn’t realize how fascinating it would be. (Then I thought of my family members and friends that would also be interested and I started shooting photos.)
This apartment, or condo, [...]

One thing about being invited into people’s homes is the chance to have them bring things out to show me, such as old photos. In my recent visit to Sanremo, I got to see a few photos from “Young Life in Italy” from the mid-60s to mid-70s.
Old photos are always informative and amusing. (And I [...]

Nicoletta rode over the overpass at the same time I did and then began to move ahead. I called out, “Excuse me. I have a question.” She slowed a bit, I pulled up alongside of her and we rode the rest of the way together, talking. “Why are there no other women cyclists?” I mentioned [...]

We got together to celebrate Anaïs’s 24th birthday with traditional Milanese apperitivi at an “art bar” in town. Several of us women from Italian classes get together outside of class for chats, bike rides and travel. Anaïs is one of them.
She’s from Cannes, France, and 3 of her friends drove over, (bringing her kitty with [...]

Saturday. Clear blue skies. About 50 degrees. Yes!
I headed down the canal on my bike, but decided on a change of scenery and followed the path I learned about from Angelo, my surprise tour guide in mid-January. The one lane road wound though small towns and rice fields. I found my way back to the [...]

Hmm. I might find me a cute, little Italian. All the right curves and straight lines. Just my size. Fits into tight places. Agile and responsive. Yah. Sounds good to me!
(I don’t know what YOU were thinking. I was talking about a CAR!)
Before I came here, I sold my Honda CR-V and figured I’d get [...]

As a designer, I’m enchanted by the signage I see around Italy and France and love to stumble across old signs that haven’t been tampered with or “updated”. They have such flavor and style.

The locals write “Sanremo”, a conjunction of the saint’s name. The rest of the world splits it into two words: San Remo. It’s a beautiful and small little town that has palm trees befitting any seaside resort, as well as the narrow, pedestrian-only, rabbit-warren paths that are so characteristic of towns around Italy. Just a [...]

We continued on to Monaco and the Casino Monte-Carlo. Who’d have imagined? All of us commented on the richness so thick you could cut it with a knife, that you could smell the money in the air. Subtlety and understatement are not included in the vocabulary of this pinpoint country. Monaco is a place of overstated extravagance.
This small, [...]

The “pinch me” part. Along our drive I had been seeing “travel-guide Italy”, scenic, seaside towns, cliffside old buildings, palm trees, polished hotels and trattorias. The statues, the weathered stone and white columns were brilliant against the blue sky we had been given, and were just the sights that make people book a vacation. Incredible. [...]

There’s no way I could have CONCEIVED of this weekend! Talk about “living on a movie set!” It was all beyond real, not to be believed. Pinch me. Am I dreaming this stuff up?
Friday morning at 11:10 I hopped on the train heading to Sanremo on the Italian Riviera.
Just outside of Milan, a blizzard started.
(I [...]

Years ago, a girlfriend of mine from Seattle traveled and stayed with Marcello and Raffaella Tori of BluOne Cooking Tours in Bologna. When my girlfriend, Carri, returned home to Seattle, she kept talking with great fondness about the couple, their big hearts, and the wonderful time spent with them.

For 15 years, Marcello and Raffaella have [...]

As a designer and artist, being here in Italy is a pilgrimage to the home of all the motifs, patterns and visual elements I’ve studied and heard of all my life. At times I’m overwhelmed, excited by the visually lush surroundings.
The storefronts and shop windows are delicious with their old-world signage and embellishments.

This is a [...]

Saturday evening, after walking around Bologna for over 6 hours, I went back to my hotel room to chill out. Unfortunately, a wedding party was gathering in the main lobby just down the hall from my room. The hotel, I Portici, is very sleek and modern, with not a soft surface in the place, so [...]

Scatter sculpture, paintings and installations in amongst mediaeval buildings and you’ve got the makings of a visually exciting weekend! The Bologna Arte Fiera got me into town, but I went about seeing it in a very random manner. I simply stumbled upon the art pieces as I found them.
The piece that was most delightful to [...]