The Amalfi Coast seduces everyone who sets eyes on it. It is a rare destination guaranteed to give you a rush - the giddy kind you get when you can't believe you are standing there. From the sea to the hills, from Positano to Vietri, it is a spectacular subject to photograph. - Chantal ...
Book Review | Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson
Given my passion for reading and great love of the Amalfi Coast, as soon as I saw the title of Katherine Wilson's book Only in Naples: Lessons in Food and Famiglia from my Italian Mother-in-Law I knew it would be a book I would enjoy. And I certainly did! With Katherine's engaging writing style and ...
Book Review | Italy Explained: Italian Trains by Jessica Spiegel
If you're planning a trip to Italy and thinking of getting around by train, then I've got a book you'll want to read. But first, I'm going to let you in on an embarrassing little travel secret. The first time I took a train in Italy it was very nearly a disaster. Back in 2001, on my first trip to ...
Book Review | The Italians by John Hooper
As the time period for my Italian citizenship application to be processed comes to an end, I've found myself drawn more often to thoughts about what it means to be Italian. As a foreigner, sometimes it just seems like a jumbled up pile of puzzle pieces - where you're pretty sure at least a handful ...
Book Review | Dream of Venice
Very few readers of Ciao Amalfi will know that the first spot I visited in Italy was Venice. After dreaming of traveling to Italy for years, my first big trip to Europe and to Italy took me to Venice - and only Venice. With just a side visit to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. (What did you expect ...
Book Review | Dreaming of Laughing Hawk by Linda Katmarian
While my reading time has been quite limited since the summer, I've had the pleasure of dipping into a wonderful story every moment I could with Linda Katmarian's debut novel Dreaming of Laughing Hawk. With deep and fascinating characters and a storyline that drew me into the novel more and more ...
Book Review | At Least You’re in Tuscany by Jennifer Criswell
As an expat in Italy, I'm drawn to memoirs by writers who have followed a similar journey of uprooting life and going in search of a new pathway in a new country. Naturally, if the book is about expat life in Italy, then it's probably top of my "must read" list. I was thrilled to receive an advance ...
Book Review | InterRail by Alessandro Gallenzi
There is something inspiring in a train station. The coming, the going, the energy of the crowds or the sadness of an empty platform - everything adds to the air of possibility and adventure. And freedom, of course. It's all three of these that entice Francesco, a university student living outside ...
Book Review | Todo in Tuscany
There are a lot of reasons to fall in love with a house in Tuscany. A sweeping view across the rolling Tuscan hillsides, finding a piece of Italian history going back generations or a setting in a charming Italian village. While Louise Badger and Lawrence Kershaw found all those things in ...
Book Review | Among the Cloud Dwellers by Giuliana Sica
Every life deserves a little magic. If you feel like yours is missing that little spark, then boy oh boy do I have the book for you! One of my favorite summer reads so far has been Among the Cloud Dwellers by Giuliana Sica (published by Gemelli Press). This book is a beautiful blend of romance, ...
Book Review | Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly
The beautiful Amalfi Coast, travel stories, history, traditional Campania recipes and, of course, gelato – I think I fell in love with Chantal Kelly's book Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore before I finished reading the back cover. It was a joy to dive into the story and join Chantal Kelly as ...
Book Review | Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
A few years back now, my mother read Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother- Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. I don't recall now just how it happened--chance, a recommendation, a gift--but I do know it was a treasure. As she read the story and shared about it with me, it became an ...
