All Saints Day is celebrated November 1 and is a national holiday in Italy. On All Souls Day, November 2, Italians bring flowers to cemeteries to honor deceased relatives. During November you’ll find some music and cultural festivals and performing arts seasons are starting.
Truffles are the star of November Festivals in Italy. Many truffle fairs are held in northern (Piedmonte for one) and central Italy. You’ll also find chestnut festivals in many towns and villages during November. Restaurants will often have special meals highlighting truffles, chestnuts, or wild mushrooms especially on Sundays. Fall is a great time for eating in Italy !!! Bon Gusto!
November 1, 2012
Holiday in Italy today…November 1st
October 24, 2012
Alaska …the beautiful!
The most immediate, and dramatic, impression Alaska is likely to make on you comes from its sheer size. Alaska has more than twice the area of Texas, and is rimmed by more coastline than all of the other states combined. No wonder the Aleutian people named it “the Great Land.” MountMcKinley — the tallest peak in North America, at more than 20,000 feet — looms over Denali National Park and Preserve. The park itself is larger than Massachusetts, helping to explain how Alaska contains more than two-thirds of the United States’ total national park acreage.
Not only is Alaska huge, it is magnificent. The unbelievable scenery is what first catches the eye. Row after row of glacier-garbed mountains stretch to the horizon. Some are reflected in the water of lakes dyed a bluish hue by the silt of melting ice and snow.
Braided rivers, which find new routes around ice dams that form during winter, meander through U-shaped valleys that were gouged out eons ago by advancing glaciers. Whether flying over, driving through, walking in, or viewing it from the deck of a ship, the sheer drama of Alaska’s scenery is difficult to express in words.
October 10, 2012
Speak just a little Italian
A few years ago I read a delightful book by Dianne Hales called La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language. Recently I came across what Dianne thought was the briefest list of required Italian for anyone visiting Italy. I thought it was worth sharing since many of my blog readers are clients whose Italian journeys I help plan.
- Greetings. Know how to say “buongiorno” (bwohn-JOR-noh) for “Good morning” or “Good Day”; “buona sera” (BWOH-nah-SAY-ra) for “Good evening”; and “arrivederci” (ah-ree-vay-DEHR-chee) for goodbye (obligatory when you leave a shop or restaurant).
- Disclosure. Say up front, “Non parlo italiano” (nohn PAR-loh ee-tah-leeAH-non) for “I don’t speak Italian.” A good follow-up question: Parla inglese? (PAR-lah een-GLAY-zay) Do you speak English?
- Courtesy. Please, thank you, and you’re welcome are the most important phrases in any language. The Italian phrases are “per favore” (pehr fah-VOH-ray); grazie (GRAHT-zee-ay) and prego (PRAY-goh).
- Personal preferences. Wherever you go, someone will ask, “Va bene?” (VAH BAY-ne): “Is it going well? Is everything okay?” If it is, you can reply “Si, bene!” (see BEHN-nay) for yes, all is well. “Mi piace” (mee pee-AH-chay) means “I like”; non mi piace, “I don’t like it.”
- Prices. Bottom line, you’re going to be buying food, tickets, souvenirs and other irresistible things. Before you do, you’ll want to know, “Quanto costa?” (KWAHN-toh KOH-sta): How much does it cost?
Buon Viaggio My Friends !
September 28, 2012
Seattle’s Pike Place Market
On a recent visit to Seattle, the highlight was my morning at the 105 year old Pike Place Market, home to more than 200 year-around businesses, as many arts and crafts booths, and 100 farmers who rent table space to sell their produce and flowers. The Pike Place Fish vendors are popular not just for their abundant fresh seafood, but their comic and theatrical antics for their patrons ! The setting is on the edge of a steep hill overlooking Elliott Bay, home to the new Big Wheel, the ferry terminal, and the cruise ship docks. At the corner of Pike Place under the “Public Market Center” sign, sits Rachel, the unofficial market’s mascot. This bronze cast 550 pound piggy bank receives $6000-$9000 annually, which is used to fund the market’s social services.
Seeing Rachel reminded me of Florence’s Mercato Nuovo, a.k.a. the ‘Straw Market’ which dates back to the 11th century. Most Florentines actually call it the Mercato del Porcellino, or “Market of the Little Pig” after the bronze statue of a wild boar (very common in Tuscany).
September 11, 2012
Space Adventures Anyone?
Do you recall when Sir Richard Branson unveiled SpaceShipOne…the world’s first private spaceship which flew high-altitude flights in 2004? And that was followed in late 2009 by SpaceShipTwo. And more recently, during the 2012 Farnborough International Air Show, Virgin Galactic announced LauncherOne, a new air-launched rocket specifically designed to deliver small satellites into orbit. The company plans to offer commercial flights by 2016.
For more information on Space Tourism, click link below.
I still have quite a few journeys to take on earth yet, so you will not find me in the queue for a space trip any time soon. How about you?
Journeys Viaggio 
