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Happy International Women’s Day! All over Italy on March 8, even in these unusual times, this holiday is celebrated with mimosa flowers, given by men to the women in their life, or by women to their friends… It’s a global day to celebrate all female achievements–past, present, and future.Courageous women began it in the early 1900s, holding demonstrations for the right to vote and for equal pay and working conditions.  The Union of Italian Women officially declared March 8 Women’s Day in 1945.The scent of mimosas is everywhere, reminding us that spring is near… When possible, girlfriends get together and have fun…and maybe get a little wild…with Mimosa cocktails… AND Mimosa cake…Read More →

It’s a warm, sunny day in Hollywood — -weather that still seems odd in December for this Jersey girl, and adds to an already unsettled feeling, amidst EVERYTHING ELSE. I close the curtains and curl up on the couch to gaze at the coffee table filled with a collection of Christmas stuff I’ve hauled in from the garage. I haven’t decorated our bungalow for holiday times in who knows how many years. Like many transplants to California, winter holidays for my husband and me have become about flying back East to celebrate with family. Sure, I’d put a few things up to get in theRead More →

Buona Primavera = Happy Spring! The Romans considered April the Sacred Month of Venus, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and Sex… Her presence is eternal…you see her all over Italy, in sculptures, paintings. You feel her spirit beckoning you to lighten up, enjoy all the flavors and pleasures…Here in the Uffizi in Florence is the Botticelli painting of her being born from the sea… The Romans believed they were the chosen descendants of this beauty. As Virgil wrote in the Aeneid, it was Venus who seduced a Greek mortal and thus became the grandmother of Romulus and Remus, those twins suckled by a she-wolf on Rome’s Palatine Hill, whoRead More →

Happy International Women’s Day! All over Italy on March 8, this holiday is celebrated with mimosa flowers, given by men to the women in their life, or by women to their friends… It’s a global day to celebrate all female achievements–past, present, and future. Courageous women began it in the early 1900s, holding demonstrations for the right to vote and for equal pay and working conditions.  Credits: PagineCorsare The Union of Italian Women officially declared March 8 Women’s Day in 1945. The scent of mimosas is everywhere, reminding us that spring is near… At night, girlfriends get together and have fun…and maybe get a little wild… Mimosa cocktails are enjoyed… ,AND Mimosa cake…Read More →

Buona Befana! Tonight’s the night this dear signora rides through the night sky, sweeping away last year’s troubles with her broom, bringing in a Bright Happy New Year to All! Here’s an excerpt from my book, Letters from Italy,that tells my story of celebrating the holiday in Rome… Postcard from Rome: The Legend of La Befana* “There is no Santa Claus in Italy,” my Nana told me when I was a kid. I had nightmares of how awful Christmas must be over there. Nana said she had to wait until January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany, to get gifts. The presents came from an oldRead More →

100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Susan Van Allen, Women Only Tours to Italy, Small Group Tours Italy, Women's Travel, My Brilliant Friend

So happy to see HBO’s My Brilliant Friend Episode 6 , where Lenu gets to leave the Neighborhood and go to Ischia…She was so pensive on her way there, and there’s me, returning ecstatic to one of my most beloved places in Italy… The island has been adored for its restorative springs since the days of the ancient Greeks, and today is the largest thermal-water destination in Europe, with over 300 spa-hotels and thermal parks. I fell in love with Ischia 10 years ago, while doing spa research for 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go., and keep returning to discover more of this treasure…The AragoneseRead More →

I can hardly settle myself down to write this. I’m immersed in the throes of Ferrante Fever here in Hollywood…watching trailers incessantly, reading reviews, studying photos of  HBO’s “My Brilliant Friend”–-that premieres tonight… Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels took hold of my life a few years back, when I devoured the series in a staying-up-late fury, turning pages, promising myself I’d go to bed…maybe after the next chapter…or the next… When the HBO show was announced recently, I started listening to “My Brilliant Friend” on Audible just to refresh my memory…and now my walks have become very looong…listening riveted to the whole series again…that would be meRead More →

One of my favorite June in Italy times was a Golden Days in Sperlonga, a beach town in Lazio, easily reached from Rome. My dear Roman friend Gioia, first told me about Sperlonga: “It’s where we all had our first boyfriends,” she said, with a dreamy look in her eyes…With Gioia as my cicerone=guide, I landed in all the right places… The bella Hotel Corallo, the only hotel at the top of the old town, where Salvatore and his family welcomed me… The village is an enchanting mix of stairways and alleys, with shops, restaurants, and caffes… Down below are the beaches, set up inRead More →

Buona Primavera = Happy Spring! The Romans celebrated April as the Sacred Month of Venus, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and Sex… Her presence is eternal…you see her all over Italy, in sculptures, paintings. You feel her spirit beckoning you to lighten up, enjoy all the flavors and pleasures…Here in the Uffizi in Florence is the Botticelli painting of her being born from the sea… The Romans believed they were the chosen descendants of this beauty. As Virgil wrote in the Aeneid, it was Venus who seduced a Greek mortal and thus became the grandmother of Romulus and Remus, those twins suckled by a she-wolf on Rome’s Palatine Hill,Read More →

Happy International Women’s Day! All over Italy on March 8, this holiday is celebrated with mimosa flowers, given by men to the women in their life, or by women to their friends… It’s a global day to celebrate all female achievements–past, present, and future. Courageous women began it in the early 1900s, holding demonstrations for the right to vote and for equal pay and working conditions.  Credits: PagineCorsare The Union of Italian Women officially declared March 8 Women’s Day in 1945. The scent of mimosas is everywhere, reminding us that spring is near… At night, girlfriends get together and have fun…and maybe get a little wild… Every State-Owned Museum in Italy offers FREERead More →