Must See in NC: Mountain State Parks

As spring is emerging in my backyard of North Carolina, the season is beckoning me to hit the trails and explore North Carolina’s amazing State Parks… North Carolina is a wonderful place to visit because we go from The Mountains to the Sea from the wandering Blue Ridge to the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll continue to […]

Italian Adventure: Get to Know Tuscany:

Get to Know Tuscany…We’re continuing our Italian Adventures in Tuscany – home to the beauty and majestic of this heavenly region of hills, pristine coasts and even a desert. Tuscany is one of Italy’s fifteen provinces and the second most visited area in Italy. Not only is Tuscany beautiful with a mix of mountains (Appennine) […]

Venice Explorer: Burano Lace

Buongiorno and Welcome – today we’re touring the Island of Burano, which is one of the Venetian Islands. Burano is renowned for this history of gorgeous lacemaking. This even served as the plot for Hallmark’s romance series ‘The Wedding Veil,’ with Autumn Reeser, Lacey Chabert and Alison Sweeney… Burano is defined by it’s colorful buildings […]

Venice Explorer: Murano – Heart of Venetian Glass

Welcome to another Italian Adventure – today we’re traveling via ferry (Vaporetto) to the island of Murano near Venice. This charming island in the Venice Lagoon is one of the most important historical spots in Venice because it is where the art of Venetian glassmaking has been practiced for over 1000 years. The island of […]

Italian Adventures: Basilica of St. Anthony In Padua

We’re continuing our Italian Adventures with a visit to The Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua. St. Anthony is one of my favorite saints of my Catholic faith. He is the Patron of Lost Things. I’ll be the first to admit he has brought many of my emergency prayers before God… So what is a […]

Italian Adventures: Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel

We’re continuing our advenures Italian Adventures in Padua at the astonishing Scrovegni Chapel. Considered to be “one of the most supreme achievements in Western European Art,” (citation: Professor Kloss on The Great Courses), The Scrovegni Chapel includes frescos by Giotto that forever shifted the course of art history. You’re thinking…that is a bold statement, why […]

Italian Adventures: Visiting Padua

Today we’re continuing our Italian Adventures by taking the train from Verona to Padua to explore this ‘miraculous’ city that predates Rome. Visiting Padua…with a few fun facts and history before beginning our tour. Facts about Padua: Unfortunately the city fell on hard times when: Things to see: Palazzo Bo: When Visiting Padua you must […]

Italian Adventures: Visiting Verona

Today on Italian Adventures we’re visiting Verona! A jewel of Northern Italy, Verona is roughly seventy-five miles west of Venice. This ancient city is located at the base of The Lessini Mountains (also known as the Italian Pre-Alps) and has a population of 250,000 people. Chances are when you hear the word ‘Verona’ you are […]

Venice Explorer: Six Districts

We’ve covered a lot of ground on our Venice Explorer travels, from St. Mark’s Square and Basilica to museums and more…today we are going to learn a bit more about each of Venice’s six districts or ‘Sestieri’ We’ll start our journey in the oldest and one of the most vibrant areas of Venice: San Polo […]

Venice Explorer: Heavenly Churches

Thanks for joining the Venice Explorer tour.Venice is a city of heavenly churches, in addition to the glorious St. Mark’s Basilica, the city has over 200 churches (100 on the main islands – Centro Storico) Today we are going to make pilgrimmages to some of Venice’s most serene churches Salute Basilica The Church and Basilica […]