Passion For Italy Travel Podcast

Today I am speaking with the artist David Henderson, who spends half of his year painting in Venice and taking educational art, liturature and garden tours to Europe. David Henderson spent four years at London’s Royal Academy Schools where he was awarded the S.J. Solomon prize for figure painting and was twice selected for the Academy’s annual summer exhibition. Since then, he has held over 30 solo exhibitions and regularly gives lectures on the history of art and painting. His subjects include portraiture, the figure, landscape and urban landscape.

I had the privilege of having a private tour at night many years ago after the museum closed at night and I was the only one there just me and my private guide. I was the only person in the Sistine Chapel. I had Michelangelo all to myself and it was so incredible I wanted to fall on the floor and stay there to spend the night gazing up at that magnificent ceiling. There was no one else and it was one of the highlights of my life indeed.

In this episode of Passion for Italy, Joe and Lori finish their recent trip by visiting Pompeii, Positano, and Capri.

In this episode of the Passion for Italy Travel Podcast, Joe Mulinaro joins the PFIT team to discuss a recent trip to Rome. Joe invited a guest, his wife Lori, to discuss any positives and negatives she had with this trip.

Make an effort to meet the local people in the villages and communicate with your hands if not the language. The Italian people love this.

As we start to wrap up a year that has seen such significant change and heartbreak, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be healthy and safe and we hope all of you are as well. While we have been unable to travel abroad this year, nothing can take away our ability to dream about where our next travel destination will be. This holiday season, I have been reminiscing about a trip my family took to Italy last December. Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

Today we’re talking about the Italian language. Its beauty, its history, and how we can use this time when many of us cannot travel to Italy, to be able to assimilate once we land in Il Bel Paese. This is a hard time we’re facing, for many reasons. Illness, job loss, fear of both, exciting plans cancelled, trips to Italy cancelled, couldn’t we all use something good to focus on? A way to not only better ourselves but make those trips we hope to take in the not so distant future even more special? One thing we can do, wherever we are, is learn the Italian language. Is this a necessity when visiting Italy, not really. Most Italians, especially in the tourism sector speak English very well if not fluently. It will, however, elevate your experience beyond your imagination. Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

Ciao, this is Allison Spiegel with Passion for Italy Travel in the New York office. This summer’s unique challenges have prompted a return to the summers of our youth. Simple, lazy days filled with nature, family time and lots of creativity and imagination. And as wonderful as these days may be, many of us are yearning to travel the world again. As a mom, I understand how the prospect of international travel with kids can be as daunting as it is exciting. As parents, we question everything, from ground transportation and hotel amenities to sleeping arrangements and food options. And ultimately, the biggest question we ask is how family friendly will our destination be? Having traveled to Italy with our own children, we know the ins and outs of designing a trip that will be culturally enriching and most importantly, manageable. So, the answer to the question, can you travel to Italy with kids, is yes you can! Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

Over the past few weeks, you have heard stories from our suppliers about their lives during COVID, how they’ve gotten by and made the most of a difficult time. You’ve also heard from Gemma and Allison about their love stories with Italy. Today, I’m sharing mine. This is a personal story, but I hope it inspires you to make the most of the time you have with the people you love, to live every moment, and to get out and see this beautiful world together. Many of my clients ask me about bringing their teenagers, how to make the trip interesting for them so they won’t get bored. It is one of my favorite questions. And the short answer is, “Bring them with you, and watch what happens.” Italy changes people. Italy creates. Rinascimento is the Italian word for Renaissance, rebirth. We almost always think of it in relation to art, and Italy as its home. However, there is another type of rebirth that occurs for many of us when we visit Italy for the first time, and every time. And another still, that brings back the memories of loved ones no longer with us, and keeps them alive in our hearts. Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

An introduction to my story and how I came to discover my Passion for Italy beginning thirty years ago, by the director of Passion for Italy Travel, Gemma Green Close Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

This week, we’re visiting Rome through the words of Carlotta, founder of our Rome Elegant Residence 217 near the Spanish Steps that all our clients and each of us personally adore. I love her letter, because her joyful personality and the same friendliness we find in the guesthouse come through in her story. The rooms themselves are decorated in the family’s own antiques, and art work, and the styles of the antiques meeting a clean, modern design capture the city’s personality. Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com

During these difficult days with COVID-19 crippling tourism, we are keeping in touch with our suppliers and introducing them to you one episode at a time. Today we get to know Anna, a sommelier who leads are clients on fabulous wine tours in Tuscany. We will have a few laughs in this episode, and also understand her knowledge and passion. Then, we hear from Anna, what she is doing to survive and what her life looks like in Tuscany during the lock down. Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel. pfitravel.com. info@pfitravel.com