Friday, December 05, 2008

Siamo tornati...
Sunset in Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, California

After a whirlwind 3 1/2 weeks in California, we have returned to rainy, windy & cold Lerici. 

Being able to spend time with friends and family is always priceless.  Being able to eat every type of food imaginable is a luxury.  Being able to take long walks on the beach in a t-shirt & shorts in November is heaven. Being able to but deals at the Gap, Old Navy and Target is a must once a year.  Being able to enjoy California wine is a challenge (!).

But being to able to come to our little house on the hill and waking to up the sounds of LucyLu again, makes me realize Italy is now really home.

I need a few days to settle in, then blogging will begin again. Until then, it's nice to be back...

8 comments:

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Welcome home. Yes you could never imagine not being able to walk along the beach in November and all the other things you used to do.

Have a good rest, sort yourself and then start blogging :-)

Heather said...

my extreme apologies for this ridiculously long comment. i just didn't see an email address for you. feel free to delete it (after reading, hopefully!)

Hi There

My name is Heather Rascona, and I am the (newly hired) Food Editor and contributing travel writer for Galavanting (www.GoGalavanting.com ). We are a new web magazine targeting the 18-49 female demographic. Our first episode, launched in July, 2008, had over 15,000 unique readers. We have a large online commuity with hundreds of members and dedicated readers. Our bounce ratio on the website is extremely low, meaning that when readers come to us, they stay on the site for quite awhile! It is the goal that Galavanting, within the next few months, will begin publishing print anthologies of our larger reviews, and we hope to pitch a travel show pilot within the year. We believe that the market is hurting for fun, spunky female travel writers, and given our number of fans, readers and community members, we think the female population agrees!

Our website seeks to target the independent, socially conscious and adventurous female traveller. We like finding unique travel opportunities and adventures for women who are trying to get away from large tour busses, gigantic resorts and packaged vacations. We provide indepth and honest reviews, generally along with photographs and video of whatever place we are reviewing. Our first webisode, which will launch in September 2008 will feature our recent trip to Costa Rica, where were reviewed 4 hotels, dozens of restaurants and adventure activities.

We are currently planning a 1 week trip to Italy, and have the following Itinerary:

Gubbio - March 29&30

Lucca - April 1

Cinque Terre - April 2&3

Florence - April 4&5

While there, we are hoping to review a number of hotels, restaurants and sites in order to give our readers suggestions for their next trip to Italy. We will be travelling as a group of 3 writers (myself, the Editor-in-Chief, and a contributing writer) and 1 camera person. We love small, independently and/or women run and own businesses that give our readers a real immersion into local culture.

We think this would provide a fantastic marketing opportunity for the hotels, restaurants and other services that we visit. Generally, we feature the hotel in our web video, interview the owner, and provide a review & write-up of the hotel in our essay about the trip. We also direct link to the website of the hotel and provide pictures. Please check out our site to see examples. We are also happy to work with you on any promotions or specials that you would like featured on our website.

If you are interested in working with us, please let me know. We are trying to set up our itinerary at this stage, and are looking for places that we can feature in our Italy Issue, which will be published online May 1, 2009.

Take Care,

Heather Rascona

Food Editor & Contributing Writer

Em and GC said...

Welcome back to Italia! And, what is a trip home to Cali without some summer weather in November, Mexican food (and In/Out) and trips to Target!

And Emerald Beach is one of my favorite spots when I got home!!

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Bentornati!!!!!!

Diana Strinati Baur said...

I hear you my dear friend. Having your own little tiny piece of heaven to come home to, with all of its softness and familiar smells and noises, defines the meaning of life in a way, doesn't it. Welcome home. Maybe now one of us can cross the vast tundra which is the Maritime Alps and we can see each other! baci baci

Anonymous said...

We miss you already!!! som

Polideuce said...

bentornata :)

Anonymous said...

Welcome back. We are going to Texas next week (staying for 3 weeks) and I can't wait to enjoy all of things you mentioned.

I'm glad you had fun!