WHAT I PACK

1)  Do you travel light or heavy?

I try to pack light. After paying 500 Euros (NZ$1000) for excess luggage on a trip back home from Italy I’ve definitely learned my lesson.

2) Cattle or first class?

Cattle. I prefer to spend my money on the ground.

3)  I can’t travel without. . .

My Visa card—awoman’s best friend.

4)  What type of suitcase do you carry?

My suitcase is a sturdy four-wheeler, but lightweight, that I have dragged all around, on train journeys, cobbled streets, bus rides, you name it.

5)  Are you a planner or last-minute packer?

Last-minute packer, but I’ve got a lot of post-its.

6)  What’s the best thing you’ve brought back from a trip?

A beautiful gold necklace from Ponte Vecchio in Florence—the most amazing place to shop for jewellery.

7)  Favourite or most exciting airport to land in?

Rome—you get the warmest welcome from those passport control guys.

8) Most memorable trip?

The bus trip from Sorrento to Positano, on the Amalfi coast. The scenery is breathtaking, but even more enthralling is watching the bus driver wind through the impossibly narrow cliff-top roads.

9) What do you do while on the plane?

I always carry the relevant phrasebook for the country I’m going to and, between movies and sleep, try to absorb as much as I can—time well spent.

Looking for an unforgettable holiday? Come to Italy!

For me Italy is the number 1 holiday destination! I said that when I was 21 after visiting seventeen European countries and I say it now many years later and after seeing a lot more of the world. Why? Here it's in brief.

Italy is really a 'bel paese' (beautiful country), with its breathtaking coastline, like the Amalfi coast and the Cinque Terre, and a picture-perfect panoramic inner landscape, covered with olive trees, vineyards, figs, orange and lemon trees. Its lakes and mountains, jeweled with seaside and cliff-hanging towns, make Italy a real paradiso!

Italy is rich with history and astonishing works of art, all laid out in front of you as you stroll down the streets of Rome, Florence, and Siena, just to mention a few. The well-known galleries like Uffizzi in Florence and Borghese in Rome will give a world of arts, but you can also see hidden treasures in big or small churches throughout Italy. There are also places underground, like the catacombe, which are mind boggling.

Need I mention food and wine? From pasta & pizza to olives, cheese and wines Italy is world famous for it all! And don't miss the Italian heavenly gelatos and pastries (almond ones in particular).

Passeggiata around piazzas, soaking the ambiance and watching the artists, tourists and locals mingle together is the greatest free entertainment in Italy. Almost every night I go for a walk around my favourite piazzas, when in Rome. They are all close to each other, from Piazza Navona (showcasing Bernini's masterpieces), to Piazza Rotondo with the gracious Pantheon, to Piazza di Spagna with its colourful atmosphere, to Fontana di Trivi, where Federico Fellini used as a romantic scene for his famous classic movie, La Dolce Vita. This is also where an estimated 3000Euros worth of coins are thrown into the water every day by visitors wishing to return to Rome.

Then there's Opera. You can see it in a magnificent place like Arena in Verona under the blue sky, or in a beautiful little church in Rome (Chiesa di San Paolo Entro Le Mura) where I saw La Traviata recently with my tour guest, sitting in the front row. The ambiance was so real and intimate that we felt to be part of it!

Finally, you can't come to Italy and not go shopping (from designer shops to their outlet stores to mercatos of all kind). You might also have a particular interest in say Italian cooking, or mask making, or ceramics, etc - there are courses available whatever your interests might be.

As you see, Italy is as much about intriguing the mind as it's about delighting the heart. If you want to have a taste of it all, in an Italian style - that is relaxed, fun and vivace - then have a look at my website, book one of my tours, and let me be your personal guide for a great Italian experience ...sorry signori, it's only for women!