Join Me for Four Months of in-Depth Touring through Tuscany, Sicily and Southern Italy

I’m spending four months this Spring and Fall in Italy…. why not join me by signing up for my Blog?  Many of you may remember my original Bucket List Blog from 2018 when I spent six months in England.  If so, I hope you enjoyed following my travels, including touring in my 1958 Jaguar XK150, participating in several Car Shows, and visiting races, air shows, museums and beer festivals all over England and Ireland.

My current Bucket List adventure will bring you some of the best of the less touristed areas around Tuscany and Sicily as well as an in-depth tour of parts of Southern Italy you may never have heard of.  If you are expecting Rome, Florence, and Venice, this blog is not for you.  Sign up and stay tuned.  The adventure starts May 15.

Cascade-del-Mulino

Part One: Tuscany (May 15 – June 15)

Who doesn’t love Tuscany? Stunning scenery, great wine, fine food, hilltop villages and the warm Spring sunshine. The quiet little village of Montefollonico, near well-known Montepulciano, will be my home for four weeks. I won’t just be wining and dining and touring…I am actually enrolled at the somewhat famous Il Sasso Language School. I’ll be spending three hours a day expanding my Italian with a one-on-one tutor. Focus will be on conversation and daily living situations. Can an old dog learn new tricks? But don’t despair, I have a long list of day and weekend trips planned. We’ll see Pienza, Chianti, Montalcino, Perugia, Pitigliano and even do a circuit of the famous car museums in Modena. Along the way, we’ll visit Etruscan tombs and thermal spas and even a Cherry festival. Come along for the ride. See what its like to really LIVE in Italy.

sicily-railway-map

Part Two: Sicily (June 15 – July 15)

Sicily…. crossroads of history. This little island has been occupied and influenced by so many cultures over time…. Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Vandal and Ostrogoth, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, German, Spanish….and finally Italian. If ever there were a melting pot of melting pots, Sicily is it. And thanks to the mild climate, remnants of all those cultures remain. My month in Sicily (with all my new-found language skills) will circumnavigate the island in a counterclockwise direction, starting in the capital of Palermo. Explore this diverse city with me, then follow on through Trapani, Marsala, Agrigento, Ragusa, Modica, Siracusa, Catania and finally Taormina. Along the way we’ll see Norman castles, Baroque cathedrals, sleepy seaside villages, fabulous Greek temples, spectacular Roman amphitheaters and steaming Mt. Etna. Plus, pristine beaches and translucent waters everywhere. The pace will be slow, and we’ll savor the wines and foods indigenous to this area.

southern italy map

Part Three: Southern Italy (September/October)

I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen all the BIG sites in Italy, some many times…Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Turin and more, but have never been further south than Naples. For most, that’s “undiscovered Italy” and we’re going to discover it all. After returning home to avoid the hot and crowded summer months, I’m returning in September to absorb Southern Italy in the Fall. Still sunny and bright, warm water and hopefully empty sandy beaches. After landing in Rome, we’ll drive generally down the east coast of Apulia to the “heal” of the Italian boot, then across Basilicata and Calabria before finally ending on the Amalfi Coast south of Naples. The trip will be mostly three-to-five-day stays spent exploring everything from national parks in Gargano to Truli houses in Alberobello to cave dwellings in Matera and no end of restful beaches. Don’t be surprised if the old man tries out a couple of adventures along the way.