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"We often need to be alone to reconnect to life and to ourselves, which then allows us to connect more meaningfully to others" - Sarah Wilson, This One Wild and Precious LifeWelcome to Episode 57: Solo travel is make or break in my opinion and not for the faint of heart.  However, traveling alone can be a lot of fun too.  I love sharing the journey of travel with family and friends, yet I know there can be plenty of wild and beautiful moments when you take the reigns and travel solo.   After a couple of adventures up may sleeve where I leave the kids and the husband at home, here is my take on what is good and bad, and deliriously wonderful….I love the quote from the book Alone Time:  Four cities, Four Seasons and the Pleasures of solitude…. “Alone time is an invitation, a chance to do the things you’ve longed to do”.  Exactly, and there is nothing wrong with that!Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022Support the show

“It’s not just the great works of mankind that make a culture.  It is the daily things, like what people eat and how they serve it” - Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking Welcome……There is something about food that weaves its way in and out of life, that we cannot deny.   When I wrote this some time back I was in the middle of the day to day yet, musing over women and food, and how everything was pulsing around me, the orchard, the sunshine, the books on the shelf, the mentors I would seek to understand through the many resources on my bookshelf….. Julia Child, Elizabeth David, Nigella Lawson, Diana Henry and many more.These writers and culinary mentors were singing to me, and somehow I was in the middle of it all, somewhere between the daily and the sublime, reaching for a pear, scrawling down words, moments, memories, menus, and recipes.  This is the art of eating and everything I love about life.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and lifeMusic Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022 Stay Tuned for the next Podcast:  A Table for One - on Solo Travel..... Support the show

“Recipes are like stories. Once told then re-told, they become familiar and part of our families heritage. Families would share food and recipes with one another and through this organic process a cuisine was born.  Spread a little wider, and this tale becomes regional. There is handmade pasta created without eggs, sources that are meat free and celebrate seasonal vegetables. So now, in each region of southern Italy, there is a wealth of accidentally vegan dishes for you to enjoy” - Nadia FragnitoWelcome to Episode #55If you are in the mood to be transported to the dreamy world of Southern Italy look no further than Nadia’s, ‘A Vegan Summer in Southern Italy: Recipes and Culinary Adventures’.  I love this book for not only its visual beauty but its recipes based on plant based cooking, and the traditions of Southern Italy.  Food is more than the sum of its parts, it is culture, tradition, place, flavour and that connection between family and home.Enjoy.....Visit Nadia:  The Vegan Italian KitchenBook Share: A Vegan Summer in Southern Italy: Recipes and Culinary Adventures by Nadia Fragnito Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022Support the show

"You can make the world beautiful just by refusing to lie about it" - Gio Ponti (1891-1979)Welcome to Episode #54:The last day of a travel adventure can be a quite distilling, generally it is a tricky day where the emotions run up and down, with that inner knowing that something special is about to end.  Sometimes it can be a relief, sometimes the wheels fall off the cart, and sometimes the pressure to just enjoy it all can be simply too much, yet whatever the case it is a day to enjoy and revel in no less.   And that is why I organised a ticket to the Villa Necchi Campiglio in the heart of chic Milan.  Not far from the Corso Venezia and the Fashion District on Via Monte Napoleone, this urban and modernist villa is quite the inspiration if you are interested in Italian design and Beautiful Things….Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022Support the show

"Let us be honest: who hasn't wanted to be just a little bit Italian?' - Kay Plunkett-Hogge, Aperitivo.....Welcome to Episode #53: Have you ever wondered how the effervescent Spritz drink customarily enjoyed at Aperitivo time in Italy became a cultural icon?  Once a purely Northern Italian cocktail and now very much a sign of the Good life wherever you are.  On my recent adventures in Italy I fell hard for the bitter sweet Aperol Spritz number and started to wonder how it came to be, and why mostly the word Spritz was not exactly sounding like the pure sweet notes of Italiano.  So I went on a little journey to discover how the Spritz became the drink of the Veneto region in Italy and beyond.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022Support the show

“Sometimes I think we only half live over here.  The Italians live all the way” - Ernest Hemingway,  (letter to his sister)Welcome to Episode #52: Come with me on a journey to Turin, we will board the Italo service at 10.35 at Milano Centrale and arrive an hour later at the Porta Nuova in the beautiful and the elegant Torino in Piemonte.  Travel days are such great experiments, where occasionally the spontaneous finds you, willing and open. Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeYou can now Support the Podcast and send your encouragement.© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show

“I never travel without my diary.  One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”  -  Oscar WildeWelcome to Podcast #51I thought it would be great to share a little more of the adventure and what happened next in Italy on the journey from Liguria to Milan.  On the last days  there was much to savour and explore.  I love the adventure of it all, and the time to reflect on moments that continue to inspire along the way. Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitalyand @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022Support the show

“Place will have its way with you” - Frances Mayes, ‘See You in the Piazza’Welcome to Episode #50I am sun kissed and sharing this moment with you from Liguria.  I am in Camogli on the Italian Riviera, a surreal and beautiful experience I have to say.  And so I share this with you as I reach the happy milestone of 50 Episodes!  So that is kind of fabulous.  I never really imagined I might be in Italy!  After sharing much over the last few years from home (Australia).   Otherwise, this episode is just another beautiful moment on the travel journey....Enjoy,Michelle xoShownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the travel journey.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.life© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show

"Whatever it is I am trying to preserve may not be entirely real, but it isn't altogether false" - Andre Aciman.....'Homo Irrealis, Essays'Welcome to Podcast 49....And another in the moment share while traveling in Italy...Reflections on Parma, Genova, La Spezia and more....Enjoy,Michelle xoShownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the travel journey.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitalyand @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show

"These are the days that must happen to you” - Walt WhitmanWelcome to Episode #48Ciao from Italy,Salutations and greetings from the beautiful city of Parma in the region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.   I was sitting in front of the Palazzo del Governatore on Strada Garibaldi at an outdoor cafe, O' Bistro in the piazza, when I decided to record this travel share.   In other words, this is a little on the wing, in the moment situation.  Travel is always full of big and small moments and this is a reflection on recent days.  Traveling from Venice in the beautiful Veneto region to Bologna, and then on to Parma an hour away.  I also share the story of my days in Ravenna where I traveled to see the art treasures of the Byzantine Empire....Enjoy,Michelle xoShownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the travel journey.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitalyand @theyellowhouse__Support the show

"If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it's lethal" - Paul CoelhoCiao from Italy.I am on the Grand Canal recording this to share with you.  It is an off the cuff, on the wing travel share.  I will add in some show notes later as I am off for my morning cappuccino and a cornetto.   A PrestoMichelle xoShownotes are up live with a little photo montage and details of the travel journey.Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitalyand @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” - Anne FrankWelcome to podcast #46 and my conversation with Allison Zurfluh. Allison is a woman of many layers, a Translator of Classical Music, an Author, Travel Consultant, Painter and at heart an Artist.   Allison has lived all around the world, yet found her true home on the Venetian Lagoon on the island of Burano near Venice in northern Italy.  In the past few years her life has had its share of trials and tribulations, yet it was the rediscovery of art, and painting the lagoon using watercolours and oil paints on linen canvas that woke her spirit to life again.  Through her painting and evocative prose Allison's voice translates her love and care for the natural world and the concern she has for the conservation of the Venetian Lagoon for now and for the future.   Allison's art work will be on exhibit "Let Wild Run Free" in March until August in Venice so be sure to visit if you are in Italy over the coming months.  Visit Allison for Fine Art:  Allison Zurfluh Visit Allison:  Bespoke Venice and Lagoon Travel Instagram:  @allisonzurfluh_artist     &    @allisonzurfluh Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeInstagram:  @awriterinitaly    &   @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

"First we eat, then we do everything else" - MFK FisherWelcome to Episode #45 and a lovely chat with Wendy from the Flavor of Italy Podcast. Recently Wendy launched her 100th Episode at Flavor of Italy.  Wendy is devoted to the world of Italian food, sharing recipes and travel itineraries for the savy traveler who enjoys a culinary adventure in Italy.  Wendy has lived in Lazio for forty years and shares her knowledge and passion about her favourite places and regions on her website Flavor of Italy Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitalyand @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“Italy as destination was lodged in my imagination and in my future”  -  Helen BaroliniTheir Other Side: Six American Women and the Lure of Italy Welcome to Episode 44 and my wonderful conversation with Evelyn Hill about her journey from Vermont in America to Rome to study at the American University.  We chat about moving to Italy, studying, creating a new life, living in Rome, Milan and Turin.  Ten years later Evelyn makes the region of Piedmont her home with her partner enjoying trips to the mountains and the relaxed lifestyle.  We talk the ups and downs of obtaining the Permesso di Siggiorno and how Italy has allowed her to slow down and actually enjoy life the Italian Way.  These days Evelyn is a consultant for people moving to Italy helping them navigate the red tape on entry and visas.  She has published a book ‘Moving to Italy ‘ and enjoys sharing travel and moving to Italy tips and advice online and over the socials.  Visit Evelyn Hill: Italy Travel Planner, Moving to Italy & Expat Consultant Moving to Italy: A Guidebook. Instagram:  @collinemontagnePlease find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“Who has not dreamed of going forth to meet the unknown in some new land, and thus in oneself” -  Helen Barolini “Their Other Side: Six American Women & The Lure of Italy”Have you ever thought of starting all over again in a new country and making your dreams real?   Nikki was burnt out and disillusioned by all she had achieved living in London and in Sydney.   Nikki made the decision to move to Italy.   A year later Nikki landed in Italy by herself ready to begin again.  Her story is full of trials and tribulations but ultimately she found her happy place living La Dolce Vita in Puglia many years later. This share is Part 2 of a conversation we  started in Podcast #42 ….The Dream Property to Win in Ostuni, Puglia and a Love Letter to Italy …Enter the Competition:  https://italy-propertyconsulting.com/competition/Visit:  Nikki TaylorPlease find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“We are all pilgrims who seek Italy” - GoetheHave you ever dreamed of living in Italy?  The exciting news is that there is a wonderful opportunity for you to live your own La Dolce Vita and this episode is about making that dream real.Nikki Taylor is giving away a property in Puglia and all you have to do is write a little letter of 30 words to enter the Competition.  Nikki is also on a mission to create a Guinness World Record so join in on the fun and begin a new adventure in Puglia Italy.  We also chat about living in Italy, buying property with ease and living the good life in Bella Italia.Enter the Competition:  https://italy-propertyconsulting.com/competition/Visit:  Nikki TaylorPlease find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“Dolce Far Niente is about living in the present - savouring every moment as if it's the last - while remembering that life truly is beautiful.  Let's never forget that" - Sophie MinchilliThis week I share a fun conversation with the author Sophie Minchilli.  We talk about her book:  The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: Live Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente.  We discuss the good life in Rome, discovering her path to becoming a professional pasta eater, slowing down, how to make the perfect Carbonara, and taking the time to write her book The Sweetness of Doing Nothing …..Thank you Sophie. Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Sophie on the Socials......Rome with Sophie and on Instagram  @sminchilliVisit:  Michelle:  Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Endnote Cooking Moment in the background while I make Carbonara:  From the Film; 'No Reservations'   (The Soundtrack to the movie) .......Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“Italy became magical and mysterious beckoning me” - Susan Van Allen Welcome to Episode #40:   I am most delighted to share this conversation with Susan Van Allen about her updated 10th Anniversary Edition, “100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go”.  Susan is a Screen and Travel Writer, and an American Treasure.  Her many books on Italy give travellers the inside tips on the places one should visit that will create the most magical travel memories.  And truthfully, this book is for every one.  If you want to feel safe in your decision on where to go, read ‘100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go’.   Susan’s Golden Days will have you booking your tickets immediately. Go ahead, perhaps just like Virgil randomly open the book anywhere.  Yes, that’s the place, wherever you place your finger.  Go, I dare you….Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at: michellejohnston.lifeVisit:  Susan Van Allen’s ItalyInstagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2022Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“The early-morning Easter Light, clean and clear as a polished sapphire, back-lit a ribbon of mist hovering over the Luberon plain. The almonds had burst into blossom and the cherries were hard on their tales’.   - Alex Dingwall-Main, The Luberon Garden Welcome to  Episode #39: This weeks share is a day driving through the region of the Luberon Mountains in Provence.   A visit to Menerbes, the place of truffle and vin.  We enter the tree lined village to marvel at the plane trees and to wander the paths and streets of the medieval village.  The views are magnificent from this grand location.  It is a day of beauty and vision taking in the rural atmosphere of cherry orchards and vines that are waiting to unfurl, and scenic drives in Lacoste, Bonnieux and Apt.  A beautiful prelude to the days ahead before the family catch the TGV to Paris for the finale of the journey from Padova Italy to Paris, France.Padova, Italy to Paris, France Travel Podcast Series..... Part 15MJ xo © 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)

“My motive was simple and hedonistic: I was looking for beauty” -  Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel Welcome to another share of the travelogue series from Italy to France.  This day we find ourselves saying Au Revoir to beautiful Antibes on the French Riviera and heading onwards to Saint Paul de Vence to wander the historic medieval ramparts of the hill top village.  And then back on the road to make our way to the Luberon region in the department of Vaucluse where an 18th century house in the countryside awaits our arrival.Also reflections on books and gardens that have inspired over the years....Padova, Italy to Paris, France Travel Podcast Series..... Part 14MJ xo © 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021Support the show (http://michellejohnston.life)