Traveling solo has lead to some insightful thoughts and experiences. It is not common to travel solo in Italy (especially for women) In Italy family, friends, the communal spirit is a lifestyle and a culture. So at times I feel the eccentric, peering in from an exterior vantage point. At other times I join in, a willful and invited member and participant.

Traveling single has not been lonely, quite the opposite. The opportunity to engage with others and all that surrounds you heightens. You don’t need to speak the language to make a connection. I relish traveling solo. At least one person is happy! I can sleep in or get up early, go to bed or stay up late, explore on a whim, shop till I drop, be frugal or frivolous, swim naked or fully clothed, hike to the peak or turn around on a hairpin curve, laugh gregariously or be meditative and silent, be outrageous or demure. You can stop and smell every flower along the route.

I'm loving all these roses!

There is an anonymous sense of freedom going solo. You find your own pace and rhythm to each day. I guess you might say traveling solo is unconventional and I like it that way.

You find pieces of yourself that you have not yet explored…or didn’t realize existed. If you don’t decide for yourself what you want to get out of life, someone else will end up deciding for you. Remember, you don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to. So however you care to travel or proceed in life – define your self, cut loose, step out of bounds, leap off the cliff, strip down, be outrageous, take risks, just say yes…and start living life…to it’s fullest.

Salute

Return?

What do you think she will do???

Porto Giglio

It was an adventure getting to the Islet di Giglio – but then if it were easy it wouldn’t be worth much and this is beyond anything I expected. I am staying at Pardini’s Hermitage, a secluded villa, which is only accessible by water taxi – no dock, you just pull the boat up to the rocks and jump off- and your bag is loaded on the donkey for transport up to the villa.

Unloading supplies and luggage from water taxi

The bellman

My hosts Gigo and Barbara (the owners), Paola (the manager), Antonio (the chef) make you feel like familia. Each night for dinner all single guests are asked to eat with the familia – the women of the family – and it is a merry affair – although I don’t understand much of what’s being said – it’s all Italiano. Mas vino porfavore…

Antonio - our wonderful and jovial chef - and check out those pantalones!

Breakfast with a view

The food is fresh, mostly from the garden, olive trees, local vineyards, and of course the sea. The villa pigs and goats supply the proscuito, cheese and milk (they make much of their own cheese – the fresh ricotta with home made preserves serves as an excellent desert!).

Hiked from the Castillo at the peak of the island along the ridgeline back to the villa for panoramic views.

What a view from the trail!

The grounds are terraced gardens, stone pathways, with quiet and secluded spaces for reading, lounging or just kicking back.

Quite spaces

And swimming in the sea off the rocks is my kind of pleasure.

Check out this swimming hole - wonder if you need a suit?

I don’t think I am going to want to leave this little piece of paradise – che vita – what a life!

There is something fascinating about a woman wearing a scarf. Maybe it’s the allure of what’s underneath or the way the fabric drapes around the neckline or over the the shoulders and the breasts. There’s an edgy, artful, demure, sophisticated, elegant look. Scarves are adornments that can be tied, wrapped, draped, and shaped in a variety of forms and styles and come in marvelous multi-colored fabrics.

So girlfriends grab your favorite scarf and have some fun with it!

The women at Pardinis' know how to wear their sciarpas

In Italy, one learns to take time. To savor the aromas, sounds, vistas, cool breezes, rain drops, and early morning rays of sunshine. There is no hurry, push, rush, scramble, or alarm to coax you from your warm morning cocoon. My circadian rhythms have usurped the clock. The church bells and the birds alert me to the hour. Each day, begins like a cat stretching and lengthening its spine to a new adventure. One sips hot tea or cappuccino relaxing to watch the meandering choreography of the locals and global tourists going about their day. Idling among the small alleyways or lanes – walking, going nowhere, yet somewhere. One’s destination is not a place, but a new way of looking at things.

Wandering allows you to let go of the nagging thought that one should be doing something. To let time be spontaneous rather than force fed. To let go of always pushing up against and fighting time, clocking time daily.

Evening meals invite one to relish in the flavors of simply prepared foods, reviewing the pleasures of one’s day,  engaging with new friends, are not to be rushed and sometimes last for hours. A reflection and culmination of the day.

You really can’t be in a hurry in Italy.

So take time today – you don’t have to be in Italy.

When I first arrived in Sienna I thought this could be a let down after Venice. And I admit that Hotel Alma Domus – run by nuns was quite sterile, my room austere, and breakfast next morning even more Spartan. Felt like I was doing penance for all the gaiety and fun I’ve been having.

You can imagine what was going through my mind when I walked in this room...

OK – time to go exploring and see what this little town has to offer. Wound my way around in the small streets and up and down alleyways to a steep little road that opened to one of the most spectacular city squares I have seen. II Campo is the heart of Sienna and forms a gigantic amphitheatre with bars and restaurants circling 3 sides all facing the 330-foot the city tower (the tallest in Italy). The tower dominates the square  and offers panoramic views as a reward for climbing the 300 narrow stairs to the top of the tower.

Sienna city tower

II Campo city square

Sienna from the tower

The Duomo in Sienna is packed with Renaissance art, inlaid marble floors, magnificent stripped columns, a marble pulpit resting on the backs of carved lions, statues by Michelangelo and Bernini (thought to be Italy’s finest sculpturist), and its massive coffered dome. Quite impressive! It was built in the 1200s and artists spent almost 200 years creating the inlaid marble floors with scenes from the Old Testament, allegories, and intricate patterning. Such antiquity!

Duomo

Then it was onto the Church of San Domenico, which shadows over my small hotel.

The unassuming San Domenico church

Sienna was like a religious experience – I’m feeling quite cleansed, confessed, and ready to return to my mischievous and playful ways. Onto the the Isleta de Giglio tomorrow.

The Grand Canal - main street of Venice

Marshes, islands, lagoons and a puddle of elegant decay, Venice was once the wealthiest city on earth and a trading empire. The city is built in a lagoon with three primary canals and over 45 small waterways or rivers that dump into the Grand Canal (main street).  You can spend days wandering the islands that are linked by over 400 arched foot bridges and 2000 alleyways, many of which dead end at a canal with no bridge. When you tire of walking hop a vaporetto (the pubic transit system), a motorized bus/boat and motor to your next stop, or enjoy one of the many black gondolas. They are especially popular in the evening for a romantic cruise.

Villas line the canals

Corner canals - must be laundry day

A small side canal

One of the many arched foot bridges

Cheery bread faces

Fresh catch of the day - octopus is favorite here

Gondolas - I need to find a nice italiano man tonight

A water hearst - even the dead travel by boat

Oh no- here come the tourists - day tripping

All this walking makes one hungry!!!

Ahhh - the insatiable lure of Venice

Va benne…but you won’t catch me swimming in that water.

Oh those so soft leather gloves

When in Venice…shop like the Venetians! This ones’ for Shelley and Cindy and all you women who love to shop! The shopping is endless…Italian leather, Venetian glass, sexy lingerie, the hats, the shoes, and the purses. Wore my new Italian dress, hat and earrings today and someone stopped me to ask for directions…Now that’s Italiano!

Venetian glass - works of color, form, and artistry

Colorful and classy scarves

Very handsome hats

Jazzy jewelry - all hand blown venetian glass

Your color Madame?

Shopping sustenence

Snappy shoes

Racy red venetian glassware

One blissful shopper! That's a hand blown Venetian glass sculpture

Yup, should have left the credit card in the room today. And I thought my suitcase was heavy. Hey I’ve only got one more week to schlep that bag.

Ciao

Castelrotto

This small town nestled at the foot of the Dolomite Mountains was an ideal home base for exploring the Alpe di Siusi. The entire northern region of Italy is know as South Tyrol and until WWI belonged to Austria. the region is known for it’s wood carving and yodeling and German is the predominant language.

Native Tyrol dress at Corpus Christi procession

The town lies just below the Schlern Plateau and is surrounded by dazzling mountain peaks. The biodiversity of the Alpe di Siusi is extraordinary with over 790 species of flowering plants and over 500 different species of moss and lichen. The fields and forests are a maze of wildflowers, colors, scents, and textures. The alpine fields are rich in herbs and flowers and the aromatic hay has been used for “hay baths” so the body could absorb the herbal vapors and cures from lying of the dried hay from the Alpe di Siusi.

Wonderful fields of flowers and herbs

However, all good things must end and it is time to depart from Castelrotto and my home for a week at Hotel Cavallino d’ Oro. Stefan and Susanne (owners) and Monica, Freda and their wonderful staff were warm and welcoming hosts and the food, wine, grappa and dining experience exceptional. This is a must stay place if you are traveling to the Dolomites!

Susanne and Freda

Freda, Gwen, and Monica

Freda and Stefan

It was grand and I will miss those tower bells. Now onto Venice.

Beam me up Scotty

What a spectacular hike today. Cable car then bus to trailhead. Some steep grades on the climb for incredible panoramic views and a splendid downhill though alpine meadows, forests, and mountain streams  surrounded by the rocky and majestic peaks of the Dolomites. The beauty is beyond words.

There's still snow on those mountains

Meadows full of flowers

The beauty continues