All Categories - Wanderful Retreats

10 Things To Do in Lucca

5/2/2021

Oh Lucca...how I love thee so.

I first found myself in Lucca for a quick overnight visit in 2011 to visit my friend Vanessa. It only took one bike round around the wall to have me hooked. The next fall, I spent 3 months making Lucca my homebase for sketching and exploring.

Over 10 years later and I still can't get enough of this city. There's so much to explore here while still not feeling like you're in a giant overwhelming city like Florence. I adore this town and look forward to bring people back to it every year.

Even if you can't join us on a retreat in Lucca, here's my list of 10 things to get you started when you make your way to the Hidden Gem of Tuscany!

Looking ahead to Fall 2021... and Summer 2022!

2/18/2021

My view from my room at the Study Abroad Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, in 2009

Well...this pandemic is certainly keeping us on our toes. As well being a great teacher in lessons of patience, and pivoting!

After much deliberation and going back-and-forth with our Villa and Lucca apartment hostesses, in January we decided to postpone our June 2021 Retreats.

It was a gut punch...not even a full year since our last gut punch of canceling our 2020 retreats. Besides feeling helpless and restless to travel again, I feel like let down my guests who have been looking forward to traveling to Italy as much as I have. But unfortunately our current reality with the pandemic, and a slow vaccine roll out means there's a strong chance that I, and many of my guests, may not even have access to the vaccine before June 2021 in order to safely travel abroad.

So, similar to my post about cancelling our June 2020 retreats... now what?

Find bits of Italia when you're stuck in the states...

12/16/2020

You know that photo we use on our landing page of our website? Well, it's one of our biggest secrets.

It looks like we took it in the rolling hills of Tuscany but the truth is that we actually snapped this photo in a friend's backyard... in Southern California! Miles and miles from Italy, but full of all the warmth and vibes of our beloved 2nd home.

While we find ourselves in month 8 of sheltering at home, and over a year without stepping foot in Italy, we're looking for ways to bring bits of Italia into our home as a comfort and to keep the withdrawals at bay.

It may not be Italy, but it's pretty dang close!

No-knead Pizza Dough

8/10/2020

Photo by The Stay at Home Chef

As this summer without Italy comes to an end and fades into fall, I find myself thinking about all the things I missed most about how my summers usually go.

Usually there's traveling around the US, and of course the summer retreats in Italy. These trips are filled with my favorite pastimes...sketching and eating. And damn, I've missed eating.

I've of course missed pasta, but that one dish I'm fairly good at replicating at home without feeling like I'm missing out on the real thing

But one thing I can never quite get right, or find an adequate substitute for is pizza. Even though the struggle is real to find the perfect crust (very thin, still slightly chewy and with crispy, burnt edges from the fire), it never hurts to spend some time trying to recreate the real thing. Especially while stuck in quarantine!

Apps to download before your trip to Italy (and they're free!)

7/5/2020

Back in 2009 when I first ventured to Italy, the only easy way to communicate with my family back home was via email. And that was dependent upon our already spotty wifi in our giant converted convent in Castiglion Fiorentino that was shared amongst 100+ college students.

I could of course call my family from my cell phone directly but that would result in a ridiculously expensive phone bill as soon as I got home. Skype was just becoming popular but that also had the added expense of buying a plug in camera for my laptop, and my family back home having a Skype account and a similar set up.

Meandering Italian streets was done by paper maps and lots of guesswork. To navigate the trains you had to read the paper schedules at the train stations to check what time you were expected to roll into your stop, and then be listening for the garbled loudspeaker on the train to announce that you were next.

Deciphering menus at restaurants was done by asking the friend in the group that knew the most Italian, or by quickly thumbing through our pocket Italian-English dictionaries under the table. Or just sticking to the words you knew...or thought you knew. I have seen many people order pizza with "peperone" only to have bell peppers on their pizza instead of pepperoni salami!

SO. MUCH. has changed in just 10 years that has transformed traveling in Italy from being a stressful (albeit exciting) adventure to one that's much easier to navigate (of course still with the Italian quirks). These are some of our go-to apps that we recommend all our guests download prior to their departure to the bel paese.

And even better, all of these are FREE to download!

My favorite sketching spots in Italy

6/7/2020

Sketching in Spello, from Sesto the Traveling Sketchbook

With over 10 years of traveling through Italy, I've collected quite a number of sketches and watercolors. To date, I have 8 filled sketchbooks, most of which I bound by hand with mixed paper inside so I can paint, journal, collage and draw all in one place (Psst! Each Wanderful Retreat guest gets their own blank sketchbook to document their adventures!).

These sketchbooks are some of my most treasured souvenirs and possessions. Totally on the list of things I'd grab if there was ever a fire. Within the sketchbooks though, I definitely have some favorite sketches. Moments that were too good not to document. Sketches that captured amazing places, meals or memories. And some spots that I just can't resist sketching again, again and again, even a decade later.

Affogato... a quick Italian dessert fix!

5/24/2020

Photo by Rustic Kitchen

As the summer draws closer and our departure day for Italia pushes further down the calendar year, we're looking for ways to still get a taste of "la dolce vita" while we're sitting in our apartment stateside.

One of the easiest desserts for both a taste of Italy and a quick sweet fix is an Affogato. The word affogato means "drowned" so think of it as gelato (or ice cream) drowned in the deliciousness of espresso! (Note the lack of an 'x' in espresso, per favore ;) ) And whatever toppings you want to toss on top.

This is an incredibly easy recipe...like, 2 ingredient easy and I-almost-feel embarrassed-typing-it-out easy. You can of course modify it to fit your tastes or customize it just for fun but it's a great one to have in your back pocket. While we think it's tasty just with gelato and espresso, it could be fun to make an "Affogato Building Station" for a summer bbq party!

Well...what now?

5/15/2020

Wanderful Retreats Florence Retreat Italy Art Cooking

I snapped this photo *EARLY* in the morning during the first year of retreats I hosted in Florence in 2016.

Ciao friends.

I've been struggling to find the words during these past 2 months of "shelter at home." I think I've gone through most of the phases of grief after the cancellation of our 2020 summer retreats. There have certainly been a lot of tears, a fair amount of expletives, a *few* glasses of wine and a lot of crushing emails to future attendees and our friends in Italy as we refunded guests and put reservations on hold until who knows when.

Back in February, things were a little shaky as to whether or not we'd be able to actually host our retreats this summer. I was still trying to put on a brave face and stay optimistic that this would all be resolved by June. But as the numbers got worse, both abroad and here in the states and as all our Italian friends had to go into a country wide lockdown across Italy, the writing was unfortunately on the walls.

And now we're 2 months into this global mess. So...now what?

What to pack for Italia?

3/2/2020

What's the hardest thing about traveling to Italy? What to pack!

Honestly, even more than the anxiety of buying my flight or fear of train strikes, my biggest stress every year is what do I bring. Weather wise, Tuscany is very similar to Southern California which I'm very familiar with. This means it can be both chilly at night and very warm during the days.

So how on earth do I pack for these two temperature extremes, multiple weeks at a time, the looming chance of a summer thunderstorm AND still try to keep it all to a carry-on?! Read on to see my tips and tricks and what I recommend for packing during a summer in Italy!

A Day in... Bologna

2/20/2020

Oh Bologna... even though its name is often confused with a interesting deli meat in America, you should never assume the food in Bologna will be anything but exquisite. And I don't use that word lightly.

The food in Bologna is incredible. All of my visits to this town have revolved around it. Yes, it's a town full of amazing buildings, canals, gorgeous libraries and churches, arched hallways of terrazo floors and history...but I will forever return to Bologna for the food. And luckily there's three meals in a day (plus snacks) to take advantage of all Bologna has to offer!

Bologna may seem off the beaten path but I promise it's not. Most people find themselves in this tasty town while traveling from Florence to Venice via train. It's also a great airport hub when flying around Europe. So, if you get the chance to add Bologna to your itinerary, I have two pieces of advice.
1 - Do it. And 2 - Bring your appetite.