: About Me

My home is northern California, but my heart is European. As much as I adore my native golden state, I feel an incredible pull from Europe, especially Italy. My paternal grandparents left their home in Lombardia, the region north of Milano, in the early 1900's, and ended up in California. I always wondered why they left, what they left, who they left. I knew someday I would retrace their steps and find out.

After years of dreaming, in 1996 I finally made my first trip "over to the other side." Since then, I have traveled to Europe several times and have had many adventures and made several observations. My passion is to write about the things I have experienced on these magical trips.

I also have a passion for dance, which I currently indulge through Flamenco classes, and learning Italian (which has turned into a lifelong endeavor).

My husband and two mini-Dachshunds, Vinnie and Rocco, fill the rest of my "free" time!

Travel > Travel Planning & Advice Pre-travel tips: What to pack

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Travel tips for the minimalist (smart) traveler: 19 oddball things to bring. As you pack your bags for destinations yonder, you may want to consider my tried-and-true list of oddball items to include. However, a warning to you for airplane travel, I am admittedly the quintessential minimalist traveler, strictly adhering to the Rule of One: one carry-on and nothing more. It doesn't matter if I'm going to San Diego for a weekend or Europe for three weeks; I never bring more than one bag small enough to stash in the overhead. A strategic layering of clothing worn on travel days, along with a ...

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