ITALIA AMORE TRAVELS

PALERMO SICILY

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Gina Hardy

TALES FROM 2015

Travel tales from Januay 2015 Sicily.We arrived in the capital city of Palermo and in the airport we ordered a taxi from the official tourist desk because we were beeing careful as this is a region famous for being a Mafia area.But i discovered an ancient city vibrant with colors blue sunny skies, palm trees, temples, ruins & churches rich in history.S earching for a restaurant we stumbled into this old crumbling the facade an entrance to what was once a grand villa. I felt a shiver a sense of deja vu, this seems familiar as if i have been here before? Curiously exploring the narrow streets I had a glimpse of a hat in the window of an antique store, I walked in that and that slightly musty smell of old clothes & garments brought me back a century ago. I wondered Guiseppe or Angelica(from Il Gattopardo The Leopard novel)might have worn this? Sicily a unique culture with past echoes from the Greeks & Arab conquests makes Palermo an exciting mix in cuisine, arts, architecture. Though some of streets are dirty, overall the richness of the architecture, the unique ancient atmosphere and the beauty so incredible that it remains vivid in my memory. A short bus ride to Mondello the blue sea stretched out it was so inviting I simply cannot resist. So I had a swim alone in the salty seawater while the Italians around watched me thingking crazy tourist in the sea a cold January day. But it was about 10 celsius water temp and 18 c out not that cold for me I brushed off the sand from my toes and we had lunch by the beach. A quick chat with a local sunbronzed Siciliano we discovered that this once was a fishing area but after the art nouveau villas were built the seafront promenade of Mondello changed. It is now considered a landmark and a popular tourist area. Antico Stabilimento Balneare di Mondello the name of the main Liberty art building was built as a bathing place in 1913, now a restaurant was magnificent. It was a memorable trip and i have explored other parts of Sicily after and will continue to visit. Sicily for me is mystery, a place with a past noble & grand, full of stories of morality, decay, art, passion & love 😘🇮🇹ITALIAAMORE TRAVELS

Italian sunny days

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Gina Hardy

April month a lovely time to relax and enjoy the beach. This photo in the town of Peschici Puglia a new place I visited for the first time .

I ordered grilled fish and i got served a simple but the most fresh and tasty fish i ever had. This restaurant was a few meters from our beach chair

Sunny days means you can hang out your linens to dry under the sun.

Fritz our dog do not like to go in the water so we had to carry him around these rock formations

April and I was eager to dip in the sea notice however that i was all alone. The Italians do not bathe at this temperature around 16 celsius.

White and blue skies, peace in Peschici

Anytime she goes away

Image | Posted on May 8, 2018 by Gina Hardy

Have you been to Sirolo ?I like the beach here especially the remote part where you can sit close to the water and dream away feel the sun and wind whisper and touch your body. After a dip in the sea the salty water on my skin dries up fast when it is 30 c degrees hot. You can imagine the other parts of the world dissappear and see only the endless sea. I like to use my iphone and while lying on the stones observe around me and click a photo. Here are some of them. I also read the Italian novelist Elena Ferrante´s book. Reading about Lenu vacationing in the island of Ischia off the coast of Napoli. Dream away see you this summer in Italy ?

Sirolo summers

THE ITALIAN BEACH LIFE

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Gina Hardy

I love going to the beach,love the feeling of salty water on my skin and the sun warming my body, walking barefeet on the sand but mainly because in Italy the beach is a place of joy. A place where you see families enjoying, laughing, eating together. I like that reminds me we use to do that with my family when i was small. Look at some of these photos i took last summer. In Sirolo beach the water is crystal clear. Around the rock formations sat these lovely Italians enjoying and savoring the beach life. In Cupra Maritima i observed elderly men with skin so brown like the leather in my old handbag playing bocci while young children watched.Women with skimpy bikinis talking, cheering the men on and making jokes with each other.The vivid colors of this scenario is so bright and the smell is so fragrant with suntan oil, sea breeze and sweat and perfumed skin all mixed together, ahhh its summer! And on one occasion Nadia and Fabrizio our friends invited us to join them for lunch in Grottamare.We sat back let them order and came plates of shrimps, oysters, grilled fish ,calamari, delicous dishes some with pasta all fresh and incredibly so tasty.Washed down with a cold crisp Verdicchio wine.What i enjoyed the most was the company and the conversation with my Italian friends and their families. They are always friendly,sometimes funny because of my limited Italian language skills.And when we part with bigs smiles and always abbraccio,hugs and promises to meet and do it again next time.Arrividerci amici! You will find lovely clean blue flag beaches all around the Le Marche coastline and fabulous restaurants.Make sure you learn some Italian so you can talk to the locals. Come for a holiday and experience your own Italian beach life,si ?

Ciao! when you walk in a dream but you know you’re not dreaming signore scusa me that’s amore !

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Gina Hardy

My name is Gina and although it sounds Italian I am not, my parents chose this name for me perhaps because my mother liked the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida. I love Italy and all that is Italian. For many years I have been fascinated by the art, culture, fashion, shoes, music, architecture, the amazing landscape and all the lovely Italians i have met in my life. My first trip to Italy some 20 years ago is still vivid in my mind and the memories are deep in my heart. I remember back then i tossed a coin in the fountain in Piazza Navona and hoped that i would come back one day and did again and again! I have travelled to this beautiful country many times and it is a love affair that never seem to end. “When you walk in a dream but you know you’re not dreaming signore , scusa me thats amore !”lyrics from that catchy tune..

So here i am with this blog and my “ItaliaAmore” travel journal.A journey if you read on and dare to come with me ? I will share with you some adventures, maybe a story i heard from our neighbour in Santa Vittoria perhaps a discussion about the pasta we had in a restaurant, the walk we did in the Sibillini mountain that made my legs sore for days. A quick update on what i saw and absolutely adore from the designer shops or i might share with you what i learnt from the art museums,or the delicious dishes we have enjoyed when we get invited for dinner meals with our Italian friends.

I will also attempt to give some travel tips in Le Marche and impressions from our visits to Porto San Giorgo or to other parts of Italy such as the ever so charming Positano. And for sure i will share with you my ice cream experiences, bathing and beach trips, the countless wine tastings and drives to vineyards trips that i have to endure because of my husband. We love the Italian dolce vita way of life so we will share this with you

And i like making new friends and love meeting “The Italians” so i will share some conversations as well as awkward funny language mistakes i have made. I dreamt of having a place in Italy, its been 4 yrs. I still cant believe how lucky I am when i sit there in our living room under the frescoe in this old historical buiilding Palazzo Lamponi. The weird thing is that whenever i am in Italy I get this feeling that i have been there before almost like meeting a familiar old friend. I have lived in 3 different continents.You see i was born in the Phillipines and it will always be a special place.Then i lived in Toronto Canada many years before i moved to Norway. I have seen some incredible sights all over. I also worked on a cruise ship and travelled around from Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Mexico,Alaska and also one of my favorite islands Hawaii but nothing beats Italy. It´s my home away from home.My heart always beats a little bit faster everytime I set foot in Rome airport and even when i walk down Corso Matteoti in our little village in Le Marche to buy bread or to say hello to our local patriot Giampiero .

Hope you get that same fantastic feeling too when you travel to Italy? Have a great trip and enjoy all your travels. Happy exploring! Take your time, enjoy and savor the beauty, take lots of photos or stop to look at the bouganvilla flowers like i did on this photo from the town of Torre di Palme ! Arrividerci amici !