Take a Virtual Vacation: Tuscany

In which Laura explores the cultural, historical, and culinary delights of Tuscany with a group of Write, Travel, Transform adventurers.

Almost Ready to Go

It’s 4:00 PM and I just changed my outgoing voicemail message for the first time in three years. Because that’s how long it’s been since I flew abroad. When I arrive in Tuscany to lead my Write, Travel, Transform retreat, I’ll be buying an Italian SIM card and won’t be able to get calls on

Almost Ready to Go Read More »

We Made it to Tuscany

An uneventful flight in cattle class. Flying internationally is one of the places my childhood training in dissociation comes in handy. I can sit in one of those squished seats overnight and nap and watch three movies: the new West Side Story, a documentary about a big wave surfer, and a father-son saga set in

We Made it to Tuscany Read More »

Early Morning Walk Firenze

Despite a loud party going on outside our hotel window last night, .5 mg Ativan and my c-pap machine helped me sleep through the night. I woke up at 5:00 AM, which is pretty much when I’ve been waking up in Santa Cruz. I got up, checked the weather—60 degrees and heading up to 88—and

Early Morning Walk Firenze Read More »

Traveling Without a Phone

I’m a phone addict. There’s no doubt about it. My laptop and my phone are extensions of my being and my fingers. My work life is entwined with them. My teaching is entwined with them. My home life is entwined with them. I write on them, communicate on them, blog on them, post on them,

Traveling Without a Phone Read More »

The Red Leather Jacket

If you walk around Florence, you see leather goods everywhere. From the cheapest tacky tourist shops to the highest end stores, brilliant leather is on display. It comes in the most luscious colors: butter yellow, creamy orange, brilliant reds, emerald green, glowing teal—in amazing combinations. I just wanted to touch it all, and at times

The Red Leather Jacket Read More »

The Secret Garden

Before we came to Italy, Karyn and I didn’t give any thought as to what we wanted to see or do in Florence in the three full days we had before our travelers arrived, aside from getting over our jetlag and marveling over the fact that we had actually made it to Italy during a

The Secret Garden Read More »

Arriving at The Villa

OMG. Did I just die and go to heaven? Here we are—finally— three years later. The dream became a reality. It’s far more stunning in person than any pictures can show. If you don’t want to wait for the email digest version of my virtual vacation posts, you can follow me directly on social media:

Arriving at The Villa Read More »

The Truffle Hunt

Between the hills of Chianti and Valdelsa, a few kilometers from Florence, we went today to visit a family whose business is to harvest and create delicious products from truffles, a wild mushroom that thrives in the region. We began our visit by going out in the woods for a truffle hunt with Giacomo—not the

The Truffle Hunt Read More »

Yes, We Actually Do Write

You might think that this whole trip is filled with long leisurely conversations over unbelievable food (check, yes, that’s true), senses drinking in verdant peaceful surroundings (yes, true), shared intimacies between new friends (yes true), and the pleasure of being surrounded by the sensuality of Italian being spoken around us (yes, true), but this Write,

Yes, We Actually Do Write Read More »

Scroll to Top