A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy”        
  Giuseppe Verdi, Composer

Welcome to Episode #32:

We are not the first and we will not be the last.  The magnetic forces of Italy are powerful luring us from the comfort of our own homes and countries to dream, to ponder, to move, to see, to experience a culture that shows us a beautiful way to live.  

It is a sensual life that is deeply layered.  Many of us would like a taste of it, a few weeks, a few months, perhaps a lifetime.  Italy is a beacon, a radiant beauty that has many of us within its grasp.  

‘Italophilia: the admiration, appreciation or emulation of Italy, its people, ideals, civilisation, and culture’.

Last month I shared some time with travel blogger Ishita Sood from her home in India.  We talked about everything that mattered in our lives right now in the middle of the pandemic and getting back to la grande bellezza was high on both of our lists.  It was a generous and bountiful conversation and one that I will treasure. 

Ishita’s website on Italian Culture and Travel http://Ishitasood.com shares the many layers of travel narratives, Italian Authors, books on Italy you should read and much more.

Certainly life in the past few years has thrown us a huge curve ball and we are all trying to pick up the pieces.  We may continue to examine and navigate the events of 2020 and beyond for some time.  In the meantime we will dream, we will share and we will remember the highlights and the beauty of what keeps us motivated and inspired.  

We are committed and we are waiting, but in the short term enjoy this conversation from two Italophiles who could think of nothing better to do than take a deep dive into the beauty of Italy, travel and everything in between.

Enjoy,

Michelle & Ishita

Visit: Ishita on Instagram @italophilia and https://ishitasood.com

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

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“We do not remember days, we remember moments” - Diary Entry, 28th July…
Cesare Pavese   - 
This Business of Living, A Diary - 1935-1950

Welcome to Episode 31:

This is a lovely chat with Cinzia about life and her love of books and life in Italia.  Her love of language is at the forefront of her world as she shares the joys of reading in Italian and English and the path she followed to become a Teacher and Tutor for the Inglese who would like to know Italiano….

And if you are wondering she is not yet my teacher, but certainly it would be an excellent idea.  Cinzia and I connected up on Instagram and I kept thinking it would be lovely to discover more about her life in Liguria.  For a little while I have been receiving her regular emails on Italy and her life and I really enjoy reading them, they are not only informative but considered, honest and meditative letters to her readers.   

On Instantly Italy Cinzia shares stories about important Italians you need to know, Italian Life and Culture, the places she has connected with and genuine stories about expats living in Italy.  She is a great story teller and has a deep and true love of books and literature.  I was smiling a lot and laughing too because I really resonated with what she said about books... A book is more than a book if you ask me, they are a life line.

I hope you enjoy the share and thank you so much Cinzia for preparing for this episode and bringing us all a happy dose of joy and authenticity.

MJ

Visit: instantlyitaly.com

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

Support the show

"When I realised that each morning I would see this light again, I could not believe my luck"
Henri Matisse, 1917

Welcome to Episode #30, Antibes, France

On the 13th March 2019, a family of five traveled from Genova Piazza Principe Station on the 11.43 to Ventimiglia in the province of Liguria, Italy.  At 13.03 they entered a train with the white sign Region:  Provence - Alpes - Cote d’Azur on the door.  Arriving in Antibes at 16.01 to an ochre coloured railway station and a short walk to the old town in the French city. 

This is the story of the sweet little adventure in Antibes, located somewhere between Monaco and Cannes on the Cote d’Azur.  And includes some reckoning with present day life, the artist Picasso and his artistic legacy, and the convoluted history of Antibes that was once known as a Greek colony called Antipolis....

Enjoy,
Michelle

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

#30 Shownotes:

The Hero's Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna by Tim Parks (2021)
French Riveria And Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Cote d'Azur by John Baxter (2015)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice: A Memoir of Picasso, Provence, and Douglas Cooper by John Richardson (1999)

Visit:  www.antibesjuanlespins.com for more on Antibes, France....

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"After all it is the adventure that counts" - Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

Welcome to Episode #29  Genova, Liguria

The family trip continues after a too short stop over in Genova, we get ourselves ready to part with Italy and move onto France.  In the meantime a wonderful morning is had walking the old town of Genoa in the Piazza La Maddelena and Piazza San Luca, checking out the local markets and enjoying the pleasures of a morning stroll into Piazza Bianchi not too far from Antico Porto where we wander until it is time to pack up and head to Genova Principe Station an architectural marvel in itself.   We barely get our toes wet in the realm of possibilities that is Genoa and I really wish we could stay longer, but the realities of family life have us on the move.

There is much to discover in this port city that is the Ligurian capital.  Go visit www.visitgenoa.it for the overview.

As a maritime republic Genova maintained control from around the 11th century to later in the 18th.  La Superba indeed, the gritty beauty of this large city runs parallel to Unesco World Heritage sites, old world palazzos and the fabulous array of art that hides behind beckoning world class architecture and the historic detail of a rivaling maritime city that makes for a fascinating and deeply layered place. 

Visit michellejohnston.life for all Shownotes

This is a story of a family traveling, discovering and learning about the sweet details that makes Italy 'La Superba'.

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, writing, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

#29 Shownotes:

Quote about living the questions from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Homo Irrealis: Essays by Andre Aciman

Coastline:  The food of the Mediterranean Italy, Spain and France by Lucio Galletto and David Dale (2017)

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat / Netflix Documentary - Four Part Series... Italy is Part 1 - ‘Fat’

Trip to Italy (2014) Film written and directed by Michael Winterbottom

Two comics take a road trip from the north in Piedmont to the south in Capri meditating on the English Poets, stopping for gastronomic delicacies and enjoying the scenery while life unfolds.

* If interested in the Genova mention it takes place at 18 minutes or so into the film...  Coogan and Brydon finish their decadent meal at Trattoria della Posta and then stop in Genova to salute Lord Byron at his last address in Italy on the Ligurian coast before heading to Camogli.

Find out more about the great places to see in Genova:      www.visitgenoa.it 

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“There is already a tantalising sense of escape - of slipping beneath the radar of modern life"
                         - Tom Chesshyre 'Slow Train to Venice'

Welcome to Episode #28  Genova, Liguria

One of things I adore about this whole Italian adventure is just how many doors Italy has to offer.  Open one or two in you are in for a treat.  Books, art, food and everything else.  Travel takes on some kind of luminous quality once you get there, or are there...(Yes, I am waiting for the next door to open....that indeed is a different kind of story!)

Firstly, I apologise for the echo chamber on the mic, perhaps next time I will not use the air pods for recording.  However I love this share, I think there is something special about the many layers you experience on reflection and in the moment of travel. 
And secondly,  it is a deep offering no less and I hope you enjoy it.....

On Genova......

A port city will always be an interesting multi sensory experience, a place where the mix of culture, ethnicity and class will not only dominate but inform the place.  The commercial enterprises of the city are paramount to not only survival but the cultural diversity… in other words everyone has tried and tested these waters.  Genova is the trade link for the Mediterranean Sea, in years past it has been called by many names….”la Superba" ...the proud one, "la Dominante"... the dominant one and/or, "la Repubblica dei magnifici", the Republic of the Magnificents..... the list goes on.....

As a maritime republic Genova maintained control from around the 11th century to later in the 18th.  La Superba indeed, the gritty beauty of this large city runs parallel to Unesco World Heritage sites, old world palazzos and the fabulous array of art that hides behind beckoning world class architecture and the historic detail of a rivaling maritime city that makes for a fascinating and deeply layered place.  

This is a story of a family traveling, discovering and learning about the sweet details that makes Italy La Superba.

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, writing, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

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"Enchantment - a useless thing, but as dispensable as bread" - Gio Ponti

Welcome to Episode #27 Pisa, Tuscany....

I have always been a little intrigued about Pisa.  Wondering to myself what it was all about, so much so I thought we better go.  And it is a curious place, a Tuscan city not far from the sea, a maritime power in its hey day.  The city was built on the legacy of trade and its location on the Fiume Arno (River Arno) the one that connects it to its Tuscan neighbour Florence.  It was a little fun going down the rabbit hole and discovering this place.  The Leaning Tower - Torre Pendente is obviously what sets this city apart, what magnetises the curious traveler.  

The thing I love about travel is when something happens that throws you off your tracks, our day in Pisa was full of lovely surprises.  The beauty of the Piazza dei Miracoli - the square of Miracles is something I will not forget.  A wandering city, the river Arno is wide, the beautiful gothic cathedral stands by the river ....the Santa Maria della Spina is a marvel as you meander along the beautiful bridges connecting the two sides of Pisa.

The idea of travel now has a luminous quality, after a year of knowing we cannot go, our rosy glasses have had to come off.  We have to appreciate what is within our own personal radius.  I don’t mind this, and shall reap the benefits of my own beautiful country, yet Italy still lures me, calls me.  

It is only through books and art right now that I can fly away, escape the day to day.  If you have any great books or film or ideas in general on Italy send me a little note on the email.  I would love to hear from you....

Send to [email protected]

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, Copyright 2021.

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:
www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

Support the show

“The rain was coming down in what seemed solid sheets. But it was Italy. Nothing it did could be bad”       
                       - Elizabeth Von Armin ‘Enchanted April’

Welcome to Episode #26

Join me for a little Italian Joy and the delights of an afternoon wandering the Tuscan town of Lucca. The beauty of travel to me is leaving one molto bella historic city for another. An hour and a half on the train and then presto, we arrive at a medieval castle just outside the looming city wall that circumnavigates the centro storico. A little wet because it was raining but we are seduced by the beauty of early in Spring in Italy. Raining or not we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Piazza San Michele (my namesake) always a good sign and revered the unfolding of another delightful travel adventure.

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, Copyright 2021.

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:

www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

Support the show

"Thy light alone - Gives grace and truth to life's unquiet dream'   -  Percy Bysshe Shelley

Welcome to Episode #25.......

Sometimes you just need to start in the middle, and somehow you find the beginning and the end.  That is how this episode came about.  There is always the attention to the inner calling to do the work, to make way, to make hay while the sun shines.  This episode is a soliloquy to the creative life, to getting back to writing and to some musing about life and art. 
'Eat, Pray, Love’ and the book ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert played a role in reminding me why it all matters.   And that sometimes you have to go out on a limb if you want to get the fruit.  Enjoy.  

Photo Credit - The Truffle Hunters film

© 2021 A Writer In Italy - travel, writing, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, © 2021

See Show Notes for Books mentioned and a little share on podcasts I have enjoyed over the summer  if you are interested in the creative journey....

Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:

www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

In the Shadow of a Cypress: An Italian Adventure

Support the show

“To make time to eat as Italians still do is to share in their inexhaustible gift for making art out of life” 
                                        -  Marcella Hazan
                     ‘The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking 

Welcome to Episode #24
Join me for the final episode for 2020 as I make a Spritz Prosecco Cocktail and share my last podcast for the year with Christine from Italian Dish Podcast.
At the beginning of December Christine and I had a Skype chat about her Italian Dish Podcast and how she made her way to Italy over the recent years.  We chat about the mood of Christmas as we near the end of 2020, cooking in la Cucina Italiana and her inspirations behind her Italian food creations and how she went to Italy to study abroad and eventually found herself married to an Italian and living in Tuscany.

Christine can be found on I-Tunes or your favourite Podcast Channel @ Italian Dish and on Instagram at @italiandishpodcast.

Enjoy and try one of her gorgeous Italian Recipes......or join her Patreon Community for extra cooking ideas and recipes.

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, Copyright 2020.


Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:

www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

In the Shadow of a Cypress: An Italian Adventure

Support the show

“Italy, like the olive tree, is ever-green” 
                                    - Lina Waterfield, ‘Castle in Italy’

Welcome to Episode #23.......

I begin with a light serenade to December 2020 sitting out in the morning sun and then share the fifth installment of The Family Trip in Italy....

Part 2 Florence, Tuscany....Firenze and the travel adventure continues. 


Enjoy, See You Next time with Christine from The Italian Dish Podcast #24


And then onto Lucca, Pisa and Genoa Italy.........and then the French Riveria

Music Composed by Richard Johnston, Copyright 2021.


Please find all Show Notes and details mentioned at:

www.michellejohnston.life

Instagram:  @awriterinitaly and @theyellowhouse__

About A Writer in Italy Podcast:

Five years ago Michelle Johnston traveled to Italy to create space for herself and her writing.  Michelle traveled solo giving herself time to recalibrate after many years of parenting and life in general.  Leaving her husband to take care of the family she reconnected with her writing, her art and her love of travel.

The adventure turned into the book and travel memoir...............

In the Shadow of a Cypress: An Italian Adventure

Support the show