"The old cypress trees along the ancient noble roads stand tall as if to welcome you into their home"  -  Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen

Welcome to Episode #68,

This week I share Part 2 of my conversation with Author Sheryl Ness about life in Tuscany and the writing of her book Love in a Tuscan Kitchen: Savouring Life Through the Romance, Recipes and Traditions of Italy.

Today we talk about the traditions at the Italian table, book authors, writing, the writing process, language studies and more. 

I must add this book is for someone who enjoys the sensual pleasures of life.  It is a tale that talks to the heart of taking risks, weighing up the possibilities and then leaping into the great unknown.  I love that not only is this a memoir, but a cookbook too.  I think these days this is one of my favourite genres in writing where both parts weave seamlessly as the journey evolves.

Visit Sheryl Ness Love in a Tuscan Kitchen

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Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022

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"Everything around me gave me a feeling that I was at home, from the foods to the people and the unique landscape.  I was falling in love"  -  Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen

Welcome to Episode #67,

Today I share a wonderful conversation with Sheryl Ness about her time in Tuscany and her memoir, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen: Savouring Life Through the Romance, Recipes and Traditions of Italy. 

I think Sheryl’s story is very special because she had a connection to Italy without understanding exactly why.  But she followed the thread and the inkling, and something very interesting happened.  She found the one.  And it didn’t just happen in a linear or obvious way.  Her path lead her from one thing to the next, then it happened rather last minute, quite randomly, over a piece of chocolate cake!  

There is so much I love about this book…Taking risks and following the heart’s needle, and really trusting the bigger picture, that something very beautiful wants to be revealed.  In this case, it turned into a great Tuscan adventure and one that continues to delight and surprise you.

Visit Sheryl Ness Love in a Tuscan Kitchen

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Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022

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“The appeal of this floating city built on stilts in a lagoon is real.  Venice remains a place always beckoning me to return.  Far from perfect, this island shaped like a fish entices me” -  Margie Miklas, Introduction, The Venice I Know

Welcome to Episode 66,

Margie Miklas has a special connection to Italy as a second generation Italian/American.  Come along for a sweet conversation about Margie’s Italy.  
We discuss her book and travel guide “The Venice I Know”.  And lots more on travel writing, favourite places in Italy, solo adventures, films set in Venice and more… 

Enjoy, 

Book:  The Venice I Know by Margie Miklas

Visit the website:   Margie in Italy
Instagram:                  Margie Miklas

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"And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again - to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more"  -  Pico Iyer,  'Why We Travel'

Welcome to Episode #65:

The thing is Italy has so much to offer.  Twenty regions and each with something special and unique.  I wanted to share all of the beautiful things about the city of Padova or Padua (in English) in the Veneto and give you a dose of what is possible if visiting the Veneto.  I loved staying in this city as a base to explore the region, and then went back for more of the Northern Italy in April this year…. 

Here is a window into the many reasons you need to go, and some of the history and ambience on the historical and cultural gem of a place.

Enjoy, and email or DM me if you get inspired to go. I would love to hear!!

See show notes for every place/link/book detail shared.  And a photo montage if wanting a visual snapshot of Padova.....

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Welcome to Episode #64:

I couldn’t resist but share a few books and artists that are truely inspiring me and feeding my spirit in the realm of Muse Italia.

Enjoy,

The Art of Excellent Products: Enchanting Customers with Premium Brand Experiences by Riccardo Illy 

A Place in the World:  Finding the Meaning of Home by Frances Mayes

Visit:  Frances Mayes for the Book Club Questions and Reading Guides….

Discovering Vegan Italian, The Second Edition by Nadia Fragnito…. Visit:  The Vegan Italian Kitchen
The Silver Spoon: Naples and the Amalfi Coast by Phaidon
Italian Film Festival in Australia…. St Ali Italian Film Festival
La Torta (2019) by Gabrielle Gregoire and Olivia Lawson
Visit:  Gabrielle Gregoire
Instagram:   @gabrielle_gregoireVisit:  Film Residency in Calabria
The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel…

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The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware“ - Henry Miller

Welcome to Episode #63

This podcast share is a great window into my world…

Have you ever wondered why a place is calling you, why you cannot stop thinking about it or more so, why you want to visit, or stay forever?  Well this share might shed some light on how a particular location is aligned for you.  

Recently I shared some time with Astrologer and Podcaster Lynnette Wennerstrom who gave me a great insight into my cosmic map for astrology.  Basically it turns out that Italy was destiny and that is that.  But certainly I was curious about the placements of my astrology and how they look on the world map and potentially how they could effect my life.   

Locational astrology is the kind of thing you can look into when you go beyond a natal chart.  It mirrors the same alignments but on the world stage you could say.  

Enjoy this Episode and if you are new to astrology you can get a sense of what is possible.
My AstroMap to check out!   https://www.michellejohnston.life/episodes/episode-63-1

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michellejohnston.life

Visit: Lynette.... Cosmic Moves: Holistic Astrology

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"Nature accompanies me, exalts me" - Henri Matisse

A Serenade to a Sunday....  Reflections on a house and a garden.

"I buy another five cypress.  I work hard, water, pray, read them poetry.  I listen to books as I dig... A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnet….A Paris year, John Baxter….and I dream of a day where they will drill their taproot down into the earth, deep, hardy specimens, that I never even water.  

I go back to Italy and I look at the cypress, in gardens, next to villas, lined up on roads.  They seem to hold the measure of us, grand companions on the journey of life.  Guardians and mysterious knowing trees, always I feel better when I see them in the distance.  When I realised I could have a taste of Italy here in my back yard, well why not?  There was no turning back"

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"I think that a writer should observe the real world before imagining a non-existent one" -
Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words

In a day and age where the universe is at our finger tips and we can meander the world with a smart phone in our pocket.  A device that has the ability to solve most of our problems, pay the bills, track your kids, read you a book, take you from A to B, or wander the streets with an incantation of Max Richter in your ears as you lose yourself in the city of Bologna , is it wise to bring a notebook to jot down ideas and thoughts when one could just as easily leave a voice message or make dot points on the Notes app on that back pocket ?  Yes, yes, I think it is wise.

Here are a few excerpts from some of my travel diaries, from Italy, France, London..... The final instalment of journals, diaries and notebooks.
 
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“Do you know the land where the lemon trees grow, in darkened leaves the gold-oranges glow,  a soft wind blows from the pure blue sky, the myrtle stands mute, and the bay-tree high?  Do you know it well?”   -   JW Goethe,  Author of Italian Journey

Welcome to Episode #60:

When I think about Limoncello immediately I find myself in Italy.  In particular on the Amalfi coast wandering the side streets, following the fragrance of the beautiful sumptuous lemons that seem to be in baskets out the front of every door or shop front.  

From memory there are two types of Limoncello, a sweet liquor in a small, thin bottle that is super sweet, or the turbo charged punch in the mouth digestivo that has you reciting poetry to a fellow tourist.  This recipe is like the later, but certainly can be diluted or sipped gently, but here you go.

So here is a musing on lemons, life and Limoncello, Enjoy....

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"Now I know why I keep a diary. I am not at peace until I continue the thread into the present. I am interested in analyzing myself, in trying to discover the reasons why I do such & such. I cannot do this without dropping dried peas behind me to help me retrace my course, to point a straight line in the darkness".   Patricia Highsmith, Her Diaries and Notebooks

So many writers have taken to the page to transcribe their daily thoughts, to reflect and preserve, to vent, to articulate, to understand, to create.  Diaries and journals can be a way to write your life into being, and a place of comfort and joy.  Always the diary is a humble companion on a journey, whether you are traveling out there in the world or not. 

Here are few of my own humble moments from my travel diaries in Camogli, Genova, Milan, Siena, London and France…

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michellejohnston.life

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© 2022 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2022

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