Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Around the World

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
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October 26, 2024

Alone in the most romantic city in the world

October 26, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Alone in the most romantic city in the world

This was not the trip I signed up for.

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October 26, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
Around the World, blog, travel
Paris, France, Food, Travel
August 12, 2024

Ignore the Guidebooks: Choose Ghent

August 12, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Ignore the Guidebooks: Choose Ghent

 The guidebooks will tell you that Ghent makes a great half-day trip from Brussels or Bruges. They’re wrong.

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August 12, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ 8 Comments
Around the World, blog, travel
belgium, Travel, food, beer
July 13, 2024

Why you should take your adult children to Amsterdam

July 13, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Why you should take your adult children to Amsterdam

Hold onto your hats. Your family will never be the same.

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July 13, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
July 17, 2023

I've never been any place like Bilbao

July 17, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
I've never been any place like Bilbao

Well, my socks are officially knocked off.

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July 17, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 1 Comment
travel, Around the World
spain, Travel, Family
June 08, 2023

Finding my Moment in Scotland

June 08, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Finding my Moment in Scotland

Isle of Skye is not just bananas, it is unhinged.

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June 08, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 10 Comments
travel, blog, Around the World
UK, Scotland, Travel, travel
April 27, 2023

Trains and graves and fairies: From London to Edinburgh to Skye

April 27, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Trains and graves and fairies: From London to Edinburgh to Skye

Alternative title for this article: “Visiting Scotland—What to read and how to avoid mortal peril.”

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April 27, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 7 Comments
travel, blog, Around the World
UK, Scotland, food
April 17, 2023

Pubs + Football = Spring Break London!

April 17, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Pubs + Football = Spring Break London!

How we began our trip to the UK with a stop in London for a Premier League Game, including directions for how you, too, can include this experience in your trip.

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April 17, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
Around the World, blog, travel
UK, London, family, food, Travel
August 31, 2022

To Toulouse!

August 31, 2022/ Michelle Damiani
To Toulouse!

All about my visit to Toulouse, a rose-colored wonder.

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August 31, 2022/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
Around the World, travel
France, Travel, Food
August 07, 2022

Beginning Again: Painting in the Pyrenees

August 07, 2022/ Michelle Damiani
Beginning Again: Painting in the Pyrenees

How I became a beginner again, surrounded by the excellent food and jaw-dropping beauty of a France few tourists see.

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August 07, 2022/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, blog, Around the World
France
October 14, 2021

Paris: The Final Curtain on a Year Abroad

October 14, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Paris: The Final Curtain on a Year Abroad

How France’s City of Light shed clarity on a year in Italy.

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October 14, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
blog, Around the World, travel
France, Family, Travel, Food
September 19, 2021

Bonjour, France

September 19, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Bonjour, France

Dear France, remember me?

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September 19, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
blog, travel
France, travel
February 18, 2021

Camping? In Switzerland?!?

February 18, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Camping? In Switzerland?!?

I know you wish you could travel. File this post under, “At least Michelle is doing legwork for me so when the travel gates open, I’m guaranteed a phenomenal trip.”

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February 18, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
travel, switzerland
February 15, 2021

Sledding in heart of Switzerland

February 15, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Sledding in heart of Switzerland

Who knew that mountain fun could be had in Switzerland, even for non-skiers?

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February 15, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, blog
switzerland, travel, sledding, winter
February 11, 2021

Surprised by Switzerland

February 11, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Surprised by Switzerland

I’m glad I didn’t prepare for this.

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February 11, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
blog, travel
switzerland
March 10, 2020

Kid-Free in NYC

March 10, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Kid-Free in NYC

How to enjoy an exciting trip to America’s iconic city. Without children.

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March 10, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, blog
NYC
April 07, 2019

Whistler, British Columbia

April 07, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Whistler, British Columbia

What we enjoyed at the Whistler resort in British Columbia.

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April 07, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Canada, ski, family
November 17, 2016

Quebec City, Winter Wonderland

November 17, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Quebec City, Winter Wonderland

French food and language, blurred with frontier sensibility, lie due North.

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November 17, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Canada
October 17, 2016

Tips for Newbie Families Traveling to Southeast Asia on a Budget

October 17, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Tips for Newbie Families Traveling to Southeast Asia on a Budget

Thinking of exploring SE Asia as a family? Start here.

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October 17, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Asia, budget, family
October 09, 2016

Go in Curious (the benefits of SE Asia)

October 09, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Go in Curious (the benefits of SE Asia)

How Asia keeps you curious, and therefore traveling more intentionally.

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October 09, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Asia
October 06, 2016

Relaxing in Southeast Asia

October 06, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Relaxing in Southeast Asia

Asia is intense. Plan accordingly.

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October 06, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos
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Michelle Damiani

Website for Michelle Damiani, author of Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, the funny and heartfelt memoir of an American family living in Spello, as well as Santa Lucia, a page-turner set on the Umbria border. 

Rumors. Romance. And more than a little espresso.

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Last photo from France before we hop over to Italy (but I do have a reel coming about epic seafood experiences centered on Île de Ré). I wonder if you’ll miss my French photos as much as I’ll miss posting them?
The nice thing about needing a stopover somewhere in France to break up a drive between two friends’ homes is it allows you to discover gems like Cahors, a medieval market town with great food, a great market, and great life. See my stories for
When you speak twenty words of a language, it’s a major triumph when you crack a joke. At this tucked away restaurant in Cahors, I decided on the menu shown, awed that the meal would cost as much as a sandwich back home. When Keith ordered, he
You can imagine the dreams I had the night we spent in this castle.
Do I love a market? Mais oui.
Just two cozy mystery writers wandering Narbonne, plotting murders while choosing cheese to refill the supply I already depleted.
If a trip to Pau is in your future (and it should be, this city at the feet of the Pyrenees has a worn-in elegance and unstudied grace that makes it a total winner), stop in at the tourist office for Pass Gourmand tickets. With the tickets you get a
Traffic jam, Pyrenees style.

A trip to Italy is better with language basics! Here’s my recommended course to learn Italian and make your trip fantastico!


Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”