Chris Guillebeau has a great new list of seasoned travel tips — everything from how to handle a taxi fare to changing “unchangeable” airline tickets.
I’ll add two to his list: 1) You can sleep *ANYWHERE* with a good set of earplugs and an eye mask. 2) You can secure your stuff in very creative ways with pac-safe.
Favorite new site: almostfearless.com
The author–Christine Gilbert–quit her day job as a software manager at a Fortune 500 company to chase her dream of traveling the world. She became a freelance writer, traveling and working from anywhere. Her site is a mix of advice, inspiration, and travelogue. Christine is like a whack to the side of the head reminding you to stop doing what you loathe and start doing what you like. She systematically attacks all the excuses you have for why that isn’t possible. She also writes really clearly. I appreciate that. Some of my favorite posts:
8 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22
Escapism: the Dirty Word that Keeps Us Doing What We Loathe
Our favorite experience on our recent trip to Italy was undoubtedly staying at a little bed & breakfast called Locanda Rosati in the Umbrian countryside. LR is situated a few minutes outside Orvieto, which is located about 1.5 hours north of Rome. LR is a kind of hybrid: Part B&B, part agriturismo (farm house), and part restaurant.
The B&B portion consists of about ten rooms with private bathrooms in a gorgeously restored 19th century villa. The place was passed down from father to son for several generations and remains in the family. It’s been updated with modern amenities, but they somehow managed to maintain that delicate balance where the new complements (rather than conflicts or overwhelms) the old. The rooms are simple, but elegant. There is a common room with library and a chilly natural wine cellar below the house. Of course you won’t be spending much time in the house, because the grounds are amazing.
The publicly accessible area around the villa is a cornecopia of lushy green plants, fruits, lemon trees, flowers, etc. Pretty much everything you can imagine an Italian garden might look like. And there is a fabulous pool set below a small hill which has been carved out with caves. Lots of chairs and places to relax. Paths to walk and things to look at.
Innkeeper Gianpiero told me (in his remarkably good english) that they raise chickens and other small animals as well as various fruits, olives, and nuts. They use these ingredients and other locally bought organic goods to put together a five course meal most every evening. The meal is served family style at a big long table where all of the guests sit together. The food is incredible: Gorgonzola bruschetta, fondue zucchini, homemade penne, rabbit meat, strawberry rhubarb pie. Something different every night. The place is part of the slow food movement. Eating dinner here with the cheery camp of constantly changing international guests was the highlight of our trip. After dinner, we would drink local wine and limoncello and spend hours chatting into the night with the company.
Between the food, the people, and the place, this was Italy at its best. If you stay one place on your next trip, stay at Locanda Rosati.
