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Here you can shop for my favorite Travel Guides, Fiction and Non-Fiction Books that are Travel Related, as well as Cookbooks, Music, and Language Resources!
I will update it frequently, so make sure to stop by often!
(You can access easily by clicking on the “Shop” button in the contents above)

My most recent travels in Central Florida brought me to Crystal River, home of Florida’s Manatees, adorable creatures that live in the springs around the river, swimming and frolicking and often times getting cut by boat propellers.
The Manatees are commonly referred to as Sea Cows because of their size and look, and they are another of Florida’s treasures that must be preserved. I have spent a good deal of time with Manatees, which is another story, but this time, I was looking for something else. I was heading back to my roots as an anthropologist and to the roots of Florida’s ancient past; this brought me to
The Crystal River Archaeological State Park.
Continue Reading »

I love using leftover vegetables and sauces to make delicious healthy pasta dishes. This one is one of my favorites. It is rich in flavor and color, and is perfect to celebrate the coming of spring! Enjoy with a nice glass of wine and crusty bread for dinner. Or bring it to your next picnic served cold. Either way, your family and friends will love it!
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Il Pomeriggio (eel pom-air-rejo)–Afternoon

The way I remembered this word was by thinking about Parmigiano cheese. I can always remember things that are associated with food! Continue Reading »

I told you guys about Lisabeeen, my friend who roasts the best coffee in the world? I just ordered some Mexican Chiapas and it is wonderfully smooth rich and chocolate-y. Her coffee is so good you don’t even need sugar… Well she is having a contest. If you can think up the best name for her new Spring Blend she will send you a free pound of fresh roasted coffee.
See details here
Good Luck!

…More like Giraffes and Florida Panthers and Alligators, oh YEAH!
That essentially sums up our little excursion to Silver Springs, Florida. It is home of the Silver River, glass bottom boat tours and some of the friendliest animals down South, as you will see….. Continue Reading »

***UPDATE: I added this super geeked out picture of me while I was out on the Rez - what a cute little lamb, huh? It is hard to believe this was almost 10 years ago!***

Hey Everyone!
I have exciting news to share.
Brave New Traveler has just published an article I wrote about my time on the Navajo Reservation. Please go check it out! It is my first article for someone else! I am really excited about it!

Imagine a beautiful, classic Greek fishing village, right on the water, Greek music coming from all the seaside shops, the smells of Greek food wafting out on the sea breezes. Imagine whitewashed buildings with blue accents….wait, stop, hold on a sec, we aren’t in Greece……we are in Tarpon Springs…..Florida?
That’s right people, you too can experience the flavors, sights and sounds of Greece, here in the United States, in Florida. Roberto and I went to Tarpon Springs last week on a whim and found a wonderful place to get down with our Mediterranean selves!

Tarpon Springs boasts the largest Greek population in the United States, as it makes up about 1/3 of the community. Its inhabitants are the descendents of Greek sponge divers that came to Florida from Greece around the turn of the century. This influence has become the backbone of Tarpon Springs and the art of Sponge Diving still exists today. Continue Reading »

The Coffee Frappe in Greece is often described as a way of life. The drink is so ubiquitous with the culture that you can almost not think of one without the other. This being the case, there are often as many opinions as people on what is the correct way to make it – sweet, bitter, light, dark, etc. My take on it, not being Greek and therefore not having any real stake in it, other than enjoying it, is that it is up to personal preference. This recipe is as I enjoyed it in Tarpon Springs, light sweet and frothy! Continue Reading »

Il Caffe’ (eel caf-eh)—Coffee
I don’t know if you guys like coffee, but I sure do. I like to grind my own beans for the best flavor, but that by no means qualifies me as a junkie. I have a friend in Vermont who we call the Coffee Queen. She not only knows everything about coffee, but she roasts her own beans in her house, makes the best lattes and even has won coffee art contests (you know where they make the fancy designs out of the coffee foam - the picture included in this post is one of her design from this morning’s latte). Man, I really miss her lattes and beans!
But the good news is, she has started selling them from her own blog! Continue Reading »

You can read another article I wrote that got published about the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park Florida.

I am going to be writing reviews about many more Florida travel destinations in upcoming entries. Having just moved to the state, from New England, I have been doing a lot of exploring in my new home town of Ocala and other areas of Central Florida.
This week my travel companion was my mom. We have instituted Girl’s Day Out. In its honor, we decided to do something really girly and have lunch at
The Veranda Gallery & Tea Room and afterwards spend the afternoon
at the Appleton Museum of Art.
Continue Reading »

Wow, how great does my page look now??!?!?!?!!!!
Totally awesome!
I can say that freely without sounding arrogant, because it is not I who created it!
So here is a big shout out to Roberto for redesigning my webpage!
Molte Grazie!
Che Bella Tutti Frutti!

Il Gatto (eel gah-toh)—Cat

Cats are the best things in the world. If I was an animal, I would want to be a cat, not just any cat, but OUR cat. She eats the best food, has lots of snuggly places to sleep and gets all the affection she could need. I am so totally in love with her! Continue Reading »

We have started a tradition of Sunday Dinner at our house. We thought it would be a great time to sit down, relax and enjoy delicious food, some nice wine and good conversation. Yesterday it was my turn this week to be the cook. So I decided I wanted to do something challenging. I am the type of cook who likes to use as little dishes as possible. It is an unwritten rule of mine, a goal, as I like as little clean-up as possible. However, I also decided when I had time on my hands, after moving to FLA and having the pace of a slower life, I would challenge my cooking skills and try more complicated dishes that had many steps, lots of ingredients and was a slow process all around. Kind of spend the day the way my Grandmother used to—in the kitchen! It took me 3 hours to do everything, but I had the best time and man, was it good!
Continue Reading »

Gelato (gel-ah-toh)—— Ice Cream

(And some freebies)

Nocciola (no-cho-la)—–Hazelnut
Sorbetto (sor-bet-to)—–Sorbet
Gelateria (gel-ah-tour-ia)—Gelato parlor

Gelato has got to be one of the best things to come out of Italy. For me, that is saying a lot as I am a big fan of most things that come out of Italy. To call gelato, ice cream, is almost not fair. In my mind, being a fan of both, they are altogether different. Continue Reading »

As soon as I got to FL I started my quest for where to find a good gelateria. Luckily my search was not a long one, for we found one an hour north in Gainesville. The Gelato Company is a cute little café located on SE 1st avenue. Continue Reading »

Hazelnut gelato, or gelato alla nocciola, is one of the most common ice cream flavors in Italy. The creamy texture of the gelato coupled with the nutty earthy flavors of hazelnuts and this will quickly become a common treat in your house too! Continue Reading »

Maybe I need to start listening! Moving to Florida from New England has been a really big change. We left that North East culture and came to something totally different. We left a winter wonderland filled with ice and headed for the balmy breezes of the south. We left our jobs, Roberto’s girls and dear friends to start over and have a clean slate. We craved change and we decided to go big!
Whenever I move to a new place, I usually always have a job beforehand. This time, I just decided to wing it. I had some money saved and I thought it would be a breeze for me to find a job. Not so. Since I got here, I have applied for over 25 jobs in my field. I got called for 2 interviews, and neither place offered me the job. I got really bummed out. This was strange. Usually I get offers for most jobs I apply for….Had I lost my mojo?
During this same time, I started this blog in earnest, because it is my baby step towards the life I want to lead - as a world traveler and writer. Continue Reading »

The Food Network is becoming a more diverse place. Instead of just featuring so-called master chefs, iron chefs, executive chefs and the like, the Food Network has also started featuring just really good cooks.
One such cook on the Food Network is Giada De Laurentiis, otherwise known as “Sorriso a 64 Denti” in my family. Continue Reading »