What is the fatal charm of Italy, that can be found nowhere else”? – Erica Jong
It all started in the Fall of 1999. The “fatal charm” of Italy began to unfold through the window of a Renault on a road trip through Tuscany with my Italian cousins. Fresh from reading Frances Mayes Under the Tuscan Sun, with visions of vineyards and olive orchards dancing in my head, I jumped at my cousin Lidia’s suggestion that we travel by car from Milano through Chianti on our way to Siena stopping to visit Monteriggioni where my cousin’s husband Roberto was born. Road trips are an adventure in the making. Described by some as a transformative sort of travel experience a road trip will take you from point A to point B but with a playlist of possibilities you have yet to discover. Your itinerary is set by the lifestyle of a country not by a travel brochure. You see the iconic sites of Italy a little differently, traveling like an Italian, on the road, with a personal connection to a landscape that unfolds as you drive the autostrada and Italy’s roads less traveled tasting regional food and wine at tables where centuries of culinary traditions are still part of eating Italian. You learn about how Italians live and work, how they think and what they like to do and along the way you’ll find a perspective and clarity about where you are in your own life. And don’t be surprised if you get lost once in a while – all Italians do.
