~Christmas with my extended Calabrian Italian family in West Virginia~

For the last 29 years, my husband and our 2 kids drive 12 hours each way to join my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins of all ages, to eat the seven fishes dinner on Christmas Eve. Of course, there is always spaghetti, vegetables, salad. This year there were 40 of us. Then, we sing Christmas carols before we disperse to our cars to our individuals childhood homes to open presents and then attend Midnight Mass with full stomachs, heavy eyelids, and even fuller hearts.

For the large Christmas Eve lunch (il pranzo), Aunt Angie makes clam chowder, we have shrimp, baccala, smelt, sardines and whiting. Aunt Mary Jane and my mom, Josephine, work hard for hours preparing. Cousins arrive and pitch in.

Desserts include: pannetone, pita m'pigliata (we say pita piata) which is a traditional dolce from San Giovanni in Fiore, my paternal grandparents’ home (and where I am a new citizen).

My daughter covered our feast on her food blog here, as well.

Uncle Frank wears my grandmothers flowered half apron while frying the fish in the attached garage-turned-family room, the the second kitchen.

Cosimo was my maternal grandfather, born in Caulonia Italy, Calabria. He was 17 when he voyaged alone on the ship to Ellis Island, never to return to Italy until he was 84 years old, (67 years later).

I hope, wherever you are, you experience the peace and love of the season with friends and family.

Buon natale!

What traditions do you enjoy?

THREE THINGS I LEARNED ON MY ITALY RETREAT

The workshop I teach in Italy is the same workshop I have taught in the United States for over 19 years, based on The Option Method. As it is with teaching, the teacher often learns more than the students. Here are three things I learned during my Italy Retreat in September.

1.) Courage is unveiled in many colors. We all experience loss in our lives, and we kneel at different graves, but we dust off our knees, look around again, cry some, love a little more tenuously, feel the pain, and take another step beginning our journey again.

Repeatedly, I re-discover that women are the memory keepers, and when they tell their stories, and their stories are heard, life makes more sense and their lives are kept sacred.

I am humbled by the strength of the human spirit to succeed again and again even amidst betrayals and mistreatments by those we love or have loved.

2.) Love is the greatest force in the world. That force gives us the strength to get beyond the pain, or at best not to allow the loss of love to keep us under water. The courage and determination to love and to allow love into our lives again is a marvel to watch. Or as Rumi has written: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

It is helpful to question and resolve our limiting beliefs that are barriers within ourselves. The purpose is to stop us from responding to events out of habit, unconsciously.

3.) Remember to enjoy each moment of our lives. The Italian culture naturally follows that philosophy. This is one of the reasons I teach in Italy, (besides the fact that I love Italy). If you saw the movie, Eat Pray Love, you may remember the gentleman in the barber shop explaining how Italians enjoy life--la dolce fa niente--‘the sweetness of doing nothing.’

After the workshop, I was on the train in Italy traveling through many tunnels, and for some reason there were no lights on inside this particular train. After silently experiencing several pitch-black tunnels, a middle-aged Italian woman lit her cigarette lighter, and started singing happy birthday in Italian, with her friends laughing and singing along, tante auguri a te, tante auguri a te. All of us tourists around her began happily singing along.

I am grateful for all the courage, love and joy that people in the world share, but most especially for the women in my workshop who were an inspiration to me.

Here's what one of the course participants said: “….Within two days a group of women with vastly different backgrounds, who were not familiar with each other--were able to share intimate secrets and be vulnerable--that is a testament to a facilitator who trusts in the environment and instructs from the heart--to foster a feeling of safety and trust. This could happen nowhere else but Italy and with no one else but Lenora."

If you'd like to read more about George Clooney in Italy and about one of our hiking adventures during this year's Italy Retreat, I wrote about it on my happiness blog, BeHappyLifeCoach.

How do you create courage, love and joy in YOUR life? Share your comments.

In just two days, we will be arriving in the Cinque Terre for our ITALY RETREAT for women to live la dolce vita!

The retreat runs from September 11 to 19, 2010. In addition to 15 hours of workshop time focused on breaking free from limiting beliefs and creating the sweet life wherever we are, we travel to eight cities on the Italian Riviera.

The average temperatures in Monterosso during September is 75 degrees F. and average lows are 66 degrees F.

Our travel plans include an eight-city tour of the Italian Riviera, in the Northwestern region of ITALY, called Liguria. There are actually 20 regions of Italy that all used to be separate city/states. Word is that the best tasting pesto is made in Liguria. The locals use a mortar and pestle to make it, and the ancient soft and porous stones in the soil mixed with salt air results in excellent tasting basil and other herbs.

Our 15 hours of workshop activities will help you transform your life, break free from past limitations, and be happy beyond belief. I include exercises to live la dolce vita, the sweet life, wherever you are, in whatever situation you find yourself in.

The quality of the light in The Cinque Terre (five lands) makes everything sparkle like a jewel. Included in the Italian Riviera travel schedule of our Italy Retreat, we will visit four of the five Cinque Terre villages. In order from north to south are: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia (not visiting), Manarola, and Rio Maggiore.

The five villages are picture perfect. Houses are lively colorful displays that look like master paintings with village scenes set on the sides of Mediterranean mountains. Locals are proud of their quaint stores where they sell their local treasures made of olive wood and other local materials. They offer products like wine, olive oil, limoncello, honey and so much more. Each village and other towns to the north and south, are connected by hiking trails. We will hike some of them.

I’m just going to mention a few points about each unforgettable town.

1. Monterosso: Monterosso beaches are the best in the Cinque Terre. Beaches are free only where you see NO umbrellas. We went to the free beach under Il Casello Restaurant near Vernazza trailhead, five minutes from our hotel. As you face the town with the sea behind you, it’s on the far right. The New Town is to the right of the train station and the historic area is to the left. (Hotel La Colonnina is in the historic part of town right off Piazza Garibaldi.)

2. Vernazza Small but quaint. We will take a ferry here from Monterosso, and shop on the small main street of town. Climb the steep steps for a majestic view. This community was formed around the year 1000 and there are about 500 residents during the summer months. Vineyards fill the mountainside beyond the town. Love the cute shops here. Climb the stairs or walk up to the connecting trailheads.

3. Manarola Walking from Riomaggiore on the Via Dell’Amore, a very easy paved hiking trail, we round the bend and there appears a magical-looking Shangrila-like village of colorful houses on the side of a mountain. It’s deep water swimming area is reached from large boulders, no beach. Cinque Terre National Park group creates natural skincare products and their office/store is at the end of the trail in Manarola near the train tunnel. Boats park on the streets, and then each boat is hoisted down on a pulley to drop it into the sea below for its owner to bring in the catch of the day.

We will hike here from Rio Maggiore on the Via Dell’ Amore (path of love). It’s so breathtaking to be walking and suddenly in the distance view a Shangri-la--seemingly growing out of the mountainside. Several wonderful restaurants here. Instead of parked cars you’ll see parked boats on the streets. There’s no beach here but stairs lead down to huge rocks for sunbathing.

4. Rio Maggiore A tunnel filled with art and mosaics line the tunnel leading to the Via dell’Amore to begin our hike to Manarola. It’s an easy 20 minute walk along dramatic cliffs, with jaw-dropping views that meet the blue waters of the Mediterranean. We’ll take a group photo and can climb down some of the huge boulders along the trail. This is a very hilly town with a hilltop botanical garden that can be reached by bus. Walk the path around the upper town and shop at some very cute stores.

5. San Frutuosso We'll visit the 13th century Abbey of San Fruttuoso. We'll swim in the turquoise waters at the cove here, and eat focaccia and peaches for lunch on the beach. Or we can choose to eat pesto lasagna at the only restaurant in this glorious cove! So many delicious choices to live la dolce vita. There is a short trail to hike in the hilltops above the abbey and a museum to visit.

6. Portofino (Rodeo Drive of the Italian Riviera). It’s a small harbor but most famous. Fishermen’s homes have been transformed into expensive boutiques carrying Gucci and Pucci designs. The movie, “Enchanted April” was filmed here!. I suggest you watch it if you have time. It’s a story of four British women who escape the dreary winter weather of England to live for a month in Portofino (exact location not mentioned in the movie). We’ll visit a castle and church at the top of the hill.

7. Santa Marguerita is known for its orange blossoms and beachfront promenade. It is about 20 miles south of Genoa, home of Christopher Columbus.

8. Portovenere (Port of Venus). One of the most romantic picturesque villages on the Ligurian coast, with narrow streets filled with wonderful shops. There are unforgettable views from the 16th Century castle on top of the cliffs.

Roman legend has it that Venus emerged from the sea here. You’ll feel a deep feminine presence that really is palpable.

We spend some time writing here just like the romantic poets Shelly, D.H. Lawrence and Lord Byron. In addition, many women writers and artists today set up shop in Portovenere to work on their creative projects.

Liguria is a magical place and we all enjoy it more if we get in shape and walk for several miles a day months before we leave. The reason is that we do a good amount of walking and hiking on hilly streets, trails, and steps! But, we always take plenty of gelato and coffee breaks along the way. So, if you're thinking of traveling to Cinque Terre, just start walking now! You'll have more fun when you arrive.

Check out more posts on this Italy Retreat Blog for recommended non-fiction books about Italy, to see my photos on flickr and more. Rick Steves’ Italy is filled with self-guided walking tours of towns throughout Italy. He really popularized the Cinque Terre for Americans. 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Eyewitness Travel Guide ITALY or Fodors ITALY are all fun travel books filled with maps, history, and suggestions for travels in Italy.

Have you traveled to the Cinque Terre? Where is your favorite place? I'll keep you posted as we explore paradise on the Ligurian Coast of Italy.

(Photo) I took in 2009 from path above Monterosso

Recently I met Pauline Kenny, who is 'living the dream' of traveling for the fun of it. She has written this post today giving us details about vacation rentals in Italy in addition to recommended reading. Please welcome Pauline Kenny, founder of Slowtrav.com, an online travel community (now owned by Internet Brands, Inc.) Pauline ran the Slow Travel website and community from 2000-2007. She and her husband, Steve Cohen, now run the Slow Europe Website. They have both been traveling extensively for over three decades all over the US and Europe, living in Europe from one to five months every year.

Taking the Time to Experience More of Italy

Lenora’s Italy Retreat for Women is a great way to experience a beautiful part of Italy – the Cinque Terre and the Liguria coast – and the timing is perfect – mid-September when the holiday crowds have returned home and the very hot days have ended. But the week in Liguria will only whet your appetite for Italy; you will want to see more. My favorite regions are close by - Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche.

From Liguria take the train to Florence, spend a few nights in this Renaissance capital, then pick up a rental car and head out to the countryside. Or pick up a rental car in La Spezia and head out from there. If you have the time, a week in each of these three regions would be a wonderful immersion into Italy. Or pick one region and spend your week there.

If you are flying out of Rome, it is only a couple of hours by car to the airport. Or drop the car off in Chiusi (in Tuscany on the main train line) and take the train to Rome for a visit before you head home. Remember when booking your flight that it is possible to fly into Milan so you arrive close to Liguria, but return from Rome, so you don’t have to drive all the way back to Milan.

If you do not want to rent a car, you can see Tuscany by using Florence as your base. From there you can take trains to Lucca, Pisa, Bologna – even to Rome. Buses will take you to Siena. It is not that easy to get to the small towns, but study the bus schedules and you can do it.

Spoiled for Choice Accommodations

Italy has the full range of accommodation options from luxurious 5-star hotels to family-run inns, from villas for a group of 10 to cottages for two on a farm. My favorite type of accommodations is vacation rentals – houses, cottages or apartments, in cities, towns or the countryside, that you rent by the week (usually Saturday to Saturday). I like to settle into a vacation rental, shop in the local village, do some of my own cooking and explore the area from my comfortable base.

Under That Beautiful Tuscan Sun

When I think of Italy, I think of the Tuscan countryside with its curving country roads, hillsides lined with olive trees or grape vines, medieval hill towns and roads lined with cypress trees. Tuscany is mostly rural with mountains in the north and gentle hills and valleys in the rest of the region. The western edge borders the Mediterranean, but Liguria has more interesting seaside towns. The city of Florence (Firenze in Italian) is the art center – Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s Venus are my favorites. Siena, south of Florence, has one of Europe's greatest medieval squares, Piazza del Campo.

My favorite parts of Tuscany are the Chianti, a wine producing area between Florence and Siena, and the Crete Senesi, open countryside dotted with historic hill towns, south of Siena. The main towns in the Chianti are Greve, Panzano, Castelina and Radda, forming a triangle north of Siena. In the Crete the main towns are Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano, all close together and all surrounded by beautiful open countryside. You would be happy staying in or near any of these towns.

One of my favorite places in Tuscany is Monte Oliveto, a monastery just north of Pienza, with a magnificent set of Frescoes depicting the Life of St. Benedict painted in the 1400s.

Read more about Tuscany:

• A week in Florence: (http://www.sloweurope.com/travel/guides/italy/florence.php) – Use Florence as your base to see Tuscany
• Tuscan Traveler (http://tuscantraveler.com/) - stories from an American woman living in Florence
• At Home in Tuscany http://www.atHomeInTuscany.org/ - information about Tuscany by a “born and bred Tuscan”

• Vignamaggio (http://www.vignamaggio.com/) – B&B and vacation rentals in a villa near Greve
• Slow Europe (http://www.sloweurope.com/vacation-rentals/italy/tuscany.php) – vacation rentals in Tuscany

Umbria, the Green Heart of Italy

In between Tuscany and Le Marche lies Umbria. While it is not as popular as Tuscany, nor as perfectly groomed, it is full of interesting hill towns and beautiful countryside (endless fields of sunflowers). In Tuscany the art is in the larger towns but in Umbria you find it in the churches in the villages. Assisi can be overrun with Catholic pilgrims, but is well worth the visit, just to see the frescoes in the cathedral.

My favorite area is central Umbria with the towns of Assisi, Spello, Bevagna and Montefalco. In western Umbria, skip the north shore of Lake Trasimeno (boring summer beach towns), but south of the lake are interesting hill towns like Panicale and Paciano. Southern Umbria, with Spoleto and Todi, is also interesting. Any of these areas would be good to stay in.

One of my favorite places in Umbria is the hill town of Spello and the fresco in its church, Pinturicchio’s cycle of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Dispute with the Doctors. We spent two weeks in Spello and looked at those frescoes every day - I never grew tired of them.

Read more about Umbria:

• Rebecca’s Blog (http://www.brigolante.com/blog/) – Rebecca’s life on a farm near Assisi
• Madonna del Piatto (http://madonnadelpiatto.com/) – Letizia writes about food and Umbria

Suggested Accommodations:

• Brigolante Guest Apartments (http://www.brigolante.com/) – vacations rentals on a farm near Assisi
• Agriturismo Alla Madonna del Piatto (http://incampagna.com/) – B&B in the hills above Assisi
• Slow Europe (http://www.sloweurope.com/vacation-rentals/italy/umbria.php) – vacation rentals in Umbria

Le Marche, Mountains and Seaside

Le Marche is less known and less touristed than Tuscany and Umbria, but in many ways is like the Tuscany we experienced traveling there 20 years ago. Less English is spoken, towns cater to locals instead of tourists, restaurants are more “homey”.

Le Marche is mountainous, so prepare yourself for winding mountain roads. It has lovely beaches on the Adriatic. Urbino, in the north, is a magnificent art town. The museum holds the final painting in the “Piero della Francesca Trail”, a series of paintings located in towns in Tuscany and Umbria. Ascoli Piceno, in the south, has a wonderful medieval center.

I must confess that I do not know Le Marche like I do Tuscany and Umbria, so don’t have a favorite spot (yet), but I really liked Urbino.

Photo Credits: from Pauline Kenny. Top photo: tower, Assisi in Umbria, Italy. Lower Photo of Le Marche - View near Urbino

Have you ever rented in Italy? Do you have a favorite travel destination in Italy?