I have talked to many people who have loved visiting Italy. It fills them on so many levels, (not just gastronimically) but on a deep soul level--the beauty is breathtaking because you are surrounded by gorgeous natural landscape, in addition to a people that are very welcoming.

These are some of the reasons I am teaching my 3rd annual workshop in Cinque Terre, Italy. We can all reconnect with ourselves by spending time in the natural beauty of an ancient land. It is a place where we can find deep contentment and freedom.

As written in the wonderful New York Times article in August 2007, "It's almost unfair how much intense beauty, great cuisine and amazing aromas are jampacked into such a compact space."

In fact, the only way to truly experience the sensory overload that this small area has to offer is by getting off those well-trodden paths.

There are benches where you can sit and admire the view or just watch all the people wandering by. There is a small restaurant on the Via dell' Amore where you can get something to eat and drink. Picnic tables with a spectacular view are located above the restaurant. You do have to walk up a number of steps to get to the picnic area.

Details about each of the paths that connect the 5 villages of the Cinque Terre is from the Discover Walking Blog.
It would take at least 5-6 hours to hike through all five of the Cinque Terre villages.

Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza: This is a difficult trail that is 2.5 miles (4km) with many up's and down's. It will take most people between 1.5 and 2 hours depending on how many stops you make to admire the view.

Vernazza to Corniglia: This is the most difficult of the four trails and has the least number of ocean views. It will take most people about 2 hours to hike this 2.5 mile (4 km) trail. The terrain is uneven in places and you will have to be able to hike up and down hills.

Corniglia to Manarola: This is an easy 45 minutes walk and you have an ocean view for the entire walk. The trail is less than 2 miles (3km).

Manarola to Riomaggiore: This .5 mile trail (.6 km) is an easy stroll on a paved walkway. It will take about 30 minutes to walk the path.

If you'd like to see more photos of the Cinque Terre and find out more about the September 10-18, 2011 workshop and travel experience that I'll be teaching, check out my website at ChangeLimitingBeliefs.com.

Photo #1: I climbed down to the rocks off the hiking trails. You can see some of the trails in the distance.
Photo #2: I'm walking on the path from Corniglia to Manarola (two Cinque Terre towns)

The Free Hugs Campaign was started in Australia in 2004 by a man with the pseudonym of Juan Mann. Hugs are offered to strangers in public places, and are meant to be a random act of kindness. While feeling depressed and lonely at a party in 2004, a stranger came up to Mann and hugged him. He said, "It made me feel like a king."

~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