Surviving a long distance relationship is not impossible. No, it’s not easy-but it is doable. I dated my husband five years long distance-he was in southern Italy, I was in southeast Texas-and they were the longest five years of my life. Post continues here.

Southern Italy has it all-Medieval towns, fishermen villages, stretching beaches and swooping mountains. We learned about some of the most famous places as children and some of us grew up dreaming of the day we’d visit our grandparents’ homeland. But that doesn’t mean we know it all. Post continues here.

You know how your mom said something as a child that always stuck with you and you find yourself remembering those wise words well into your adult years? Well, when I was young, I had a hard time understanding the Mother’s and Father’s Day gift-giving rituals that excluding us kids. Post continues here.

Many people travel to a new country to immerse themselves into the culture and imagine-if only for a few weeks-what it would be like to live there. If they rent an apartment or a B&B, they can get into the routine of going to the local market, choosing what to prepare for meals and seeing the same people at the local bars and pizzerias. Post continues here.

Last week Andrew Whittaker of Speak the Culture wrote a post about coping with culture shock. It was interesting because Whittaker didn’t take the stance of an expat or long-term traveler trying to adjust to a new culture, but rather that of an average traveler.

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Carnevale has come and gone and the Lenten season is in full swing, but this doesn’t mean you are sentenced to six weeks of grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese pizza. Italian food was created for vegetarians. With the rich array of cheese, vegetables and pasta, there is no limit to what you can do. Post continues here.

One of my new favorite hobbies is going through my Stat Counter and Lijit reports and discovering which terms readers search to reach this blog. Popular terms include “Pasta Puttanesca Recipe,” “How Do You Eat a Persimmon” and “Things You Shouldn’t Say in Italy” – and we’ll get back to that in a minute. Post continues here.

A few days ago I received an email from a guy who is planning his first trip to southern Italy. He’ll be visiting his grandfather’s homeland in Calabria-just about 50 minutes north of me in Catanzaro-and like any would-be international traveler worth his passport, he’s researching the area. And he’d like to know what to wear. Post continues here.

Last week I introduced you to Monica Kripalani, founder of Monica’s Fine Foods in California, who traveled to bella Calabria last summer, fell in love with the area-and the food-and decided to start selling Calabria olive oil in the US. I’m always interested in why people travel to southern Italy and even more excited to hear tales of their trip. Post continues here.

A couple of months ago I was contacted by a producer at KPAM Portland Radio. He wanted to know more about my favorite little region in Italy and asked if I’d be interested in talking to them about Calabria.

Me? Talk about Calabria? Now, that’s not fun at all. Post continues here.