Happy 4th Anniversary Juliet!

An Infinite Path (Photo by Loren J Root)

I like tradition. I like it when it evolves from something so simple and becomes its own existence. Writing to you Juliet on significant dates has become my cherished tradition. In this act of sharing with the world my unceasing love for you I find keys to understanding my own existence. I discover new elements of you and me that were not there only an occasion before now. What is this four years together? What is the significance of the constructs we hold closely as if they are inalienable? Why do I sound like the narrator from a Terence Malick film when I wax philosophical? I am not sure I can answer any of these questions, so I will share some insight into us and let the world decide who we are.

An iPhone Journey in Italy With Me!

Learn iPhone Editing Like This

Join me and Juliet in Italy this October 22-29 for our  first ever Blissful Adventurer iPhone tour of Puglia, Italy. I would love for some of my readers to join me in the land that has shaped my life and my writing above all others. Check out the details and then come spend some hard-earned vacation hours with us. 

Your Life is a Trip (New Post)

Maroon Bells, CO

My latest contribution to this lovely travel blog-

TRAVELING ALONE: 25 Very Very Short Stories  (click this link to read)

I am # 25 and I encourage you to read them all before you get to mine. Also, please subscribe to the wonderful Your Life is a Trip experiential travel blog. I am a regular contributor.

Cheers,

Michael

iPhone 5 Photo Editing Tutorial

A Solitary Vineyard Near Marsala

Italy Images – iPhone 5 Editing Tutorial is a sampling of my recent work editing standard DSLR images using only my iPhone 5. I am very excited about the quality and style of these photos and I want to share with you today some details on how and why I edit as I do.

Expounding on Italy – My 300th Post

Spaghetti with Clams – Le Marche

What a wonderful and sometimes intense set of responses from my previous post - The Italy Rules. I want to take a little time today to expand and expound on some of my thoughts and provide further insight into traveling in Italy.

1. Italy Guides - Here is my short list of who I would travel with and why in Italy.

• The Rome Digest - This new and wonderful consortium of talented Rome guides includes my dear friend Katie Parla, who is my champion of all things Roman (pork, gelato, beer, wine, art, history, and life) If you are going to spend time in Rome, and you should, let the Rome digest draw a map for you
• Venice - Row Venice Nan McIlroy is one of the most knowledgeable people in Italy regarding living life, eating well, and getting out on the water. Don’t pay 200 euro for a snooze on a gondola. Pay less and get out there and learn to do it yourself. Easily one of the greatest experiences I have ever had in Italy
• Tuscany - Judy Francini will cook with you and teach you what it means to truly experience life in Tuscany. Reach out to her. She has been cooking successfully for her Italian husband for years. She will teach you how to impress anyone.
• Puglia - this is a bit biased but I can vouch for the unbeatable quality of Southern Visions Travel. Antonello Losito leads this superior company leading the most authentic excursions into Italy’s tastiest region. From 1 day to 1 month, these guys are amazing
• Le Marche - Mariano Pallottini - the best guides are sometimes not guides. For this truly under-the-radar region no one can show visitors the ropes like Mariano. Please tell him I sent you.
• Travel for Teens - If you would like to send your son or daughter on one of the most amazing experiences to be had. I strongly suggest using Travel for Teens. Managed and operated by a group of passionate, intelligent, and experienced men and women, TFT is the leader in volunteer and cultural travel in Italy for students. Ask for Ned or Nick and your young adult will be blown away
• For other Italian regions I have friends of friends and would be happy to do some research for you

I am Published Again – Your Life as a Trip

On top of my own Mountain

Your Life as a Trip - is one of the most fantastic travel publications on the web. I am honored to be included among their celebrated travel writers and here is a link to my first piece on the site: An American Male on the Make in Italy .

I hope you will make this wonderful experiential storytelling site part of your reading routine. Ellen Barone and Judith Fein are two of the most extraordinary people in the travel writing and photography business, and I am so grateful to them for the opportunity to share my work.

Please take a look and leave your comments on the site. I promise to get back to you.

Cheers Blissful Adventurers!

Michael

Turin, Italy – Lost Images from 2010

 

View from the Church Steps – Turin.

Lost Images of Turin, Italy

I made my first trip to Turin, Italy in August of 2010. I was simply blown away by the architectural influence of the French Savoy family. However, like most of Italy in August, the city was practically deserted. The empty streets along with the general resignation on the faces of the locals, during this holiday month, gave one of Europe’s richest cities an eerie and sickly feel.

Point Reyes – Hidden Beach

Birds in the Surf

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. Today’s image is a hidden section of McClure’s beach only accessible through a small crevice in a large promontory of boulders. I love the little sea birds flitting about so nonchalantly while the destructive force of the Pacific crashes all around them. The haze of the evening and the waning light give this image a surreal quality that makes me want to tarry. However, the wind was chilly, the heat was fleeting, and my wife had already begun to walk back towards the trail. It was time to leave this amazing place.

Thanks for joining me here on this journey through Point Reyes. There may be an iPhone Haiku Sunday on the horizon so stay tuned.

Point Reyes – McClure’s Beach

Ripples and Reflections

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. Today’s image is McClure’s Beach just below Tomales Point (yesterday’s image). I have a fondness for the patterns in the sand made by the surf and tides. This lovely dusk reflection of the sandy promontory in the background adds a lovely yin to the yang of ripples in the foreground, The surf in the distance seems so inviting but is alas quite chilly and inhospitable.

Point Reyes Images – Day 1

 

Tomales Point above the Pacific

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. The allure of Point Reyes comes from its isolation, gorgeous waters, access to roadside oysters, and surprising to me, its wildlife.