- Photo courtesy of Ferulaviaggi (cycling in Basilicata) Ilaria Navarra
30 Days of Indie Travel Project Day 30!: Where are you going in 2012? Why is that place great for indie travelers? To read the blog in Italian click here
Where am I going in 2012? The dream of course is always to return to Italy. At the moment, however, instead of going there, a little bit of Italy is traveling to me. Next summer I will be welcoming a friend from Italy who will be staying with me for a couple of weeks. I will be playing tourist in my own city of San Francisco and sight seeing in my own back yard, next door to our famous Bay!
But, if I do go to Italy next year, there are three places I most definitely would head for in a flash. Surprise surprise… they all have something to do with language learning!
- Photo courtesy of Ylenia Sambati YLTour
First, I would return to Puglia and visit friends in Locorotondo. Then I would strike off for Lecce, a little farther south, where my friend Ylenia Sambati lives. Ylenia offers cooking classes, wine tours, yoga retreats and art holidays in southern Italy. She contacted me the other day and said “Wouldn’t it be great if you came and helped us with YLTour’s Italian conversation group?” Yle is a beautiful temptress and I am halfway there to accepting her offer! She had me at: “we are organizing a language camp”! Tour Italianissimo! Language, learning, traveling around Puglia… it doesn’t get any better than that! For more information, check out Yle’s FB page.
Next on my agenda would be a lay over in the Basilicata inorder to spend time with my friend Ilaria Navarra. She also offers 
language classes and tours through Ferulaviaggi. I have never been to the Basilicata and long to explore the beauty of this region of Italy. What a great way to explore the region while I’m working on the language. If you are interested in classes in the Basilicata contact Ilaria for more information!
So far I am loving this travel plan! But, my program will not be complete unless I finish my trip off with a visit to Tuscany, to spend some time my friends Daniela, Eva and Angelo at their Lucca Italian School. I really like the passion and the creativity of these teachers. I discovered them through their blog Parlo Italiano! and was immediately struck by their love for the home town and it’s history. Check out a guest blog they wrote for me. If you want to study Italian in Tuscany, this would be my choice!
So, wow, I guess I just designed my itinerary for 2012! In the mean time, every day I will be doing a lot of arm chair traveling & visiting il bel paese via skype and the internet. But who knows… we may see one another in Puglia, Basilicata or Tuscany next summer!
It has been a real pleasure participating in the Bootsn’all 30 Days of Indie Travel during the month of November. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful traveling community! Happy trails everyone!
Digital Diary of Basilicata – Video fantastico della Basiclicata
Grazie Melissa per averci incluso nel tuo progetto! Ti aspettiamo, ci farebbe tanto piacere averti qui con noi e aiutarti con il tuo italiano (anche se sei già così brava che non hai tanto bisogno….!) e complimenti per questo blog, che è sempre più interessante, davvero. Ciao!!