Along the way, through a blogger’s life, you get to meet some wonderful people. Some of these people you never get to meet in person and some you do. We would like to recognize these people on this page; authors and bloggers we really like. We hope you take the time to check out their books and websites! Always check back and I’m sure we will be adding to this page.
Authors
- One of Gary and my favorite authors is a couple, co-authors Nancy and John Petralia. After eight years of “virtual friendship,” we finally met them in Bologna in May 2023. What a thrill! We’ve read all of their books Not in a Tuscan Villa, Looking for Garibaldi, and Without Provenance. We highly recommend all of them. In fact, their first book inspired us to spend 90 days in Parma, Italy while we were waiting for our Italian dual citizenship. Love their writing style and are truly a special couple and ones we can call “friends.” Website: Not in a Tuscan Villa Facebook page: Nancy & John Petralia
- A friend from our favorite Italian group (Mi.o – see below) is the author of a down-to-earth book – The Italian Art of Living. Dawn Mattera is amazing and such a wonderful person to know!
- Victoria De Maio is an expat living in Firenze and an author of Victoria’s Travel TipZ Italian Style and has an amazing blog. She is a trip and tour designer, as well as a wonderful friend.
- Ken Gregory along with his wife, Gio wrote a romantic thriller, Tell Me Your Sweet Lies. What’s extra special about Ken is meeting him and his daughters in Lucca and learning about their tragic family story. We had to do a post with their blessings to help with awareness. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Thrombosis UK in memory of Gio.
Blogs
- Mi.o (modern Italian network) is a fantastic site for information on Italy. Matteo and Gina are amazing administrators and to be honest, this is the best group I have found and I love participating here. On this site, you can ask questions, find out cultural information, recipes, and learn Italian. A great platform gathering people who all have one thing in common – the love of all things Italian! Here’s our personal invitation – it’s free Join Mi.o
- A new friend and fellow blogger Brandy Shearer, the face behind Alor Italy. I think Brandy and I met on Instagram but we have collaborated on a few posts and we hope to do several more with her in the future. Her story is amazing and even more wonderful… they now live in Italy. I even got to chat with Brandy on the phone. Visit her blog – and Italy!
- Kathryn Occhipinti is a wonderful friend on Facebook. She also is the author of a fantastic little travel book about just the important phrases for Italian. You can find the link to her book in our Favorite Travel Tools Box on the main page – right in the center of the blog. She sent one to me and I absolutely love it! A great website to also check out Stella Lucente
- Victoria De Maio we mentioned above is an author but is a trip and tour designer. Her blog, PostcardZ from Victoria
- A great Facebook friend and lover of Italy is Marilyn Ricci from Take Me Home Italy. A travel website offering, in her words, “…An adventure of the soul, for each of our travelers” and, have heard Neeamazing things about her excursions. She has a beautiful website and will help you visit Italy! Take Me Home Italy
- Cinzia from Instantly Italy lives in Italy and loves all things Italian. She is fun and helpful and actually interviewed us even though we are not yet considered “Expats.” She loved our story and we enjoyed working with her. Instantly Italy
- A very unique blogger, Karen Helms actually writes for her best friend, Barley–a chocolate lab. I love following her on Facebook and reading about their adventures. It’s refreshing to get a whole new perspective from Barley! This a blog about people enjoying travel and dogs! Barley’s Grand Adventures
- We recently “met” through Zoom, Bob Sorrentino from Italian Roots and Genealogy. He did an interview with us and we realized that he has molto grande information on his blog and it is excellent. You will like it too. Italian Genealogy
Other Resources
Italian Documents Translated
Do you need a translator for Italian documents? We found a wonderful contact and want to share it with you. Her fee is reasonable and can be paid through PayPal.
Simonetta Carr
simonettacarr@gmail.com
619-944-9496
Italian Documents in Italy
If you are looking for documents in Italy, we found a wonderful woman, Raffaella. You can email her with what you are looking for – but you need to be very specific. The more specific you are – the better chance you have of getting the correct document. She accepts PayPal and is very reasonable. She found a few documents for us when we were searching for documents for our citizenship.
suanj-it@yahoo.it
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