Editor’s Note: This post was written by guest blogger, Samantha DuBois. She is the author of the blog TravelGirlSeesWorld.com and has recently returned from a semester abroad in Padova (Padua), Italy, where she lived with a host family and took all of her classes in Italian. We hope you enjoy her writing as much as…
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The Brains Behind Untours Italy
As we begin to close out January and, subsequently, our daily features on Italy (France is coming in February!), I wanted to take a moment to recognize our Italian dynamic duo, Andi Cancelliere and Andrea Szyper, for all they do to make UnTours such a great place and this blog chock full of delectable Italian…
Foundation Fridays: Ashley’s Homecoming
Here’s former foundation intern extraordinaire, Ashley Fessler, in Honduras. Today, we have our first guest blogger: Ashley Fessler, a dynamite young woman, who worked with us at the foundation in 2010. Ashley spent the year with us leading much of our local work surrounding America’s First Fair Trade Town, Media, PA. We shared the ups…
Untours Featured Property: Domenico
Photo: “Piazza Santa Croce” © 2008 John Spooner, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Domenico The next time you vacation in Florence, make sure you stay in the Santa Croce section of the city. Here, you’ll not only find our lovely Domenico apartment, you’ll also find some relaxation – if you want to…
What kind of coffee do I order?
Here are the most common coffees you’ll find in an Italian bar; most of these should be available in the ubiquitous “bar” no matter where you are in Italy: Caffè In Italy the word “caffè’” naturally implies an espresso. There is no need to specify “espresso” when ordering. Served in a demitasse cup. Caffè macchiato:-…
Coffee culture….Italian style
It’s no accident that there are few if any Starbucks in Italy. Arguably, Italy (in our humble opinion) invented the concept that Starbucks shoots for. In Italy there often are two or three bars per city block, staffed by a skilled “barista” who knows their customer personally and serves even the quickest, cheapest coffee with…
Travel Takeaway: Our Favorite Hotel in Florence
Whether it’s the gripping history of the Medici family, the inescapable allure of the Duomo or the seemingly endless string of artistic masters that lived and worked there (Dante, da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo…and on and on and on), Florence presents you with innumberable excuses to stay “just one more night.” In fact, when I first…
Untourist of the Week: Metha Hillard
Each Monday, The UnTourist interviews an UnTourist of the Week and features the discussion for your enjoyment. This week’s UnTourist is Metha Hillard, who has been on 17 UnTours. We hope you enjoy her story. Thanks, Metha! Tell us a little bit about your most recent UnTour. In the spring of 2011, after a stay…
Foundation Fridays: If The Shoe Fits…
From time to time, I receive a friendly email from someone letting me know there is an error in an online interview of Hal. The actual interview reads: A former college professor once told him, “It’s not how much you give away [that matters in life], it’s how much you keep.” Those emailing me suggest…
Untours Featured Property: Il Pozzo
Although UnTours are about so much more than the great apartments you stay in, we want to give you an idea of the types of apartments we have to help you make more informed decisions when choosing your UnTour. So, each week, we’ll be featuring a property for you. Enjoy! Il Pozzo Our Il Pozzo…