Alan's Italy's Opening Salvo

Hi !! Welcome to Alan's Italy's first Blog. The Blog is linked to my TV show, Alan's Italy's. It expresses my intense love for Italy its country and its people. You will read about my experiences in this wonderful country, and also about my experiences producing the show on Woodstock Public Access Television (WPAT Woodstock, New York, where I have lived for 10 years). My journey began in 1992 when I took my first trip there with my first wife and daughter. It continues through my solo trips between marriages and on after that unabated to this moment encompassing my cherished photos, videos, and recollections of my myriad extraordinary encounters with Italy's cities, countryside, points of interest, hotels, people, food, trains, buses, roads, boats, language, and friends. We will travel through the great centers of Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice, and Milan. Meander with me through charming and extraordinary backstreets of the amazing towns of Loro Ciufenna, Il Borro, Civita di Bagnoregio, Riomaggiore, Orvieto, Montalcino, Chiusi, Siena, Monteriggioni to name but a few of the places I have visited. Climb the Dolomites, Alpi Apuane, and Alps. Take a vaporetto with me down the Grand Canal. See first hand where and how some of the greats who have lived in Italy became household names, Iconic figures. People like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Ghirlandaio, Galileo, Dante, Artemisia Gentileschi, Sofia Loren, and Lorenzo il Magnifico among countless others. Meet my dearest friends Luca and Lidia, and their families and how they welcomed me into their homes and hearts. Imagine the taste of Bistecca Fiorentina at La Spada, Gelato at Vivioli, pizza in Anghiari. Taste the Brunello in Montalcino, Vino Nobile in Montepulciano, and Chianti in Radda. Watch me negotiate the roads of the Italian countryside, crowded streets of Rome, and wild and woolly Autostrade. Listen to my interviews with native Italians, and their opinions of their wonderful country. Share my anxiety with regard to just about everything ! So, here we go. Please join me as our journey begins, and thank for your time.