Beginnings

So I grappled with the idea for 9 months before setting out, quite typical of my ventures nowadays. Of course I loved the idea of talking about my favorite places and showing my wife's and my glorious photos. Having retired from working intensely for 41 years as an educator, I needed something to occupy my time and thoughts. Unfortunately I realized that a tremendous amount of work would have to be invested before I would go on the air. First, delays were caused by figuring out how to get my photo on the air. I bought a new computer, 4 sets of cables, finally settling on the correct ones, put my photos in some organized groups, planned for some shows, and figured out how to accompany the show with a talented tech person to help me in the studio. They tried to train my wife and me to produce the show, but she was busy with her art career and I was too thick to learn. I now have a wonderful gal named Ellen to help me out and serve as my engineer. Then when everything seemed to be ready to begin, I became ill and was laid up physically and mentally for a while. My wife, kept telling me that sometimes good things like this take time to get off the ground. Ellen was very patient and told me the show would be great, and that is a goal for which to get better. Finally after months of dealing with all this,  I did a pilot on DVD. When shows are on DVD the station decides when to put it on the air. So I did it amid terrible trepidation, but then decided to begin doing it live instead. Live shows air at a specific time every week on a regular basis. I was at first reluctant to do a show live, so the DVD idea appealed to me, but after the first experience, I realized I could do this live. And so after months and months of fits and starts, I went on the air at 5 PM on Friday, December 16, 2011. I chose Venice as my first show, even though Florence was most dear to me. I'd been to Venice 11 times and Florence 16, and felt much more at home in the latter. I made the Venice decision, because I felt that the photos were more spectacular. Amid intense nervousness and anxiety I did it losing myself along the canals and backstreets of Venice. When I had gone to Italy alone for the first time between marriages in the summer of 2001, amid the same kind of paralyzing anxiety and finally wandered my way through 2 weeks of very high highs and very low lows, after I got home I wrote in my journal, "Home again. I did it. Thank God." Nowadays I believe in the power of commitment, initiative, and purpose instead of divine intervention, but the concept remains the same. The lesson was well learned: get off your ass, suck it up, and take the first step. In all likelihood you will be glad you did.

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.