Crossroads Tour: A Final Day in Florence – The Director’s Cut

In the early AM. another hotel guest plays Spanish guitar just outside my door. There are worse ways to wake up on a Sunday morning...

Crossroads Tour: Chapel of the Magi – The Director’s Cut

It's one of my favorite Renaissance works for its subject mater and intricate detail, and I never dreamed to see it outside of an art book. And yet, here I am...

Crossroads Tour: Portovenere – The Director’s Cut

It is said that Wagner, upon looking out onto the sea off the coast of La Spezia, was inspired to write the first stanza of Das Niebelung.

Crossroads Tour: Genova (Day 2) – The Director’s Cut

A police car stops behind me, and an officer asks if I'm here to see the Lanterna, the “Cymbol of Genova.”

Crossroads Tour: Florence to Genoa – The Director’s Cut

It's an interesting train ride from Florence to Genoa, where I lodge in a B&B housed in a 14th century convent...

Three Days in Florence (Day 2) – The Director’s Cut

There are many elements that should have caught my attention here, but I was fixated on the bronze doors which were one of two reasons I came here.

Three Days in Florence (Day 1.5) – The Director’s Cut

Marie compares the train station in Venice to the one in Hogwart’s...

Three Days in Venice (Day 3) – The Director’s Cut

The Basilica houses nearly 2 acres of mosaic, much of it gold leafed glass tile, dating to the 13th century. The floor is nearly as incredible as the ceiling...

Three Days in Venice (Day 2) – The Director’s Cut

The day starts at sunrise with blood oranges and croissants, and my first Italian expresso. I would spend several hours later that evening "Lost in Venice."