It’s hard to believe that in just about six months we’ll be departing for Rome on our 13-day food-faith pilgrimage, Italy: A Feast for Body and Soul. Since I last updated you, we’ve had an exciting development. In addition to a great group of people from throughout the New York-New Jersey region, with a few from more far-flung places, we will also have a priest traveling with us.
We will arrive in Rome on Oct. 7, 2014, and head straight for Montecatini Terme, a spa town in the Tuscany region. That will be our base for day trips to Florence and Siena. From there we will move to Assisi 
for a wonderful two-day visit in this beautiful and special city that was home to Sts. Francis and Clare. Our Assisi stay will also include a lunch and wine tasting at a local agritourismo. We then head to Rome for three nights in a magnificent hotel that is walking distance from St. Peter’s Basilica but also in the midst of everyday Italian life — near bustling piazzas and restaurants, churches and historical sites. We get to spend three wonderful nights in Rome with a full schedule of all the important things you won’t want to miss — papal audience, Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel, a walking tour of the main sites — as well as lots of free time for exploring on your own. Finally, we head to the south of Italy, where we will be based in Salerno in a hotel overlooking the water. The southern portion of our pilgrimage will include visits to Pompeii, Naples, 
the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Massa Lubrense (the town where my grandfather was born), and the Isle of Capri. These last few days will also include some spectacular extras, such as a cooking class and olive oil tasting in Giffoni, a Mass and dinner at a monastery, and a boat ride to the mystical Blue Grotto off Capri. We will depart from Naples airport on Oct. 19, 2014, full of wonderful food, spiritual sustenance, and a lifetime of memories. As you can tell, I’m a tiny bit excited about this pilgrimage. If you are reading about this trip for the first time today, please click HERE to see the full itinerary and the all-inclusive details.
If you’ve been thinking about this pilgrimage, now is the time to send in your registration. Spots are going fast (I am so happy to say), so don’t delay. If you have questions, feel free to email me through the “Contact” tab on this website, or call Melani at Travel Overtures directly through the information on the online registration form.
