July 24, 2008

"Cool Travel Guide" about Calabria

Remember the travel writer team that was looking for an accommodation in Calabria with Internet access? Lara and her partner Thierry have been travelling across Calabria end of May and early June to research, write and photograph this Southern Italian region for a new English guidebook.

Although the guidebook is not published yet, I have some of Lara's thoughts about Calabria ... because she is blogging about her travel writing at Cool Travel Guide.


She has "10 Reasons to travel to Calabria" to read in part I and part II.

Pizzo is one of them!
And other than in the usual travel guide books were everything is seen from the bright side, Lara writes in her travel blog also about the other side of the story.

Here Lara's description "Pizzo: with elegant palazzi perched precariously on steep cliffs overlooking the ocean and a charming old town that's a tiny tangle of pastel-painted houses, narrow lanes and steep stairs reminiscent of Positano. Unfortunately, tourists outnumber the locals at the gelateria tables on the main piazza, and one too many shops have given over to tacky souvenirs, however, wander the pretty backstreets where life goes on as ever and you'll smell the mouthwatering aromas of lunch being cooked and find women hanging out washing over their balconies."

Her comment about Pizzo make me remember, that Pizzo has some potential for improvements. Different from her comment (above). And I am looking forward to my next trip to Pizzo (soon!) to meet some old and new friends, some Pizzitani, who think alike. I will try to keep you posted!

During the weeks Lara and her partner have spent crisscrossing Calabria to research the new guidebook they were relieved to find the southern Italian region to be such terrific value. They consider Calabria: Europe's best value destination

And here is the link to all of her posts about Calabria

At the moment, Lara and Thierry are still in Italy, right now in Milano, to further research and write for a travel guide book about Northern Italy. She has posted some interesting observations about Italians as well, here and here!

5 comments:

  1. Today is my birthday and you are cordially invited to my party down by the river. Wear loose fitting clothes and don't drive due to the excessive amounts of food and champagne that is on offer.
    Di at Designers Block
    xo

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  2. I look forward to reading her blog and Calabrian travel tips!

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  3. Hi Suzie, thanks for mentioning the Calabria posts! I'm just catching up on you now as we've just finished our three months in Italy and are soon about to settle down to write. I can't wait to read more from you on Calabria.

    P.S. The book won't be out until early 2009. These things take time. I wish it would be sooner, but at least it will be within a year. Our Lonely Planet Syria and Lebanon guide, which we researched between April and June 2007 has only just come out this month! And you can imagine how things have changed!

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  4. PPS It's Terry, short for Terence, not Thierry (which is French)! :)

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  5. Actually, thinking back to our trip to Italy, I'm pretty sure we stopped in Pizzo for Gelati. I've looked at the Cool Travel Guide before, but will be sure to check out those links. Oh, to me in the mediterreanean this summer. *sigh*

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