The Sicilian Summary
My full itinerary with hotel rates and breakdown of all four islands I visited.
Hello lovely Hotel Person!
This will be my last American-sent post for quite a while and I’m equal parts excited and nervous and overwhelmed. I can’t lie, I’m so unprepared to live in humid heat again. I’m incredibly ready, on the other hand, to really start setting up routines and life in Florence. I know this is the most anti-climactic move, but it still feels like a very big deal for me. Perhaps its because of my age? My parents ages? The life stage or state of the world? The fact that I’ve been waiting to move into my apartment for so long? I don’t know but it feels like I’ve been training to climb Everest when really it’s just a fifth-floor walkup in Santa Croce.
But also, I’m deeply giddy for this. It also likely feels so huge to me because it’s a realization of one of my greatest dreams and people rarely share the strange internal emotions that come with those fruitions. Of course, I will share it all with you. Not just the highlights, but not just American grumblings, either. I hope to fill the specific space of what I have not been able to find in the American in Italy writer sector thus far. But fear not, it will not be all Italy everything all the time.
Today is the finale of the Sicilian segment of This Italian Summer. It’s the wrap-up, sharing the full itinerary with less prose and more logistics, honest thoughts and insight, and a breakdown of the islands I visited. And, as promised, full transparency on all hotel rates.
I can’t tell if people have loved or been bored by this trip, but I think that’s kind of part of the Substack job. I do know it was joyful to write and I felt excited to put each experience out into the world.
God, I have so much to say about so much in America right now, but have no idea how to pick and choose and then how to say it. I’m sure so many feel the same way.
Really, truly, thank you for being here and trusting me and caring about what I have to say. It means the most.
Talk next week and Happy Hoteling!
For Consideration
Uber now offers helicopter rides to Capri and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings. Sure, yes, it’s convenient for you. But, as I was in Salina a few times a day there would be a helicopter flying overhead and it would…totally kill the peace. So I will leave it at it doesn’t positively contribute to the global environment nor the island environment for everyone on it.
The Jean Cocteau-adorned home Villa Santo Sospir in the French Riviera is now available to rent and wow is it incredible.
This is a perfect example of why I love Florence (this is also one of my favorite Italian classics).
I’ve read a lot of good books recently but I rarely share memoirs so wanted to shout out Elyse Arons “We Might Just Make It After All” about her decades-long friendship and business partner, the late Kate Spade.
La Bandita Townhouse in Tuscany shared this Instagram post asking Americans to, please, not tip in American dollars. This baffles me and my god yes please do not tip in US dollars anywhere that is not the US or a territory!
For Consumption
As a treat to accompany all the Italian hotel content, The Comprehensive Curation of Hotels in Italy is on sale for $35 (the lowest I have ever and will ever offer it) for the first 35 people to redeem with ITALYALWAYS at checkout.
This J. Crew dress on sale! I love the silhouette.
Christopher Esber is having an insane sale, the things I covet most are this, this, this, and this.
H&M is having a sale which means these pants I’ve linked before are now $14.
My Staud rose bag is on sale, too!
And lastly, not on sale, I love the Eliou RTW and especially these pants (reminds me of the Rosie Assoulin variant) and this dress.
My Sicilian Itinerary and Island Summation
My first Sicilian trip was an odyssey, and it was very much a work trip and exhausting so I wouldn’t say to follow my lead exactly.
That said, it was a huge success in its goal – to see a lot of islands and stay at a lot of Special Hotels in just over two weeks. Affordably.
Also I should note that nowhere was I comped or given a press rate. For the majority of the trip, it was late-May and a lot of these hotels have totally different prices for May than for June and beyond. This is largely the case because everything isnt open for the season in this part of Italy until around June 15, but at least June 1. But, the weather was beyond perfect. It wasn’t too busy. There was availability. I didn’t feel like a sardine, and visiting at the beginning of the season is always better than the end, when people are just plain exhausted.
Of course, all of the following has been written about in the five parts of This Italian Summer so far. This isn’t a day where you come to read nice words, it’s where you get the details and hopefully answers to questions.