On Episode 571: Why Women Love Italy, author and Italy travel expert Susan Van Allen joins us to talk about what she loves about Italy and why she believes the bel paese has particular appeal to female travlers.
In addition to being author of the book, 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Van Allen also leads women-only tours of Italy, and shares her insights on the feminine allure Italy holds for so many, and why women seem to get even more out of travel here.
You can listen to the episode right here, or find the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and elsewhere.
Related Episodes:
Episode 502: Italy by Ingredient (with Viola Buitoni)
Episode 475: Traveling Italy from Top to Bottom (with Jess Walter)
Episode 455: Why Is the Media Obsessed with Italy? (with Coral Sisk)
Episode 443: The Unexpected Magic of Italy
Five key takeaways from the episode:
- Susan Van Allen specializes in Italian travel for women, drawing inspiration from her Italian-American heritage and experiences traveling to Italy.
- She highlights the appeal of Italy for women, citing the worship of goddesses like Venus and the Virgin Mary, as well as the welcoming nature of Italian people and culture.
- Van Allen recommends travelers research and match destinations to their interests, and suggests visiting less crowded places like Ischia for a more authentic experience.
- She observes that travel to Italy often transforms people, helping them open up, embrace color and joy, and connect with locals and other travelers.
- To avoid overcrowding, Van Allen advises visiting popular sites at off-peak times, exploring side streets, and supporting local artisans to experience the true essence of Italian culture.
Full Episode Transcript:
Testimonial from Elena
Hi, my name is Elena. I’m from Spain, but I live in Stuttgart, southern Germany right now and I’ve been listening to The Bittersweet Life for a few years. I actually started shortly after the beginning of my expat life through a crossover episode that they did early pandemic days when I was trying to get through my insomnia with another podcast. But since then it’s become my go-to podcast, my go-to show for pretty much everything, whether it’s when I’m having breakfast alone on long commutes, through endless hours of lab work, or even when I was spending the night alone in the hospital. Because by now Katy and Tiffany’s voices and conversations mean comfort and familiarity to me. I’m still making my way through the entire show history. I’m almost up to date. I think I have and a year and a half to go. But I love that there’s so many years of content, and at the beginning I was listening to it for the expat life, empathy, and insights and that’s what I recommended it to friends for. But by now, I mean, I think the show really has something for everyone. There’s fascinating conversations and insights and interviews about pretty much any topic you can think of. And yeah, I will love to continue listening to it for a very long time. So thank you for over 10 years of content and hopefully there’s so many more.
Intro
Welcome to Rome. This Is The Bittersweet Life with Katy Sewall and Tiffany Parks.
Katy
Hello, this Is The Bittersweet Life. I’m Katy Sewall. Tiffany is away this week, but I am joined by Susan Van Allen. She’s an Italy travel expert specializing in Italian travel for women, and she’s the author of four books, including 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, recently published in its 5th edition. Susan also designs and hosts Golden Weeks in Italy for Women Only Tours two to immerse travelers in the authentic pleasures of the Bel Piese. Thank you for being here.
Susan Van Allen
Thank you for having me.
Katy
I think I want to start with how did you become interested in Italy specifically for women?
Susan Van Allen
It all comes from my mom, the maternal line. My maternal grandparents were from Molise Potenza and I grew up in New Jersey. A Jersey girl. Jersey Italian. Before it was romanticized so much to be Italian American, such as in the movies of Moonstruck or in the Sopranos. But that is the scene. The scene was the dining room in Newark, New Jersey, where my Italian grandparents had those fantastic Sunday dinners with the students, steaming bowls of pasta and the opera in the background. And the candles and these long, stretched out dinners where my brother and sisters would run off and want to watch something on TV or play some games. I just love sitting there, being in that atmosphere that was the heart of and soul of Italy. So that’s where it first took hold of me. And I didn’t even realize what it was. It was just home.
Katy
Interesting. So how old were you the first time you went to Italy?
Susan Van Allen
I took a gap year in 1976. Yes. Because it was a huge year in America for the bicentennial. I delayed my college acceptance to work at Dunkin Donuts and a plant shop to save enough money to fly to Europe with a let’s go, Europe under my arm and a backpack. And that’s when I first went to Italy. And I landed in Rome to see cousins who still live there. They sat me down at their table and it felt like the exact same thing. But I landed in Rome. I mean, when I think of what I did in two days there, what I advised travelers not to do. Although there weren’t lines and crowds like now. But I was in the Sistine Chapel. I was in the Coliseum. I was. And Piazza Navona. I was all over the place. It was so fantastic. So I fell in love with it then.
Katy
Wow. It’s interesting to me that you specialize in Italian travel for women and the great appeal that Italy has to women specifically. Can you name that appeal? Like, what is it about Italy and women?
Susan Van Allen
Yes, I can. It. It has become my study because I continued to travel there after that first trip. And I always felt that my attraction was because of my bloodline. But I would meet people like Louise Wright, who was crazy about Italy, didn’t have a drop of Italian blood in them, but they would tell me, italy feels like home. So what is it that makes it so embracing? And when I opened up my eyes, I said, well, we land in a place where Venus has been worshiped since the earth was cooling. This goddess who says, like, enjoy love and beauty and sensual pleasures. It’s not at all puritanical like our American. We don’t have goddesses here. And then there’s the Virgin Mary, who’s the mother of compassion, and she’s all over the place. So you see all these images of women being glorified and adored, and I think in some way we embrace that. And women, mamas are treated so well there and respect it. Women of all ages, little girls, grandmothers, for their cooking, for their sweetness, for their cuteness, for their curves, everything. So that is certainly a primal appeal. That we feel when we’re there for.
Katy
You, going back to that first trip, do you remember, obviously, Rome. For those of you who are listening who have never been to Rome, Rome makes an impact on you regardless. I think you walk into that city, you know, whether you love it or hate it, it will make an impact on you in a deep way. And yeah, generally speaking, we don’t recommend to go to the Vatican and the Colosseum and every single thing in a day, but you can you parse out something that hung with you from your first impressions? There was anything in particular striking?
Susan Van Allen
I mean, I remember being amazed at the layers of history. Standing in front of the Coliseum and seeing cars racing around it and not chariots that it’s just there in your face. I saw still get that heartbeat when I come in a taxi cab and you see the Capitoline Hill. I mean, is there any place that on earth where a modern city is so combined with antiquities? Now when I go, you know, and see people talking on cell phones and they have their hand on a stone from 2000 or more years ago, that’s really what strikes me all the time about Rome.
Katy
Now, since you specialize in travel with women to Italy, I don’t know if you know, because you haven’t maybe done as much traveling with groups of men to Italy, but is there a distinction when it comes to traveling with women versus traveling with men or women traveling with men versus just traveling with women or anything along those lines?
Susan Van Allen
Well, I have. I took some group trips with, as a journalist with back roads and country walkers with a lot of couples. And it just seemed like the women were more curious to connect with the locals. They like the talk, and I really appreciate that and I encourage women on my trips to do it. It’s so different here in Italy when you walk into a shop. It’s not like here where some high school kid is working minimum wage and on their phone just waiting to go home and get their paycheck. These women, it could be an artisan shop in their family. They’re following a tradition that was handed down to them through generations. And so I find women more curious that way. They have very rich experiences in connecting with locals, and they enjoy being in a group and getting to know each other. The great thing about what’s happened in my trips is that so many women come as solo travelers and they make friends with other travelers on the trips. And then I’ll get a postcard like, oh, we went to Egypt together, we went to Savannah together, We and they. They may come back again to take another trip with me to a different part of Italy. It’s. That is really fun. It’s all about connection.
Katy
So you wrote a book called 100 Places in Italy. Every woman should go. Is there just one that you would want to recommend? No, A hundred places, but, oh, there are so many.
Susan Van Allen
I mean, even in the forward, I apologize and say, oh, there are so many more than 100 places. I encourage all travelers to do some research and to match the places that they go to their desires. Maybe you don’t feel like you really need to go to the Coliseum to see, see, you know, where these bloody battles were fought. Maybe you’d rather visit an artisan who makes mosaics. That is a tradition that’s been going on in Rome for such a long time. I encourage you to really match your trip to your very individual and unique tastes. What’s coming to the top of my head now is one place I really love and I took a group for the first time to last year is the island of Ischia. It is in the Bay of Naples. It’s about an hour ferry ride from Naples. It is often overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbor, Capri. And it is famous because it is a volcanic island that’s famous for thermal springs. So it has loads of fabulous terme, thermal water, and also fumaroles, just like steaming caves that you can go into. And you could go there and feel as fabulous as the Greeks and the Romans did. Who. Who soaked there. And it’s almost. The atmosphere is like if Naples was an island. It has a little rough and tumble, folksy vibe. Fantastic pizza bruschetta because the tomatoes are grown in this volcanic soil. It’s great. The people are very warm and welcoming and it’s not overcrowded with tourists so that everybody’s speaking English. You feel very much immersed in the culture.Yes.
Katy
Tiffany has been telling me for years about going there, and I have yet to do it. But maybe this year I’m going to be.
Susan Van Allen
Maybe this year.
Katy
Maybe this year I’ll tack it on. I’ll go to. I’ll do our bittersweet life tour of Rome and maybe I’ll pop down there afterwards.
Susan Van Allen
That’s great because your tour is in October and I love to go to Ischia towards the end of the season because the sea has warmed up. I prefer it. A lot of times in the spring it’s too cold, and after October 15th, all the rates in the hotels go down. It gets quiet, and the locals are very, very Welcoming and happy to see you. Then everything closes there. November, after Santi. Santi. November 2nd, 3rd. So that period of time is great to go.
Katy
Okay, I’m going to put it. I’m going to make a note to myself. So you’ve seen a lot of people travel, maybe travel to Italy for the very first time. I’ve been lucky enough to see people travel specifically to Rome for the very first time. But what are your thoughts about how people are transformed by these trips, by the even travel itself, from what you’ve observed?
Susan Van Allen
Yes. That is one of the most gratifying parts of what I call my job. I see them arrive uncomfortable. It’s the jet lag and the lack of sleep and not knowing the language and having this new money and in a new place. So a lot of the women that come with me maybe have traveled with their husbands and they’re newly widowed or divorced. So they’ve given that responsibility of leading the way to the man in their life. And now they enjoyed traveling with the group. They said they feel safe. What I love is what a kick they get out of what I consider Italy’s greatest natural resource. The people just how welcoming and how joyful and how happy the hosts of Italy are. When you go to a restaurant, a shop or a hotel, these people are so proud of what they have to show, rightfully so. It’s so beautiful and it has such rich history, and so they enjoy that interaction. And you’ll see them start to loosen up and they find maybe these wellsprings of joy that they have not experienced in a while in their lives. I see colors start coming out. They’ll go shopping and all of a sudden they’ll show up with like a fantastically colorful scarf or a bizarre, really bold piece of jewelry that they might never where back home in Boston or Seattle. So it’s an opening up. It’s like Venus, the goddess has come in and said, oh, come on, be more loving, more joyful, more sensual.
Katy
We’ve talked on this show before about how when I lived in Rome for a year, I went from being Seattle black, which I was joking with you about before we got started. Here I am dressed in total black. It was actually snowing this morning on the day that we’re recording this. So Seattle, we don’t even know what we’re doing. That’s so unusual. Seattle Black. And it was true that the more time I spent in Italy, the more I started to notice color. So it’s interesting that you. And I mean colors, like physically, as if something I would wear. Not that I don’t notice color in my day to day life, I do, but in Seattle before, I would have never considered, say, carrying a pink bag or something like that. But then all of a sudden, you spend enough time in Rome or Italy and all of a sudden that pink bag is starting to really stand out for some know. And. And so that is a very interesting observation.
Susan Van Allen
Awful. I. I remember some waiter in Capri, when I showed him in black, he’s like just too much black, you know, puts his hands up and. And especially in the south, in southern Italy, they have those stores, Antica Sartoria. Whoever goes there, you can’t miss them. It’s in Rome now also. But they are wild styles and wild prints and I now wear them freely. And I. I mean, even in la, there aren’t as many colors as that where I’m living. So it’s just. It really does make you happy to put some color on.
Come to Rome with Katy & Tiffany in 2025
Katy popping in real quick to take. You on a little journey for a moment back to when Tiffany and I were exploring the streets of Rome. Take a listen.
Tiffany
So Piazza Navona is. Yeah, I know you’ve been here before, Katy, but is there even a word? It’s a spectacle. It’s spectacular.
Katy
It really is.
Tiffany
Oh, look, Katy, it’s noon on the dot right now. As you can hear the bells from Santa Naise in Agone. Now, it’s kind of hard to know where to look first in this piazza because there’s so much going on and there’s so many beautiful things. Probably what’s going to take your attention the most is the central fountain. This is by Bernini, Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famous sculptor and architect. There’s actually a great story behind this fountain because the Pope at the time, Pope Innocent the 10th, came on the heels of Pope Urban VIII. And Urban VIII had been not only Bernini’s patron and champion, but also a close friend friend of his. So he had gotten all the amazing projects and commissions all throughout Urban VIII’s papacy. And he was just a favorite artist of the whole city. And when Innocent took over, he had been a rival of the previous Pope. And so he didn’t want to work with anyone that that Pope had worked with. And so Bernini suddenly was out of fashion, and he instead was working with a couple of different architects, including Francesco Borromini, who’s my personal favorite architect, and he was the great rival of Bernini. So suddenly, finally, Borromini gets to shine. And in fact, the central church that you can see here this towering, gorgeous Baroque church is by Francesco Borromini. But Pope Innocent decided he wanted to build a monumental fountain. Now, he sent out not exactly commissions, but he sent out notices to the great artists of the time to submit their ideas and their designs for the new fountain, and he was going to select which one he preferred. He, on purpose did not invite Bernini to submit his ideas. But there was a family member of his who knew what was going on, who loved Bernini’s work. So he convinced Bernini to make a model of the fountain anyway. And they put it in a place in the palace where the Pope would not be able to. Who miss it. And so when Pope Innocent saw a model of what Bernini had projected for this fountain, he was completely gobsmacked by it. He fell instantly in love with it. And he was quoted by a contemporary historian as having said, he who desires not to use Bernini’s designs must take care not to see them.
Katy
We have had so much fun exploring this historic city, so many wonderful stories, so many beautiful and thrilling sights to see, and we’ve made so many discoveries together. Now imagine being on the streets of Rome with us making those discoveries for yourself as we show you some of Rome’s most delightful secrets. You see them with your own eyes. You smell the smells. We’re leading a week in Rome this October 2025, from the 5th to the 11th. A small group of adventurous and curious listeners, and you can be one of them. Find out more information at www.thebittersweetlife.net or email us for the details at bittersweetlifepodcast@gmail.com. Now back to the show.
Katy
How has Italian travel altered the way that you live your life when you’re back home in the States?
Susan Van Allen
I feel more like I’m going back to being my grandmother, my Nana, as we called her. I love having people over and cooking for them. I really make it a point on a Sunday to turn off all the electrical social media kind of things and spend time in the kitchen. I indulge myself. I take the time like I see my Italian friends do, even going to the shops and the markets and talking to the butchers here like, you know, I’m making Brazil. What is the, you know, best way to cook it? And cooking seasonally, making sure that I’m enjoying what’s in the markets. Like, now we have the Romanesca cauliflower here, right down the street in a market here in la and. And enjoying it.
Katy
Well, since we were talking about some of the appeal of Italy for women specifically. And if you have other examples of that, I’d love to hear it. But is there anything that you’ve observed about Italy that women don’t really seem to like?
Susan Van Allen
This funny thing’s coming up. They really like ice American in their drinks. And Italians.
Katy
That’s true.
Susan Van Allen
You’ll get a sore throat.
Katy
Yeah, hard to get ice. That’s true.
Susan Van Allen
Right, right. I mean, a lot of women like the fish that they serve, and some of them don’t. I’m really surprised because I’m such a big fish lover. Paying for public toilets can be kind of puzzling to women, but, you know, they get used to it, and we appreciate when we can have a clean restroom. Other than that, they just really love it. There just doesn’t seem to be much that they don’t like. I mean, little details. They’re surprised there’s not washcloths in the bathroom, in the hotel bathrooms. And that’s just not how they do it. They. They usually supply cotton pads, but not. Not washcloths.
Katy
Well, that’s also part of the joy of traveling, is figuring out that not everyone does everything the same from one place to the next. So lately in the news, there’s been a lot of story. I mean, ever since the COVID pandemic, quote, unquote, ended, many, many news stories about increasing tourism. I mean, that’s been going on for years, but particularly now, you know, there are all sorts of popular countries are being flooded with tourists. And for Tiffany and I, at least, whenever we’re talking about the upcoming Bittersweet Life tour, and we have people who are asking us questions, trying to figure out if they want to go. One of the most common questions that we’re asked about is overcrowding, tourism overcrowding, and whether or not they should. Well, I mean, it’s two questions, whether or not they should be a part of it. And the other question is how much of a pain, really is it going to be there? Is it going to just be so crowded that I can’t see anything? Those are the main concerns. Why don’t we address each one? The question of whether or not I should even be going to these big hit spots like Venice, like Florence, like Rome, at all. What are your thoughts on that?
Susan Van Allen
Well, my thoughts is please, please keep coming and please keep supporting the people in those beautiful cities who are carrying on the traditions. And one of the main ways that I just advise people is the artisans. I’ve spoken about them already. For example, in. In Venice, there are wonderful. There’s still Women making lace on the island of Burano. If you watch them, you will be so impressed, and you will. You. You realize that whatever you pay for a piece of lace is such a bargain because these women have dedicated their lives. The amount of time that it takes to make one piece, the hundreds of years of tradition that. That you are buying into the same way in Florence and also in Rome, so many. And in Sorrento, like, I’ll see this Gargiulo inlaid wood. You’ll see this man making these boxes using the inlaid wood technique. And sometimes you see Americans walk in and they’ll say aloud in English, oh, it’s so expensive. And then walk out because they think they can get something fake. Maybe they can at another souvenir shop. But I mean, that is one main thing to go for, to focus on, to do some research on before you go so that you know what you’re looking for and you can really appreciate it.
Katy
That’s a great tip. Well, what about the idea of overcrowding?
Susan Van Allen
So I am always so amazed that you could be in a place like San Marco in Venice that is crowded, crowded. And then you can walk two blocks away into a museum like the Fortuny, which is a museum that honors this artist who was a theatrical designer, lighting designer, fabric designer, and you will be the only one there. So we need to spread out. That’s it. We need to not all go to the same place at the same hour. San Marco at sunrise or late at night is fantastic. St. Peter’s the Vatican. If you go to St. Peter’s really late in the afternoon, you can walk in pretty easily. I have been able to. I’m not guaranteeing it, because some people get hip to that, and then big groups come. Yeah. If you see a big crowd, head the other way and go there later.
Katy
Or. Yeah, look for the side street. I’m a big side street proponent, for sure. Ducking to the side because often it’s in. They can be twisty and turny, but often it will open into a square again, even if you take these little side streets. So you can still figure out where you are, even if you’re kind of cutting corners into quieter areas. That’s one good thing about Italy. There’s almost always a piazza about to appear somewhere. In these big cities, certainly. I mean, it’s sort of the same idea that I always have whenever I’m in an airport and you get off a plane and you get to the first restroom and there’s a line out the door, keep walking and the next restroom down the hall is probably wide open. And so it’s so true every time. I mean, we human beings are a little bit like lemmings. We follow each other around and we often follow each other blindly. And if we’re willing to sort of turn in the opposite direction like you’re suggesting, there are lots of little quiet pockets, right?
Susan Van Allen
And there’s people waiting for you. I know, for example, in the Campa de Fiori in Rome, you go there and all the restaurants are taken and you walk to Farnese and there’s a beautiful restaurant. I love Austria Farnese. It is always just full of local families or some worker having his Amatriciana for lunch. Fantastic food, really authentic. Right in the middle of things that might not be so authentic.
Katy
And for those of you who don’t know about Rome, those two piazza she just named are less than a minute away from each other. They are. They are right beside one another, and one is extremely popular and the other one is much, much quieter. Well, you’re also a writer as a background, and Tiffany and I are also writers. And so I was curious, just like, looking at your bio, your history, how is it that being a writer helps you, I don’t know, lead these tours or in how you see Italy, how you think about it, how you share it. Take that question however you like.
Susan Van Allen
Hold up my shelves of journals, which I really encourage everyone to do, because we could take pictures, pictures, videos, all that. I mean, when I open up a book from a decade ago or 20 years ago, it takes me more right there than any other photo will. I love to write down my dreams when I travel. A lot of times they’re really full with interesting characters that I’ve just met in new situations. Travel dreams are great, and I love reading books that have taken place in places that I’m going. I’m going to the Cinque Terre in May. And I love that book, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. That part of it takes place like in early 1960s in a fictitious town on the coast of Liguria. And even reading A Room with the View about Florence is just fantastic. Enchanted April is great. I love the Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone by Tennessee Williams. It is kind of a riot because it’s so Tennessee Williams drama happening on the Spanish Steps.
Katy
I love that. Yeah, Jess Walter is a frequent guest on this show, so you should go back and listen to him a couple times.
Susan Van Allen
Oh, how fantastic.
Katy
Yeah, he’s been on a few times. Yes, I totally hear you there. There’s a hotel that we use on our trip in Trastevere. And do you know the author, Anthony Doerr, by chance? Yeah, he wrote all the Light We Cannot See so good. But he wrote a little short story that takes place in the very hotel that we stay in. And we make a little booklet that we hand out to people with all of our insider trips. And basically what you’re talking about, like, where are the museums where people are not that you could just walk into and see the most am things in the world trying to give tips like that. But we were lucky enough that he gave us permission to print that story in the back of the little book that we wrote. And I don’t know, there’s something like you’re saying about having something put into literature about the place that you are that makes it have that mystical quality of you being in a story. I mean, we all are in the story Renaissance.
Susan Van Allen
That’s right.
Katy
Yeah, we’re all in a story.
Susan Van Allen
Truman Capote wrote about Ischia. It’s one of his real early writings. And I can read that story again and again. The way he describes beautiful phrases about how quiet it gets in the afternoon because everybody’s having siesta. He says the afternoons are like white midnights. Ooh, that’s all sunny but quiet, you know? That’s beautiful.
Katy
That’s so great. That’s a really wonderful tip, too, actually. It’s like trying to spend some time reading about, reading fiction specifically, because I think, we all think like, oh, I better get the latest guidebook or read this online thing about whatever, whatever place I’m gonna go, make my plans, buy my tickets. But often don’t think I should find the fiction that’s written about where I’m going, because it really does add that.
Susan Van Allen
Mystical quality that’s better time spent. And I would say don’t look at the Instagram speaking. What is really bothersome to me is there are some places in our favorite places that have just become the Instagram picture spots, and it’s. It’s not fun. Yes, there’s a lot of other fun things.
Katy
I agree with you there. Well, before our time ends, are. Are there other thoughts you would want to leave us with? Specifically, perhaps to women who are thinking about traveling to Italy, don’t be afraid.
Susan Van Allen
To go by yourself. If you are, go ahead and join a group. Read things like your blogs and good books. Stay away from the generic Instagram. And really, I would say give yourself time to go deeper because this is going to help the whole world of travel if you do. If you Bring with yourself some knowledge of the history of the artisans. I’ll repeat that again and again. Who live there and try to connect with people individually. I know people who have blogs like you do, who, who also will. Will lead tours and they live there and there’s nothing like having a native show you around. That’s just gold.
Katy
That’s so true.
Susan Van Allen
Give yourself enough time. Do not rush it. Do not rush Italy. You’ll regret it.
Katy
Yes. At least to plan a follow up trip if all you have is a week, right?
Susan Van Allen
Exactly. Yes. And don’t cram too much in. Know that if you’re trying to do Rome, Florence and Venice, the travel days are not days where you’re going to be sightseeing.
Katy
What about for people who, you know, I would would feel like slightly nervous about joining a tour group of any kind.
Susan Van Allen
Oh, so would I. I know.
Katy
Well, I’m a kid who didn’t even want to go to camp, so I totally get it. I totally get the nervousness. But what would your take on that be?
Susan Van Allen
Right. I would really look at the itinerary and see if they’re like the kinds that you and I do, where there are group times and then there are times where you get to explore on your own. And I would look carefully at the reviews and the leaders of the trip, make sure that they really know the place that you’re going to and match it to your interests. I mean some of them are specifically focused on food and you’re not going to see museums and things like that. Some of them are more. I think yours and mine are more with it, with a balance and not too big. I would say no bigger than like 14 for sure. Otherwise you’re going to be waiting for a lot of people to go to the bathroom.
Katy
Yeah, that is a good point as well. Well, one last question for you personally because we all have our own certain passions. What do you like to see? Are you. Are you a. I go to Italy for the food, I go there for the art. I go there for the architecture. What is your thing that tickles Susan, the most?
Susan Van Allen
What really? I mean, lately I am loving. I just was in Pompeii. I mean the, the ancient frescoes really send. I mean they moved me. They moved me to tears. That we can send. See what someone hand painted on the walls of this particular villa over 2000 years ago where people sat and ate and you could really feel yourself stepping back in time to another. A whole other era. Can you imagine where there were no cell phones and. And yet you feel A connection to the humanity that they loved, what we loved. They loved being together, sharing a meal, being close to nature. They all brought in the beauty of the gardens and the changing seasons and the wine and the beauty of the sea. So I think I love feeling the connections that I feel when I look at art in Italy.
Katy
Oh, I love that. We’ll put a link to your website in our show notes. But is there what’s the way for people to reach out to you or to reach you if they, if they want to know more?
Susan Van Allen
Susanvanallen.com and I’m on Instagram, Facebook, substack.
Katy
All right. And of course, that book that we’ve been talking about, 100 places in Italy Every Woman Should Go now in its fifth edition. Congratulations on all the books, by the way.
Susan Van Allen
Thanks. And congratulations to you, Katy, for all the good things you’re doing out there.
Katy
Oh, thank you. All right. Well, we will leave it there for now. If you have any questions you want to follow up with Susan about, you can send them to us and we’ll pass them along or maybe we’ll even have her on again. But you can reach us bittersweetlifepodcastmail.com and, of course, her link is in the show notes. And until next time, this is The Bittersweet Life. I’m Katy Sewall. Talk to you next week. Bye.
Travel to Rome in October 2025
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