If you’re new here (or haven’t ever been within shouting distance of me), Italy is my happy place. Last month marked my 13th trip to the motherland and I will be back again for work in October. I’ve visited the Dolomites and the actual top of Italy in Courmayeur, down to Taormina in Sicily. I’ve lazed on the beaches of Puglia and Tuscany, I’ve meandered the streets of countless cities. And it’s still not enough. Am I making myself clear?
My trip last month was a ‘grand tour’ — I started on my own in Parma, where I rented a car and drove to Modena for a visit to my garage (Museo Enzo Ferrari) and a stay at Casa Maria Luigia. In fact, the day I found out that I would be attending a conference in Milan, before booking my flights, I made a reservation at Casa Maria Luigia and its restaurant Francescana. Yes, the countryside outpost of the iconic Modena restaurant, Osteria Francescana.
Per usual, I was right.
The country estate owned by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore is a dream-come-true. The make yourself at home edict is immaculately preserved with snacks available at all hours and you can meander as you please. I also had the incredible luck to meet them both while I was there (a beyond pleasant surprise!). I’ll be honest. This was only day two of my itinerary and I had a sinking worry… What if the rest was downhill from here?
Incredibly for me, it wasn’t. I made my way to La Nunziadeina, a small-town restaurant so good that I would travel back for it specifically.
And if you would like a fuller picture, I got into my little steel gray Peugeot after lunch, typed my next destination into the GPS, and cued up my playlist. As I merged into the fast lane of the autostrada in the rain, a remix of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” started playing. I turned it up and hit the gas.
I turned it back down to an appropriately elegant volume by the time I’d found my way to the next stunning hotel — Relais Roncolo 1888. This hotel, no doubt, stuns in the summertime when you can lay by the pool and stroll the gardens after a spa treatment or a wine tasting. But I arrived, solo and content, in the misty rain and leaned fully into the coziness. And by coziness, I mean a gorgeous dinner with wine pairings by the fire. A plush hotel robe and a nap in a cloud-like bed.
The next day, I said goodbye to my Peugeot back in Parma and hopped on a train to Cinque Terre. I had never been, so some of my loveliest local partners in northern Italy set me up with a guide who took me the back ways and to the best perches from which to see this beautiful (and touristy) destination. I understood two things quickly: it’s beyond gorgeous and I understand why people hate it. Those that hate it go by train in the summer and have to walk, shoulder to shoulder, with all of the other tourists in the stifling heat. I got to go the secret ways, in the shoulder season, and learn all of the in’s and out’s, so I was able to love it. (If you go in summer, go by boat.)
From there, it was time for the main event — a luxury travel conference, called DUCO, in Milan. I stayed at the brand new and fabulous Casa Brera hotel. The suppliers were hundreds of hotels and destination experts all based in Italy, the buyers were advisors from all over the US and beyond. I can admit now that as a certified Non-Conference Person I was nervous about this show. And I can admit now that I needn’t have worried. The meetings and lunches and dinners and afters were all fantastic and I feel (ahem) like that much more of an Italy expert. I met with, dined with, and wined with, hundreds of people that I will be able to work with for my clients’ trips. And bonus: I love Milan, so I stole a few moments for a meal and a shop here and there in one of my favorite cities.
From there, I was invited to join a group of advisors to visit hotels and learn about the destinations of Courmayeur and Lake Como. To finish this glorious grand tour in Lake Como? Don’t mind if I do. Before you close this window because of so much eye-rolling, I implore you to stay. You might miss the other best part(s). Courmayeur is the less developed and more French/Swiss-leaning answer to the Dolomites (which is Swiss/Austrian-leaning). You may be more familiar with its neighbor Mont Blanc. The darling here is the Grand Hotel Courmayeur, which is in an enviable location in town and in general (a quick drive from Geneva, if you please), has ridiculous views, and serves equally ridiculous food. We indulged in all.
From the blustery top of Italy to lakeside rosés on the terrace in Como… As advisors, it is our job to know what’s what. We tour hotels, we meet with the teams, we eat their glorious food, we sit on their beautiful boats, we tour their fabulous gardens, we learn about this estate’s history and that estate’s history. We do this for YOU. In Lake Como, I had the great fortune of staying at two hotels and seeing some others. Here’s what I say: Grand Hotel Victoria (for the more modern guests), Grand Hotel Tremezzo (for the classicists), and Passalacqua (for that true dolce vita).
Would you like for me to be done now? I can accommodate that. But only because I’m going back in October. FOR WORK.
Seriously, enough about Italy
Fine.
Back home in LA, I am dying to try the new Beethoven Market — have you been yet?
And in NYC, I’m dying to try Barlume — anyone been?
Gonna need you to watch this most-adorable TikTok or this, which is in the running for funniest TikTok I’ve ever seen
Speaking of TikTok, here’s a headline that could only exist in 2025: TikTok craze offers hope to Chinese exporters caught in trade war crossfire
And another grabbing headline: Americans Are Heading for the Exits from The New Republic, about the rise in “worrying signs that many people in this country indeed have their eyes on the exits, including those with skill sets we can ill afford to lose.”
But actually there have been way too many headlines lately, so I’ll stop it here.
Instead, let’s (re)watch the Materialists trailer.
Followed quickly by The Black Lotus or the White Potus skits from SNL
Where’s everyone going this summer, I hear you ask? Well, I’m currently working with clients on getaways to Ireland and Portugal, Biarritz and Bilbao, Ibiza and Austria, South Africa and the Galapagos. (And also Italy… of course.)
I’ll leave you with this: While I was traipsing all over Italy, Finn was in Japan for spring break and he took this photo.
I’ll be choosing one of the following sign-offs from here on out.
Stressfully,
Nicole
