Italy Archives - Amore Travel Designs

Woman relaxing in a warm thermal pool at sunset, with a stone cascade, Tuscan hills and a hilltop village behind her, a luxury Italy wellness escape planned by Amore Travel Designs

ITALYS HOT SECRET

Italy sits on restless, volcanic ground. Heat deep below warms underground water. That water rises through rock and picks up minerals. Ancient Romans noticed and built their baths around these springs. Travelers still soak in the same spots today. The tradition never faded. It simply got better pools and softer towels.Italy sits on restless, volcanic ground. Heat deep below warms underground water. That water rises through rock and picks up minerals. Ancient Romans noticed and built their baths around these springs. Travelers still soak in the same spots today. The tradition never faded. It simply got better pools and softer towels.

October 9, 2026 No Comments

Tuscany golf course overlooking a medieval hilltop town, luxury golf and wine country travel planned by Fort Collins advisor Cathy at Amore Travel Designs

GOLF AS A SIDE DISH

I am heading to Italy (again 😉) soon, and this trip looks different from most of the ones I write about here. Positano and Ischia come first, followed by coastal Tuscany, then Terme di Saturnia, a thermal spa region I have wanted to visit for years. All the clients I have sent there have fallen in love with this property. Golf sits inside all of it, three rounds spread across the trip, but it is not the reason I booked the flight. That distinction matters more than people realize when they picture a golf vacation.

October 2, 2026 No Comments

This is what luxury actually feels like, a sunset, a glass of wine, and a view over the Amalfi Coast that stops every conversation

YOU ARE ALREADY LUXURY

A version of this conversation happens in nearly every consultation I have. Someone tells me they love the idea of a beautifully planned trip, then immediately adds that they are not really a luxury traveler, as if luxury requires a certain kind of person or a certain kind of bank account before you are allowed in the door. That assumption gets in the way of some genuinely wonderful trips, so let us clear up what luxury travel actually means, starting with what it is not.

September 25, 2026 No Comments

Brazilian steakhouse dining experience in Sardinia, Italy, culinary travel memories from Amore Travel Designs

WHERE I FELL TWICE

I landed in the south of Sardinia expecting one kind of trip and found something rougher, quieter, and more honest than the postcards ever show. Chia Laguna sits along a coastline that still feels a little wild, sand dunes rolling toward water so clear it barely looks real. Forte Village, further along the coast, surprised me with its scale, an entire small village built around gardens and restaurants and a kitchen where Chef Raff let a group of us get our hands genuinely messy making pasta.

September 18, 2026 No Comments

A sunlit alley in Cortona, Tuscany — the kind of street you wander down and suddenly understand why Diane Lane never went home

DIANE LANE WAS RIGHT

“Under the Tuscan Sun” has inspired countless travelers to visit the enchanting town of Cortona, Italy. The film depicts Frances’s journey of self-discovery and allure of a slower life, attracting visitors to its rich history and stunning landscapes. Cortona’s charm lingers, making it a destination worth exploring beyond the movie’s fame.

June 17, 2026 No Comments

"A longtail boat on the shores of Thailand — the water really is that color, and yes, it looks exactly like it did on White Lotus"

THE RESORT IS REAL

The White Lotus has a gift. It takes a place — Hawaii, Sicily, now Thailand — and turns it into the only place in the world you want to be. Never mind the scheming, the dramatic irony, the bodies. The locations are impeccable. And Season 3’s Thailand is the most gorgeous setting the show has ever used.

June 5, 2026 No Comments

The tools of a well-traveled life — because the best trips start long before you ever leave home

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS

— but after enough miles, enough countries, and enough trips that went sideways and sideways-in-the-best-way, I feel like I owe you the truth.

I have logged a lot of miles. A lot. And I have many more to come 🤣

And while I wouldn’t trade a single stamp in my passport, there are things I know now that I absolutely did not know in the beginning — things that would have saved me time, stress, and more than a few moments of standing in the wrong place wondering what went sideways.

May 22, 2026 No Comments

he heart of Fort Collins, Colorado — where a passion for world travel and local roots meet at Amore Travel Designs

WORLD FROM FORT COLLINS

Everyone knows Paris. Everyone has been to Rome.
And honestly? Everyone is a little tired of fighting the crowds at the Trevi Fountain.
Europe is a continent of jaw-dropping beauty, extraordinary food, and stories that stretch back centuries. But the most memorable experiences? They rarely happen where the tour buses stop.
As a luxury travel advisor, I spend a lot of time steering my clients away from the obvious — and toward the extraordinary. The places that make you catch your breath. The ones you come home raving about, that your friends have never heard of.
Here are five hidden gems that belong on every discerning traveler’s radar this season.

May 15, 2026 No Comments

Matera, Italy lit up at dusk, viewed through the opening of an ancient cave — one of Europe's most extraordinary hidden destinations, as featured by Fort Collins luxury travel advisor Cathy at Amore Travel Designs

EUROPE’S EXTRAORDINARY HIDDEN GEMS

May 2, 2026 No Comments

Cathy Rowland of Amore Travel Designs and her husband visiting Torre a Cona wine estate in the Tuscan countryside near Florence during a Tuscany travel experience.

MOMENTS IN TUSCANY

Morning in the Tuscan countryside begins very differently from the cities.

The light is soft over the hills, the air carries that earthy scent of vineyards and olive trees, and the only sounds are birds and the occasional tractor somewhere in the distance. Instead of crowds gathering for early museum entries or tour groups filling hotel lobbies, the day unfolds slowly here.

I remember stepping outside one morning at Torre a Cona, a historic wine estate about twenty minutes outside of Florence. Torre a Cona has been producing wine on this land since the 15th century — it’s the kind of place that genuinely earns the word “historic,” not just uses it as marketing. Coffee in hand, I looked out across rows of vineyards rolling down the hillside toward olive groves and tall cypress trees.

March 13, 2026 No Comments