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For me, Italy is a familiar country that has a strong hold on my heart.  After living in Rome for 4 months, I quickly became addicted to the atmosphere, the speed, the rich history and the overwhelming sense of a beautiful ancestry.

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Venice, Florence, and the Island of Capri.  I knew that Italy would be a place I would return to again and again.  When I came across a 6-day package with visits to Rome, Florence and Venice, I knew I would have to focus this week’s edition of Travel Deals on my favorite destination.

This package includes 2 nights in Venice, 2 nights in Florence and 2 nights in Rome.  You will stay in first-class hotels located in the city’s center.  You will be provided with 6 breakfasts and 3 dinners, which include wine (and you have to try the wine!).  The package also includes guided tours and free admission to sights.  Each of these cities is rich with history and historic sites – so much so that I recommend narrowing your focus according to field of interest.  Interested in architecture?  Then I suggest you try to visit the churches and cathedrals.  If you’re more of an art-nerd, you might want to spend an afternoon in one of the many beautiful museums.  Foodies could spend years in all of these cities and still leave without tasting every delicious morsel they have to offer, so I suggest you choose a place to start.  How about a pastry shop?   Maybe you’re more of a shopper – there’s a place for that, too!  The sheer amount of options can be overwhelming, so I suggest you try to make a schedule around the guided tours so you can prioritize and manage your time.

From my own experience, I highly recommend taking a gondola ride through the canals of Venice.  This ride offers a great way to see the city while floating through the water (plus, they can be extremely romantic).  Prices range from $65- $123.  Gondolas hold up to 6 people and rides will last at least 50 minutes.

While in Rome, please go to the Colosseum; it is bursting with history and makes the past really come alive.  I remember seeing a portion of it as I was exploring one of my first days in Rome.  I literally got goose bumps and felt flooded with awe.  I also recommend walking over any bridge that crosses over the Tiber River in the evening after the sun has just set; the lights from the city are magnificent.

I spent my time in Florence alone, my focus was to see the churches, they all held their own antiquity and were independently engaging.  I picked up treats and snacks at many of the random markets along my way.  I recommend seeing the Duomo, Florence’s cathedral church.  Also, I walked through many piazzas, but I particularly recommend the Piazza Della Signora, where you can see “The Rape of Polyxena,” a structure constructed by Pio Fedi.  I stood in front of this piece for over an hour amazed by the details and the passion pulsing from this lifeless formation.

This package is a total of $1799. The flight goes from New York to Venice, but like any deal, you can alter the city from which you depart.

As I left for Boston this weekend and began my journey down I-89, I began to think about the curse of many travelers: money.  I started wondering, how expensive will this trip be and how can I budget better?

Well, I recently received an email from a friend cluing me into some great ways to aid the escape from our mundane day-to-day routines. According to Lisa Grossberg, general manager of the historic Buckingham Hotel in Manhattan, the average hotel guest spends a third to half of their funds on dining. So my fellow travelers, instead of this entry of Travel Deals to Satisfy your Wandering Mind informing you of amazing trips and escapes, I want to let you in on some of my useful dining habits I use to cut my costs and travel cheap, which allows me to plan more adventures throughout the year.

First, it always helps to bring a cookbook.  There are so many out there with simple yet extravagant recipes. Do you enjoy Italian? Giada De Laurentiis, is my go-to girl for great Italian recipes. How about a fun 30-minute recipe? Rachel Ray makes eating and cooking a fun adventure every time. Inside these books are beautiful, fun and delicious recipes, try something different from what you cook at home and have fun with it. Plan out these recipes with your travel companion before you depart. Figure out all the ingredients you will need and once you arrive, visit the local grocery store and stock up. If you are traveling for a week, your grocery bill will range from $100-$550, depending on the type of meat you purchase and if you want wine/beer/alcohol. Compare this to 7 nights of dining out and you will be sure to save over $500.

Now in order to cook while you are on vacation, you must book a room with a kitchen. Many of the early-to-mid century hotels in larger cities, such as the Buckingham Hotel in Manhattan can accommodate travelers with this luxury.  Because this asset is becoming more popular, many hotels are advertising their extra amenities, so be sure to book this before you depart.

If you enjoy the occasional drink while on vacation, stock up on the booze while at the grocery store. Buying a bottle of vodka will cost anywhere from $15-$45, as opposed to the one drink that will cost you anywhere from $7-$16 dollars. Do you enjoy wine while you dine out? Buy a nice bottle and bring it into the restaurant.  Most restaurants will allow this, though they may charge an opening fee, it is still a great way to save up to $40 dollars.

Unfortunately for my wallet, I absolutely love dining out; I love the atmosphere, the service and the chance to dress up and look nice. If you feel the same, then I recommend dining out once or twice, it is a part of the traveling experience and like noted above, bringing in your own bottle of wine can cut a large portion of the bill.

I hope this helps if you are anxious about extra expenses. Traveling can be cheap, you just need to know how to cut your costs, find the deals and budget where you can. With these hints you can save up to $1000 just on food costs. So happy traveling (and eating) and bon voyage.

I have a special, guilty place in my heart for James Joyce’s Ulysses.  I tried to read it on the shores of Lake Michigan when I was 17, and powered through 20 pages before I realized I had no idea what was happening.  I had a similar experience with the Cliff Notes (shame) on the shores of Lake Erie.  I built up my Joyce muscle during Irish Lit courses in college, and, in a fit of substitution, took to sleeping with a Spanish-language edition of the novel when my relationship with an Argentine named Ulises turned sour.  But, like many a straw man English major, I haven’t actually read the book.

My literary pretense outweighs my shame, so I felt entitled, nay, obligated, to geek out over yesterday’s observation of Bloomsday.  In my defense, at least I’d absorbed the very basic information — the main characters are Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus, the setting is Dublin, June 16, the frequent allusions to Homer — that cushions my ignorance.

I usually opt for marathon readings, though I should admit I’m the sort of person who lets the diehards work their way through the first seventeen episodes, unaccompanied, and then swoop in for the “yes oh yes I will yes” leg and grab a commemorative T-shirt.  In lieu of hopping a plane to the mean streets of Dublin, or completing this oldie-but-goodie Bloomsday Boston itinerary, I winnowed my way through Bloomsday commentary, looking for books to add to my ever-growing “to read” list.  James Cohen’s Daily Beast article on recent novels that have been described as the [insert culture/ nationality/ ethnicity here] Ulysses is a good start, though I’m going to steer clear of the Argentine model.

If you’re still interested on reading more about Ulysses, feel free to check out our feature article, A ‘Moral Pub’ Crawl Through James Joyce’s Dublin.

You might have already heard the assertion that we — Americans, specifically — choose to spend most of our leisure time “participating in experiences we know are not real.”  (I read it here, in Paul Bloom’s essay in The Chronicle of Higher Education.)  Reading is part of that, but movies, video games, and daydreaming are included as well.  Still, the author insists, these various media indicate an addiction to fiction, a pleasure in “playing pretend” that extends well beyond our childhood years.  Bloom offers three reasons that people may find imaginative experiences more pleasurable or moving than than real ones — the ability to acquaint oneself with a colorful range of characters, the distillation of experience, and the “technologies of the imagination” — the ability to rapidly shift in time, or read another person’s thoughts — that stimulate the mind in a way that is impossible in reality.

Even our fictional characters crave fiction.  Other Lives, a graphic novel recently reviewed in The Boston Globe, explores this dynamic by following several characters — among them, a conspiracy theorist specializing in web surveillance — as they mingle and sort out their real personalities and Second Life alter egos.  The protagonist of 45, another graphic novel, interviews forty-five people who, like his future son possess the “Super S-gene,” in an effort to anticipate — or vicariously experience? — his future experiences.

The appeal of fiction is both speculative and defensive.  We use it to explore strange, new worlds in a safe environment — and, as I mentioned to a frustrated, creative friend the other day, every modern invention was a “fiction” until someone made it tangible — but it also keeps chaos, amorality, and the ennui that feeds anxiety, man’s “quiet desperation” at bay.  Narrative, specifically, lets us believe that there is a structure, a direction, and a message, a significance, to the stimuli that we find on the page, and in the world.

If the “everything is [existentially] fine” mantra becomes attached to a real world object, we risk having to address the narrative, and the experience, in all of its complexity.  Consider Meghan Daum, author of Life Would Be Perfect if I Lived in That House. She wrote, “I knew it wasn’t just a house I was after but, rather, proof of my existence. The house was . . . an ID badge for adulthood, for personhood, even. It was the only thing that would make me desirable, credible, even human.”  When she finds a house — not the house, which is, like the job or the One, a fiction — “a peculiar darkness” sets in.  “It was as if my mood had been goaded away from situational discontentedness into a dysthymia that seemed now to be heading into full-fledged depression,” she wrote.

The house didn’t get her through that.  The story, at least, helps the reader out.

Another week has gone by, and I’m here yet again to bring you the best travel deals from around the internet.  Check out these fun ways to boost the economy, while satisfying your pulsing desire to travel and see the world.

Newport, RI

I have come across an amazing hotel deal located in Newport, RI.  I visited Newport last year for the first time while competing in the Newport, R.I. marathon (where I ran half).  I would like to commemorate running my first marathon a few weeks ago, and I think this deal is quite quaint and perfect. From June – September you can sign up to stay at the Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel and Spa for $200 mid-week.  Parking, in-room wireless internet, two complimentary signature cocktails, 20% off services at the Stillwater Spa and shuttle services to downtown Newport are included in your package.

The Hyatt is located on Narragansett Bay where you can window shop, enjoy a nice relaxing lunch on the water, or travel to art galleries that offer pieces from the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th century.  Newport, R.I. is a beautiful, picturesque town that allows tourists to feel simultaneously at home yet away from home.

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Costa Rica

In addition to this great hotel deal, I have also found an 8-night Costa Rican trip for only $798; it even includes an adventure through the rainforest!

With this package you will be purchasing roundtrip airfare, 3 nights at the Trapp Family Lodge in Monteverde, 2 nights at the all-inclusive Barcelo Playa Langosta on Tamerindo Beach, 3 nights at Villa Tecca near Manual Antonio National Park, and tours of Moneverde Cloud Forest.

When you are exploring the rainforest on your walking tour, I recommend holding the beautiful creatures that you come across, (as long as they are not poisonous).  They are vibrant in color and are such a different composition from what we have here in America. When I was lucky enough to visit the rainforest in Costa Rica, I held an enormous, yet alluring spider, it was extremely scary but the resulting picture made the fear more than worth it.

Costa Rica is tropical. The air is hot and thick, but as you explore the rainforest you will run into cool patches of air and breathtaking creatures – it is truly an amazing place rich with color and light mist.  Enjoy your stay.

Every Friday, the staff at Literary Traveler gathers up relevant book news from around the web, bringing it together in a handy post for book lovers to peruse.  Enjoy!

• Can’t get enough of the reworked classics?  Android Karenina is one of the funnier entries into the strange new genre of novel.  The parts of the book not written by Tolstoy are the words of Ben H. Waters, who has also done his best to bastardize Jane Austin with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.  While it seems like a fun summer read, we feel the need to add: The original is pretty amazing, too.
• The Examiner has a funny and charming interview with author Lisa Brown, whose recently published novel Picture The Dead is just beginning to garner some serious attention.  The book is described as part ghost story, part survival narrative.  Brown admits she takes a lot of inspiration from young adult novels – she even mentions one of my all-time favorite books, The Witch Of Blackbird Pond. Probably because, like Brown, I’m not an Austin-ite: “I have this theory that there are two types of bookish girls: Jane Austen-ites and Brönte acolytes,” she says.
• Baby books aren’t something we often discuss here at Literary Traveler, but there is something enchanting about the historic baby books unearthed by the UCLA library and reproduced in this article at the L.A. Times book blog.  Though not technically books – at least not in the way we normally think of them – they are pieces of personal history, a specifically feminine place for the celebration of growth and memory.
• For the first time in years, the New Yorker has published their “20 Under 40″ list, which includes a group of “young writers” in order to offer a “focused look at the talent blooming around us.”  However, as an essay in the New York Times points out, great books by those under 40 are not all that uncommon, and perhaps more importantly, these novels are often the greatest books of their careers.  Authors including Melville, Hemingway, Faulkner, Kafka and Pynchon all wrote their most significant works before the age of 40.  What becomes clear is something that seems almost self evident: Age does not actually matter when it comes to great literature.
• And finally, some light reading for your weekend.  The Passage, a post-apocalyptic novel (with vampires!) is being hailed as the “book of the summer.” Master of horror Stephen King has even voiced his approval for the lengthy tome.  Get yourself to a Barnes & Noble – or risk falling behind on what looks to be the next literary phenomenon.  Worst case scenario?  You can spend all summer expressing your unbiased opinion that it “doesn’t live up to the hype.”   And if you’re more interested in travel than literature, here’s a trip that combines the two (and adds a healthy dose of pop culture): The newly opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Orlando Resort.

Like many children, I used to imagine secretly that I was adopted.  Growing up with two brothers and a tomboy sister, I often felt displaced, as though I had no business being part of the busy crowd that filled our house.  I pretended I was the daughter of explorers, or maybe some sort of brave pioneers, regardless of the fact that this vocation has gone out of fashion.

Reflecting back, I can see now that my fantasies were not born out of a desire to escape, but a need to sculpt my own personal history.  Knowing little about myself, I decided to tie my fate to that of those who came before me.  Time still felt fluid enough to be molded (after reading A Wind At The Door and other books by Madeleine L’Engle, I was firmly convinced that all you needed was a little practice), and history seemed as bendable as a paperback.

As I grew older, I became more interested in my ancestral history – my real history.  People have always identified themselves by their kin, and though we sometimes forget it today, our families are perhaps the single most primitive part of our selves.  One must only read Beowulf to be reminded of the significance of kin (or if you are so inclined, the Bible has quite a bit of this as well).

This week, join us in Italy, where Angela Corrias visits the home of one of Italy’s most appreciated Marxist thinkers, Antonio Gramsci.  Corrias visits his house, speaks with his family, and in doing so, she pulls herself one step closer to understanding both Italian history and her own personal history.  In her quest, she finds much more than fascism and Gramsci’s beloved food; she also finds a piece of herself.  Her article, Beauty, Tradition & Fascism in Antonia Gramsci’s Sardinia, will transport you to the streets of Sardinia, and, we hope, inspire you to do a little soul searching of your own.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day and spent last weekend embracing their travel fantasies.

As I sit in Muddy Waters, a local coffee shop in Burlington, VT, I realize what fantastic activities Burlington has to offer. For the next ten days, Burlington’s 2010 Discover Jazz Festival will ensue, presenting artists such as Sonny Rollins to The Wailing Souls. Artists will bring music composed in various areas of the world such as the Netherlands, Jamaica, Guinea, and New Orleans to Burlington, VT.

One can also find over two-dozen artists and groups spattered around the Burlington area by checking out the Flynn Theatre, the FlynnSpace, the Church Street Marketplace and City Hall Park.

I have found some great hotel deals to consider when planning your trip to Vermont.  Stay at the Courtyard by Marriot on the Burlington Harbor for $229/night through Priceline. The views of Lake Champlain are breathtaking.  I recommend taking an evening walk on Burlington’s lake-side bike path.

Or if you would prefer to stay in a more scenic area, Stowe Mountain Lodge has rooms for $181/night through Orbitz.   Start your vacation by taking a guided hike in the morning or playing a round of golf before heading into Burlington for a relaxing dinner with a hint of jazz.  Stowe Mountain Lodge also offers kayaking and canoeing, massages, tennis and brew tours.   It’s the perfect place to escape for a week; enjoy the beautiful views of Stowe as it sits right outside your window.

Need some advice on places to eat in Burlington, VT while enjoying the jazz festival? Leunig’s Bistro on Church Street has outdoor seating and jazz all day, everyday throughout the festival. American Flatbread, which boasts a great brick oven pizza and an amazing beer list, also has outdoor seating and live music throughout the week. Bluebird Tavern, a great place for tapas (a wide variety of appetizers from the Spanish cuisine), is also offering an array of jazz artists.  Half Lounge, Halverson’s and The Skinny Pancake are a few of my favorite places to eat in Burlington, and they too, will have music playing every night.

Burlington, VT is a beautiful place to visit and reside. I hope these deals help sway your decision to make a spontaneous trip up north to indulge in a bit of jazz.  Happy listening.

Our newest feature article, on Fernando Pessoa, not only made me want to take off for Lisbon, but it also reawakened a train of thought I had shelved since returning from Europe.  I’ve often wondered if people can be broken up into two groups: the travelers and the nesters.  Some people seem best suited to home life.  They know how to enjoy the small pleasures, the ordinary moments of happiness.  They are the reliable ones, settled and stable.  Their lives may not always be happy, but they have a constant – they have a home.  Even when they travel abroad, they are able to experience the seductive lure of a foreign land without being pulled or swayed from their moorings.  Nesters seem to be driven always by an internal compass, one which points towards home.

The other group, the travelers, are restless and without anchor (it seems our writer, Steven Hermans, may fit into this category).  They relentlessly seek new places, experiences, tastes, and people.  They desire motion, continual excitement, rather than the comforts of home.

I believe most of us have fit into both groups at some point in our lives, for these categories aren’t hard and fast.  They’re probably best viewed as phases we slip into at certain points, only to later change allegiance.   In his discussion of Pessoa, Hermans describes the author as of the former group, while he himself falls into the latter.  In an interesting twist, he journeys to Pessoa’s home in order to see how the other half (the nesters) live. Walking along the eerily familiar streets, painted so vividly by Pessoa’s prose, Hermans is able to see the attractions of a room of one’s own – and compare that with the lure of the open road.

This week, we invite homebodies and wanders alike to join us this week in Portugal in Fernando Pessoa’s Lisbon of Disquiet. Perhaps you will recognize something of yourself in Hermans, or perhaps you’re more like Pessoa.  Either way, we promise you’ll leave with some food for thought.

Though it’s not literary on the face, and the genre has yet to make a celebrated entrance into the academy (though U Kansas has a Ph.D. in science fiction and fantasy literature), a genre lens can make even the most inane production take on layered significance.  Take, for example, io9′s review of Sex and the City 2: “When viewed as a rom-com, Sex and the City 2 is terrible and crappy and a horrific inversion of everything the show once was. But when viewed as a science fiction film, SATC2 is subversive, stylish and chilling. as  SATC2 is subversive, stylish and chilling.”

The blogger identifies The City as Carrie’s “deathless necropolis” based on the following information:

1.) The City can control time.
2.) The City can control their personalities.
3.) Nothing exists outside of The City.
4.) The City keeps tabs on Carrie via shoes.

Funny, and reposted frequently, but glancing on a larger point.  I’ve been reading Forbidden Acts: Pioneering Gay and Lesbian Plays of the Twentieth Century this week, and I’ve noticed that every play, from the 1926 production of Bourdet’s The Captive to Crowley’s 1968 Boys in the Band to Hoffman’s 1985 AIDS-themed As Is, takes place in one or two intimate rooms.  This could be a given of the genre — my experience with theater has largely been in the orchestra pit of high school musicals, and I only wandered into the drama section because a man fixing tax returns was blocking the essays — or a function of the stories themselves — they all involve confrontation with a family member, or a constructed family — but I wondered whether they were also evidence of the playwright’s attempt to construct a closet, a stifling environment for the audience. Certainly, in The Captive, where the protagonist cannot even name her “affliction,” this observation is relevant.

For a contemporary overanalysis of “queer space,” see this blog entry entitled Locker rooms: on exterior interiority.

I am now inspired to go back and read old Tennessee Williams plays with a queer-theory lens.