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Ilene and Gary Modica
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Our Italian Journey: Living our dream in Italy for one year (Our Italian Journey Adventure Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Ilene and Gary Modica (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 423 ratings
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Imagine living in Italy for one full year. This was always the dream and promise made to each other.

Ilene and Gary Modica sold almost everything they owned to spend a year in the land of Gary’s Italian grandparents, to walk where they walked, eat what they ate, and live in the shadow of history.

Few places evoke the stirring passions and romance of Italy, where the simple act of sharing a glass of wine, a perfect pizza, and good conversation is an art form. Be prepared to immerse yourself in this beautiful country and live vicariously through the couple's authentic encounters.

You’ll also discover:
  • How their dream and desire for a genuine experience with a true Italian family came unexpectedly true
  • How, through this journey, they eat and drink their year through Italy visiting eight regions and forty-six cities, including Sicilia and their new Italian birthplace.

Our Italian Journey is a travel memoir of an adventure that has forever changed the lives of this Arizona couple. Through experiences and humor, they invite you along their spellbinding journey, exploring quaint villages steeped in tradition and local culture. Come take a glimpse of Italy through the eyes of these new Italian citizens and experience firsthand the Italian zest for living “La Dolce Vita,” in this compelling read.
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  1. Book 1 of 1
    Our Italian Journey Adventure
  2. Print length
    273 pages
  3. Language
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    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 19, 2020
  6. File size
    7175 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

◆ "Our Italian Journey isn't just another travel book about Italy. Its written by a charming couple who sought out to learn more about (his) Italian side of the family, their journey in becoming dual citizens and charming details about Italy's food, places & the experiences she creates, but best of all...the people. Ilene and Gary take you on this journey with them, through their eyes, each page beaming with Italian pride. I definitely recommend this book as a must read!" -Jackie Aiken

◆ "In Our Italian Journey, Gary and Ilene describe their experiences of living in Italy for a year. Newly formed citizens, the two share an exciting time of traveling across Italy. They traverse through different Italian cities and share with their readers both their love for Italy and real life struggles. Highly recommend this comfort read to anyone wanting a bit of escapism in these challenging times." -Ishita, Italophilia

◆ It's a journey to a foreign land that I dream of one day visiting. Gary and Ilene each tell their story about the quaint towns, friendly people and delicious food they encounter. I can picture each town with their cobblestone streets, beautiful flowers, majestic waters, and magnificent doors. Each Duomo they've visited is as unique as the towns they reside in. They paint a picture you can actually see and feel as they explore each region. I thoroughly enjoyed traveling throughout Italy from the comfort of my couch. Oh and you may even shed a tear or two. Thank you guys for taking me on your journey!
-Melanie D'Andrea

From the Author

Have you ever wanted to pick up stakes and move to another country - for an entire year? We took our new citizenship for a test drive, crisscrossing the breathtaking Italian countryside during 2019. This is our memoir and personal adventure which has changed our lives forever. Through experiences and humor, we invite you along our spellbinding journey, exploring quaint villages, steeped in tradition and local culture.

Let our passion for this country be your guide to the most beautiful places in Italy. Our Italian Journey will inspire you to follow your dreams and encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. You'll love all the details: restaurants, events, accommodations, the people, travel tips... even a few pictures.

You'll have a front-row seat to this incredible journey - perhaps the beginning of your own.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08NXZPYTQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boston Harbor Press LLC (November 19, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7175 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 423 ratings

About the author

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Ilene and Gary Modica

Ilene and Gary Modica

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Ilene and Gary are award-winning bloggers and authors of two memoirs, "When Your Heart Finds Its Home," and “Our Italian Journey.”

Their first book, "Our Italian Journey," was written as they traveled through various towns they stayed and explored while sharing their trials and tribulations, as well as laughter. They describe artful depictions of Italy’s seducing charm, their experiences in daily life, Italy’s cultural differences, and the well-known Italian zest for living. Live vicariously through them in their spiritual experiences throughout this beautiful country they can now call home.

Their very first memoir has been transformed into an audiobook! The best part is, they've narrated it themselves, enhancing the connection between author and audience, bringing their written words to life in a new way. Listening to their own voices recounting the stories and experiences that shaped their lives has been an incredibly personal and emotional journey.

Whether you've been a longtime supporter or are just discovering their story, we hope you'll find this audiobook a captivating and immersive experience. This audiobook beautifully captures the essence of Italy, its people, and the strong sense of community that defines life in small Italian towns. With alternating writing styles and reflections, Ilene and Gary invite readers to accompany them on a journey of self-discovery and transformation in the heart of Tuscany.

Their second book, "When Your Heart Finds Its Home," is a continuation of this journey, yet it stands alone as a travel memoir. The pandemic hindered but didn’t deter this couple from fulfilling their dream. This book is the encapsulation of that dream and a guide for those searching for something more. Home is wherever we feel settled and at peace, and if we’re lucky, home can bring forth a new life, full of possibilities. These possibilities came to fruition for Gary and Ilene in their perfect Italian town. A home is a feeling – not a place. They invite you to join them on the final chapter of this quest.

It took them three years to become Italian citizens through the Jurs Sanguinis and Jurs Matrimonii application through the Los Angeles, California Consulate. They would describe this process as a rollercoaster ride and currently help others with their applications, questions, and travel advice. Obtaining Italian citizenship became personal for Gary in wanting to bring his name back home to Italy.

Currently, they are living in Lucca, Italy.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
423 global ratings
Sighing…..
5 Stars
Sighing…..
Having been to Italy twice in the last 4 years we are missing our traveling due to the pandemic. So in lieu of being there ourselves, we are loving this wonderful journey you’re taking us on! Revisiting memories of many of the small towns we visited on our trips to Italy! So envious of your year long trip, we are hoping to shortly plan our dream of a month or so spent wandering the countryside so I am highlighting some of your favorite towns and areas. I find myself reading pages aloud to my husband of places where we’ve been. I also recommend this book to anyone contemplating their 1st Italian adventure as there are quite a few travel tips that would be so very helpful. This book is a delightful easy, uplifting and happy read. Let us know when you do the coffee table book on doors of Italy! Ciao!
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Top reviews from the United States

Margie Miklas
5.0 out of 5 stars YOU HAD ME AT PAGE 1!
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
The engaging travel memoir, “Our Italian Journey,” grabbed my attention from the start, and I immediately felt as if co-authors, Ilene and Gary Modica, were talking to me in my living room.

By the third chapter I had tears in my eyes, as I identified with Ilene’s emotions of joy. Writing from their hearts, Ilene and Gary reveal truths about themselves as they share their story detailing the struggles to obtain Italian citizenship and their experiences living a year in Italy. Their genuine love for each other shines throughout the pages, and their passion for Italy is unmistakable. I particularly was intrigued as they described attending an opera in Verona and the Giostra del Saracino in Arezzo.

Entertaining and informative, “Our Italian Journey” details numerous encounters as the authors travel throughout the country, and the stories triggered my own memories, especially driving the winding roads in Sicily. An unexpected and special treat were the black-and-white photos inside the book.

Having been a frequent traveler to this beautiful country, I realize that vacationing in Italy is far different from living in the country. I appreciate their humorous descriptions of the often-frustrating procedures involved in accomplishing what Americans view as simple tasks.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever visited Italy, wants to visit, or has Italian roots. I guarantee you will enjoy the talented storytelling of Ilene and Gary. A wealth of information, a great read, and thoroughly entertaining. Brava!
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Coral
5.0 out of 5 stars Italy Dreaming
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
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I loved every story and page of the adventures recounted by Ilene and Gary over their Iatalian year. It brought back so many memories for me, having dreamed the Italian dream, too, with many similar experiences and stories and having visited or lived in many of the places they went to - it was like being there all over again, as I would so love to be. Ilene and Gary present the people, culture and idiosyncrasies of Italians and Italian life so well, showing them to be the warm, vivacious, charming people I have also found them to be, with a wonderful culture and cuisine to explore and get to know. And yet they don’t gloss over the irritating negatives that comprise the contradictions one must accept as part of the overall picture of Italy as well - the breathtakingly beautiful often juxtaposed with the unbelievably ugly! If you want to live the Italian dream vicariously through Ilene and Gary, this is the book for you and its is certain to have you keeping on turning the pages to find out what happens next. Thank you both - can’t wait to read in your next book about what does happen next!
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Phil
4.0 out of 5 stars Italian dream
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021
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Absolutely loved reliving much of our last Italian trip. Lots of new recommendations for our next trip too. Very easy and readable. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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Diane S.
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for Italy lovers!
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2020
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What would it be like to actually live out your dream? That’s what Ilene and Gary Modica did when they decided to become Italian citizens and live in Italy for a year. It was a true adventure to sell everything you own and leave the United States behind to spend a year in Italy. Their experience visiting Italian cities and towns from North to South (not necessarily in that order) was both entertaining and interesting to read about. Through anecdotes and observations about the differences between cultures and lifestyles, we can learn from their successes as well as some of the mistakes they made, and laugh with them along the way. Ilene and Gary share about the food they ate, the sights they saw, the festivals they experienced, the piazzas and duomos in every town, their travel experiences and accommodations. But most of all, they share their hearts through the relationships they made while visiting Italy, many which will last a lifetime. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book to read. And it is a book I can return to again and again if I want a quick reminder of what it is like to be in Italy. Also, they are inspiring me to make the most of my next opportunity to travel to Italy when we are able to once again. One excerpt from the book that made me smile was when Ilene and Gary met some young women studying abroad. Ilene was exclaiming how exciting she thought that was, but as the girls heard more about Ilene and Gary’s story, their response was “And you think our studying abroad is exciting? Look at both of you and your story. You are living a dream!” Ilene and Gary were brave enough to live their dream and share it with us. While reading this book I felt like I was able to share in the adventure with them! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Italy, whether they have been there already or plan to go in the future, or even if they never do. But once you read it, I think you’ll probably want to go!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story Told by A Delightful Couple Living Their Dream!
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023
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Reading about their journey to Italian citizenship and then a year exploring various Italian cities was like having a conversation with a close friend. I mean who would not want to live their dream!
I enjoyed the alternating pattern of Ilene and Gary both telling us their story. We learned from their triumphs as well as some of the blunders and the reader can laugh with them along the way. There writing style is heartfelt, charming and genuine.
I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed with Irene & Gary’s account of their travels around Italy. The book is fun, informative, honest and approachable.
Thank you, Ilene and Gary, for sharing your dream and experiences in this book!
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Top reviews from other countries

JoAn
5.0 out of 5 stars A very personal journey that you are invited to join
Reviewed in Italy on January 18, 2022
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Disclaimer: Ilene and Gary are good friends. We all now live in Lucca, Italy and have enjoyed much good food, too many bottles of wine, and several exciting adventures. And there will be more to come!

I bought this book after our initial meeting with Gary and Ilene to find out what kind of book that they wrote. I liked how it is organized as I was able to quickly look up their description of various Italian cities. The book is written as a series of short vignettes by either Ilene or Gary.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to read the book from cover-to-cover, to get a better sense of their “story”. The book is not only a travelogue and memoir, but also a cohesive story. It includes many interesting characters (Gary and Ilene of course, but also those they meet along the way), the conflict of wanting to living full time in Italy balanced against their desire to be with family in Arizona and the resolution of this conflict… their acceptance that they really do belong in Italy and will live part of each year in Italy.

Ilene and Gary’s writing style is light, friendly, descriptive, sometimes blunt, a bit emotional and often funny. I know that this is not only their writing style; this is reflective of their day-to-day personalities. Thank you, my friends, for sharing your story with all of us.

I recommend this book for those looking to experience some of the smaller gems of Italy, those wondering how others find their special city to live in, and for those that are dreaming of these things.
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Brigid P. Gallagher
5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Travel Memoir
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2020
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In pursuit of their dream of spending a year travelling through Italy, the authors describe the letting go of their home of 27 years, as well as most of their worldly possessions. A lengthier and more frustrating process of acquiring Italian citizenship spanned three long years.
Although they aimed to spend quality time based in several locations including Puglia, Florence, the Amalfi coast, Umbria and Verona, their pilgrimage to Gary's grandfather Sebastiano Modica's home town in Sicily, called Licodia Eubea is one of the highlights of their trip. Indeed, Gary is now the only Italian citizen in his family, and the emotion surrounding this milestone comes through in his writing.
I have enjoyed holidays in a number of the places they visited, but it did not lessen the enjoyment I derived from this delightful travel memoir. The couple include lots of travel tips, great places to eat, prices of train journeys, and other cultural activities...
"Our Italian Journey" is a great resource for would be travelers to Italy. I know I shall dip into it again and again.
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donna
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellissimo
Reviewed in Australia on May 20, 2022
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I feel like I’ve been on this wonderful journey…with Ilene and Gary….as I turned each page, another village, train ride, duormo…Italian lunch, dinner, with vino….memories of my own adventures in Italy came flooding back and I couldn’t put this lovely memoir down. I’ll look out for them around June 2023 when my cousin and I are planning a return to this amazing country.
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CR in Toronto
4.0 out of 5 stars An Italian Travel Diary
Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2021
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The American authors - a husband and wife who both contribute, spent a year after gaining Italian citizenship traveling throughout Italy, testing out various regions as part of a dream to live in Italy on a permanent part-time basis. As a fan of expat books, it was interesting to see how they rated various towns. However, this is a travel diary, and not really a story of living in Italy. Their days are spent being tourists, and not adjusting to life in Italy. The authors speak little (VERY little) Italian, and there are a few snide comments about Roma beggars, crowds and costs. Also, and this is not exclusive to the authors, they are not only keeping a travel diary, but blogging and posting on Instagram - and comment frequently on both the need to be involved in social media, plus the paybacks in terms of friends, suggestions and contacts. That said, the book describes a positive and life-changing event, the couple are very good travel companions, and they try to get a feel for the areas they have chosen - largely cities and towns already well known to international travellers. The book is well-edited, and the pace is lively enough to keep you interested. Plus, the book provides info on the authors' website, which has useful travel tips and links to other Italian sources. The authors clearly intended to return to Italy, but the coronavirus intervened. It will be interesting to know if they pursue their plans of more time in Italy, or whether their year-long trip was a one-off.
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Pietro
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellissimo!
Reviewed in Italy on November 26, 2020
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I haven't read it all but knowing the love of these two guys for my country I'm sure it's an amazing book!
Well done Gary and Ilene!
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