About Sarah Humphreys

Sarah Humphreys is originally from near Liverpool, UK and has lived in Canada, The USA, The Czech Republic, Greece and Italy. She currently lives in Pistoia, near Florence, where she teaches English, writes freelance and is a part-time poet. She has been writing since she could hold a pencil and her passions include Literature, poetry, music and travel.
Find her on Google+ here

Palermo Sizzles with Culture, Art, History and Gastronomy

March 30, 2018 By Sarah Humphreys

Palermo is the Italian Capital of Culture for 2018: Founded by the Phoenicians, once belonging to the Roman and Byzantine Empires, ruled by the Arabs, the Normans and the Spanish, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire for a short time, Palermo has a real mosaic of history. … [Read more...]

Carnival Time in Viareggio!

February 14, 2018 By Sarah Humphreys

A thought-provoking spectacle of colour, irreverence, satire and entertainment: "Rifiuti da Incubo" which roughly translates as "Nightmare Waste" is supposed to be a comment on the laws that force restaurants to throw away excess food and the taxes and bureaucracy which prevent chefs from … [Read more...]

A Night at the Opera – Italian style!

July 18, 2017 By Sarah Humphreys

Flamboyant, emotional, dramatic - Italian opera is so unapologetically...Italian! It is surely no coincidence that opera, with its flamboyant, emotional and dramatic style, was born in Italy. Opera is the perfect medium for appreciating the beauty and musicality of the Italian language and … [Read more...]

Liquid Gold – La Raccolta (Olive Harvest) in Tuscany.

November 14, 2016 By Sarah Humphreys

It's Autumn in Tuscany, and time to harvest the olives! It’s autumn in Tuscany and, once again, time to get the nets out and prepare for La Raccolta - the olive harvest. La Raccolta in Tuscany normally takes place between October and December, before the olives fall from the trees, but it is … [Read more...]

Food, Glorious Food. A quick guide to eating in Italy.

October 25, 2016 By Sarah Humphreys

Italian food is an institution: don't let its unwritten rules catch you out... Oscar Wilde once said,“ I can’t stand people who do not take food seriously.” He would have been perfectly happy with Italians. Italian food is an institution and one of the main attractions for overseas visitors. It … [Read more...]

Siena – The Soul of Tuscany

November 3, 2015 By Sarah Humphreys

No trip to Tuscany is complete without seeing Siena, Florence’s historical rival According to legend, the city was founded by Senius and Aschius, the sons of Remus and nephews of Romulus, boys saved from the Tiber river by a she-wolf, who were the main characters of Rome’s foundation myth. Senius … [Read more...]

Piecing together Ravenna’s mosaic of attractions

March 11, 2015 By Sarah Humphreys

Is Ravenna the best place to live in Italy? Despite being recently voted "Best Place to Live in Italy" by a leading newspaper Il Sole 24 ore, proud possessor of 8 UNESCO sites, burial place of Dante and home to Byron for a couple of years, Ravenna is strangely neglected by … [Read more...]

Liverpool- “A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed For All”

October 13, 2014 By Sarah Humphreys

Liverpool,"Queen of the North", is famous for a lot more than the Beatles The city that Carl Jung described as “the pool of life” certainly breathes vitality, warmth and enthusiasm difficult to find elsewhere. It is surely no coincidence that the street connecting two of Liverpool’s biggest … [Read more...]

Hidden Tuscany: Pistoia – An Insider’s Perspective.

August 31, 2014 By Sarah Humphreys

Local resident Sarah Humphreys gives you the inside story on this Tuscan gem: In the words of Cristina Taddei, local archaeologist and historian, “ Pistoia is one of the few towns in Tuscany that still belongs to the past.” Largely overlooked by tourists, Pistoia is a well-preserved medieval … [Read more...]