Visitare l'Italia nel 2015

Firstly I must appologise for the inconsistent blogging nature, juggling 3 jobs and what I have left of a life is tricky, but I promise to try and make more time for it!!

Now for the more exciting news of the day! I wanted to inform you all of my future plans as I am getting EXTREMELY excited for my next trip. I am off to Venice next week! It shall be my first time in Italy and one that is long overdue.

Photo taken from Casa Sant'Andrea Website: http://bit.ly/1FYXQ7q

I am away for 3 nights / 4 days with my boyfriend, staying at the Casa Sant'Andrea Hotel right along the Santa Chiara canal.

I have been warned of the sewage sitation in Venice and I am kind of glad that we are not visiting in the height of summer I have to say...

I shall have many photos and information about the accomodation and my first experience of Italy on my blog as soon as I am home! I can't wait to find a little coffee shop by the canal and get my notepad out, although the boyfriend may feel slightly neglected...

I have also once again emptied the bank account on yet another trip to Italy, this time to the South to finally visit the beautiful region of Basilicata at the beginning of July. For those of you who read my last blog on the Destinations Travel Show, you would have already heard about why it means so much for me to visit this region however for those that do not let me fill you in...

I work for redPepper Marketing who represents this stunning region, and having helped to write a guidebook and blogged about the area for over a year I felt that 2015 was the year I had to go. There is so much to see and do in Basilicata and has something for everyone of all ages, however I am travelling to the city of Matera with my best friend. Matera is such a special place, not only is it famous for its UNESCO world heritage site of the Sassi District, where lines of cave dwellings sit inside the rock, but it is also the European Capital of Culture for 2019. Pretty impressive huh?!

The Sassi, Matera 

Travelling from Bari, it is only a 45 minute drive from the airport into Matera, and our hotel is in the center! It is called Hotel Sassi and is a transformed cave dwelling. (For more info on hotels and other accomodation in Matera visit http://www.discoverbasilicata.com/accomodation/)

 I am visiting Matera at the start of July to not only catch a glimpse of the Southern Italian sunshine (and trust me with my current ghost like complexion I am in dire need of some!) but I am also going at that time for a reason. Annually on the second of July every year there is a big festival located in Matera, it's for the patron saint called The Madonna Della Bruna, where a day of festivites and excitement is based around a statue of the saint being carried around the town on a beautifully designed float, which later in the day is ripped apart by the crowds as a piece represents good fortune. The festival is ended by a fireworks display over the ravine.

There are lots of reasons why you should travel to  Basilicata but this event in particular is something special, and something I cannot wait to experience. For a more detailed description of the festival check out my blog on the 'discover basilicata' website! http://bit.ly/19tSVRf

Don't forget to keep up to date with me on twitter, instagram and facebook to get a live feed on all of my discoveries in Venice.

Speak to you soon,

Jadeene. x


Photos credited with permission from http://www.discoverbasilicata.com/

Heading to Kensington; The Destinations Travel Show

I have been so excited to blog about my experience at Destinations Travel Show! For those of you who don't know, (and don't worry I didn't either) Destinations is a big exhibition where companys, continents, countries and places from all over the world meet in one place to promote what they are and what they can offer to the travelling public.

Located at the Olympia Exhibition Centre this year, I hopped off the train at Kensington and stood in awe outside just bursting with excitement. I have to say it did feel good to slip down the 'B Entrance' with an Exhibitors pass, smiling stupidly as if I was some kind of member of the MI5. I embarrass myself.

The reason I was there is because I work for a marketing company called redPepper and we represent the beautiful region of Basilicata in Southern Italy. I was so excited to be on the stand because despite not having yet travelled to Basilicata, I am so passionate about the region, and our stand looked great.

After setting up the literature and preparing for a busy day, I got a quick chance to go and explore before they let in the public. The other stands were incredible; with places in the world I had never even seen before, I was like a kid in a sweet store! Unfortunately at that point I had to run back and get into promotion mode as they announced that the event had started.

It felt amazing to enlighten people on the region of Basilicata, 'it's a little hidden gem that Italy offers' I told people as they looked at our stand with puzzled faces, wondering if we were located in Spain, or Brazil. Many were put off by the lack of tourism in the region, looking for an all inclusive, all organised holiday without having to worry, although by the end we had managed to change peoples minds and open them up to a different kind of holiday all together. One with adventure, romance, scenery, culture and beauty, and it felt amazing to watch people turn from 'Ohh it's only Italy...' to 'Can we book with you today!'

On my lunch break I finally got to have a proper look around the exhibition and what I saw was truly incredible. Over in Africa and China there were native singers and dancers performing, and Switzerland even had 200 pound St Bernard sprawled out across their stand. It was madness!




Mentally I spent millions travelling the world, it was fascinating to learn so much about other places in the world first hand. I have to say one of my favourite parts was that they had an Indian street food van, and oh my, I had died and gone to heaven!


Being at Destinations has been a journey for me as it has made me realize just how important travel is and that this is really what I want to do, and representing Basilicata has just been an absolute joy. This summer I will be planning my journey to visit the region I know so much about and I hope you will still be following my travels to hear all about it.

In the mean time check out our website for Basilicata, (especially the blog pages where you will find more of my work there!) Maybe you will find a new destination to travel to and fall in love with it as much as I have. www.discoverbasilicata.com

Thanks for reading, see you on my next adventure,

Jadeene. x