Gitana Blog

Interactive Travel: Italy! Tell Gina Where to Go

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:53:08 +0000

I’m doing it again. Yes, traveling (I do that on occasion). But more than that. I’m opening my vacation up to the input, suggestions and perhaps even a few dares from my readers (and in this instance, fellow prior blogville residents). Be gentle. So, you may have seen some buzz going around Twitter about #BlogVille. [...]

Phabulous Phoenix – Changing my Rustic Perceptions of Arizona

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:56:52 +0000

We all have long-held biases of places. Opinions we formed when we were less open-minded or on family road trips driving through desert territory without air conditioning. Most of my ignorant perceptions of my neighboring state of Arizona were forged under these conditions. I’m old enough to have experienced a family car (a Ford Pinto, [...]

My New Reality: Escape with Me to ‘Escape Routes’ in LA!

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 05:54:58 +0000

Those of you who follow me on Twitter as @SuuperG and here on my blog know me to be a bit of an adventuress; hiking locally and in Italy, skiing faster than my skill dictates, kayaking, paragliding, belly dancing (TRUST me! It’s an adventure when a mid-forties woman publicly bares her midriff while shimmying!), driving [...]

Venice, Italy – My Summer In Photos

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:20:46 +0000

A little about me: I like to travel. And when I’m not traveling, my mind wanders. ~ Gina Stark I’ve been wistfully breezing and browsing through my Venice travel photos from last summer, and I realized I was remiss in my sharing. Venice – well Italy in general – is so very vibrant and colorful [...]

Six Reasons to Savor Spain

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:57:23 +0000

Flamenco: I was first blessed with the good fortune to enjoy authentic, rustic and spontaneous flamenco in Madrid during the summer I spent there in my wide-eyed eighteenth year. I stayed with my American girlfriend who was living there and had fettered out the best local places for food-ing, disco-ing and flamenco gawking. Let’s just [...]

Living La Vida Local: Santa Barbara’s I Madonnari Art Festival

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:22:53 +0000

Living the local life in Santa Barbara while I house-sit definitely has it’s perks. But the fact that I once again was present in town for the celebrated sidewalk chalk drawings of the I Madonnari exhibition in Santa Barbara was no coincidence, as it always falls on the weekend nearest this same friend’s birthday. So [...]

Gratitudinousness – What I am Thankful for Today and Always

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:56:00 +0000

Gratitudinousness. It’s one of my favorite conjured words. And it really works in that gratitude is such a BIG concept…I think it kinda needs more greedy letters “We don’t need more to be thankful for, we might just need to be more thankful.” Unknown Many who know me in my life and on Twitter and [...]

Road Tripping: Coasting the California Coast

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:36:04 +0000

Being a Southern California native, I’ve cruised up the California coast many times in my life. But I’ve never driven north of Santa Barbara on my own. Never. Until this last week when I was enticed to venture farther north in my trusty little Prius to attend a wine-tasting ocean view tweetup at the lovely [...]

Travel Recipe: My “Spanish Madre’s” Gazpacho

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:16:38 +0000

Last week I shared the fact that I was whipping up a batch of my favorite cold summer “soup”, gazpacho, and Brad Spencer on Twitter goaded me into sharing it. OK, actually, I am happy and proud to share this recipe, as for me it represents true food love that was lavished up me by [...]

The Italian Dolomites: Local Flavor, Spellbinding Witches and Thrilling Thunder

Gina "SuuperG" Stark — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 06:56:34 +0000

One of the special perks of touring with an experienced guide is the introduction to local people who are more than happy to share their grappa or limoncello as well as the more secret and intimate treasures of their home region. Which Witch? Petra was one such gem that our guide Gary Scott arranged for [...]