We’ve all seen the books: An author picks up and moves to Europe, simple as that, rediscovers himself or herself, and then, after the book is out … so are they.
Maria Cannavo, on the other hand, moved to Sicily about a dozen years ago and is still there. She spoke with Earthbound Expeditions co-founder Danna Brumley about why she stayed:
“It was always in my mind and it was certainly always in my heart,” Cannavo said.
In 2000, her family rented a villa in Tuscany. A good visit, she said, though not her first. But Italy really grabbed her.
“As soon as I put my foot on the soil, I knew I was home,” she said.
When she returned to Seattle, she took Italian lessons and then made the move. She looked to her family heritage -- Sicilian roots -- for guidance on where to go, and she's been in Sicily ever since.
Today, she's a local guide leading visitors through Sicily. She occasionally works for Earthbound Expeditions. And life in Sicily, she says, is a lot different than what she experienced each day in Seattle.
“I’m not getting up as early as I did. I’m not putting a suit on and coming home and being so tired,” she said. “It is a quieter life, a more pure life. Less complicated. Priorities are just really what make sense to me: Family, food, conversation.”
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"Going Places" is 88.5's weekly exploration of travel. Danna Brumley is co-founder of Earthbound Expeditions on Bainbridge Island, which provides small group travel to clients including KNKX. Never miss an episode again. Subscribe to Going Places with iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher.
