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This was a perfect day in Rome, Italy — assuming you like abundant amounts of sunshine and heat! I walked all over the city (at least it felt like all over), and saw many of its famous sites. A great thing about Rome is how walkable it is — so many sites are within walking distance, it’s incredible!

The Spanish Steps are one of the most famous locations in Rome. On this hot, sunny day in July, people were dangling their feet in the fountain, and umbrellas were popular items for the street vendors.

Visitors always want to sit on the famous Spanish Steps, but today, everyone was crowded together, in the one little spot on the steps. Today, nobody wanted the sunny side of the street (or the sunny side of the steps)!

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I’m in Italy now, checking things out for a future version of our Italy tour for women. Rome is one of my favorite cities on earth. There’s so much history here, and so much art, and so much life… it’s fascinating, awe-inspiring, and so much fun!

I have a confession. When I lived in New York City, I was a gym-a-holic. This is a more serious distinction than being a gym rat. A gym-a-holic spends most of her time working out at an indoor fitness center. Ask her to go away for a hiking weekend, and she will worry about missing her Saturday 8AM aerobic class.

I was cured of this affliction when I was introduced to the great outdoors. Much to my dismay, I discovered that while I might look good in ski clothes, hiking shorts or rafting gear, my indoor fitness routine did little to enhance my outdoor skills.

So what was lacking? Spontaneity! How do you react to a sudden change in terrain on a hiking trail or a ski slope? What do you do when you encounter unexpected rapids on a white water trip? Do you have the spontaneity, or as we fitness experts call it, agility to respond appropriately? The elliptical machine, as well as the leg extension machine and other traditional forms of exercise equipment are predictable in their movements. However Mother Nature is fond of surprising her daughters. She builds their character by presenting them with changes.

Balance challenges are another form of these changes. Suppose that you are hiking along a trail, and you suddenly come across a stream. The only way to cross this stream is by stepping over a series of rocks. “No problem!” you say. “I’ve been practicing the Yoga Tree Pose for years. Uh oh! We have a problem! The tree pose is a static exercise. Crossing a stream involves dynamic balance, or balance in motion.

Does this mean that you need to give up your gym workouts? No way! However, there are ways to make your workout “outdoor friendly.” Here are just a few:

• Use Balance Training Equipment: Many weight-training exercises can be performed on the ball, bosu or balance board.
• Go to the Playground: Hopscotch and other park games can enhance balance and agility.
• Play with a Kid or a Puppy: If you don’t have either of these, borrow from a friend. Nothing is more effective in increasing speed in reaction time!

A gym-a-holic trains her muscles to look good while lying on the beach. An adventurous wench trains her muscles for action, and ends up looking pretty darn good in the process. Which are you?

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This is a first post from a new guest blogger, Lisa Mercer. Lisa is a fitness expert who lives in Colorado, and she’ll be contributing articles and and then. If you’re thinking of a women’s adventure trip, check out her tips!

Santorini, one of the Greek Islands, is a fantastic volcanic island in the Aegean. Thousands of years ago, the center of the island was destroyed in a massive eruption. The islands that survive today are pieces of the rim of the crater, plus some newly formed islands in the center (the volcano is still active). See map of Santorini…

Boats take you into the enormous crater, because it’s full of the sea now. The main towns on the island, Fira and Oia, are perched at the top of the rim. The whitewashed buildings lining the top of the brown cliffs remind me of snow-capped mountains, but it’s much too hot for that today!

The result of this arrangement is that it’s a loooong way down (almost 600 steps) from the town to the waterfront, or a long way up the other way! The traditional way to do this is by donkey. Being a person who loves to walk, I decided to take the steps on my own two feet down to meet a boat one morning. Sure enough, I met many donkeys on the path, carting tourists up the steps. In fact, you can pretty much find your way to the stairs by following your nose.

Our Greece guide, Susan, warned me about this.

In the morning, it’s OK, but as the day goes by, you’ve got to watch out for more and more steaming, fragrant piles. By late in the day, the local guides call it the giant donkey poo luge.”

The morning walk wasn’t bad, but when I returned that afternoon, I took the new-fangled cable car to the top instead.

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I’m in Greece now, checking out some options for a new Greek Islands tour. Santorini is definitely worth a stop, but if you decide to take the stairs to the old port, morning is recommended!

Monday inspiration:

All good fortune is a gift of the gods, and you don’t win the favor of the ancient gods by being good, but by being bold.”
~ Anita Brookner

Here in the land of ancient gods, this quote rings true! I’m in Rome now, and one thing is certain — those Roman emperors who ruled the ancient world were bold, and accomplished many things. Were they good guys? Not most of them. Bold? Definitely!

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I’m in Italy now, scoping out a new Italy trip for women for 2009. I’ve always been fascinated with Rome, and the amazing history here. And Pompeii (the lost city, buried by a volcano) is another all-time favorite. I’ll keep you posted on what I come up with!

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On the Greek island of Mykonos, the main town is full of tiny winding streets like this. Well, kind of like this, except that they’re often full of shops and people!

As you wander through the streets, it feels a lot like you’re walking through a labyrinth. It’s most fun if you’re wandering without a fixed destination, just taking in the sights (and perhaps a few of those shops)!

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I’m in Greece now, visiting a few islands in conjunction with plans for a new women’s trip to Greece. It’s so gorgeous in the islands — it gives me fantasies of moving here, just like Shirley Valentine.

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Our last night in Ireland, we stayed at Ballyseedy Castle. The grounds are beautiful, and the imposing entryway flanked by lions. Just as you’d expect from a castle!

Rather than looking ferocious, this lion looks a bit forlorn to me. It’s like he’s saying “everybody just walks right by, and nobody wants to play with me”.

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This was the final stop on our annual Ireland women’s tour. It’s fun to stay in a castle with lions at the door, and suits of armor standing in the hallways!

Innisfallen Island (or Inishfallen) is in Killarney National Park, Ireland. There are 3 lakes there — lower, middle and upper. Historic Innisfallen is in the lower lake, known as Lough Leane - Lake of Learning.

During the dark ages, when classical learning was forgotten across most of Europe, isolated Ireland remained a center of scribes and scholarship. It’s quite possible that Ireland’s role during this period saved much of ancient Greek and Roman science, philosophy and the arts from being lost forever. That story is in How the Irish Saved Civilization.

We took a small boat from Ross Castle (fascinating place) out onto the lake. The castle receded, we passed a flock of swans and a few smaller islands, then reached Innisfallen. Asking the boatman to leave us there long enough for picnic lunch & exploration, we stepped ashore.

The 1st monastery here was founded in the 6th or 7th century AD by St. Finian the Leper, and the island was occupied for 700 years. It was ideal for a contemplative monastic life. Eventually, Innisfallen became a major center of learning — Europe’s first University in centuries. Princes were sent from all over Europe to study on this tiny island. This was the A-list school at the time!

Killarney National Parks: Aerial photo of the island

On this day, we ate our picnic lunch just outside the ruined walls of Inishfallen Abbey. It’s a beautiful and atmospheric place. Wandering through the ruins of buildings and cloisters, you can imagine monks scratching away at manuscripts day after day, and lads of privilege at their studies. No doubt there was a sense of excitement at the time — everyone knew they were in a special place.

Many centuries later, it’s so quiet we had the island to ourselves.

Echoes still seem to linger.

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This was part of our Ireland tour for women that just finished up. The Inishfallen visit made me wonder how different my own college years would have been if spent on a little island with monks. (-:

We walked a portion of the Dingle Way, around the end of Ireland’s spectacular Dingle peninsula, with its rugged coastline views. It was a glorious day for a walk.

We walked by and through many rock-walled fields, scattering sheep as we went. As you walk, it’s easy to see why both the rocks and the sheep make sense. The land is very marginal — mostly rocks, with patches of moss and grass. Everything was built of stone, and rock fences and buildings were advantageous by-products of trying to clear the fields. Sheep can handle this territory, able to pick their way through steep rocky hillsides, eating wherever they find some green.

One of the fascinating sights along the way is a series of stone beehive huts. The huts are reminiscent of those at Skellig Michael. Evidence shows these probably had a different purpose, though.

Unlike the huts on the Skelligs, which were part of a long-lived monastic community, the huts here were used for people in transit. This would probably have been folks who were on a pilgrimage, perhaps to Skellig Michael or one of Ireland’s other holy sites. If you were traveling to the Skelligs a thousand years ago, you might have had to hold up for a considerable period, waiting for weather and waves to moderate enough for a safe crossing to the island.

Several of these beehives were scattered along the way. While most of the huts were stand-alone, a few of them were combined into multi-unit structures — for all the world, like ancient motels.

Most of the beehives have had their roofs removed now. Like the US, Ireland has become a litigious society, and ancient roofs could prove a liability. What a shame! These mortarless huts stood for centuries, and now we purposely chop them off — destroying history for the sake of trespassers who might decide to climb on the roof.

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We’re in Ireland now for our annual women’s trip to Ireland. It’s such a fascinating place, full of history and culture — both ancient and modern. Imagine living here, with a 1,000-year old beehive “motel” in your back yard!