I am fascinated by the intersection of
writing, art, and travel. And that's what I blog about on The
Gypsy's Guide. I often interview writers about their books (most
recently Donna Leon who lives in and writes about Venice). I write
about museums and other cultural treasures. Italy holds a special place
in my heart, and I write a lot about Italy and all things Italian.
But I love traveling and will do just about anything to hit the road,
and I always take my readers along with me.
Your book, "A Journey into Michelangelo's
Rome" is absolutely beautiful. Tell me what inspired you to write
it and what differentiates it from other books about Rome?
Thank you! I often take groups of travelers
to Italy, and I can't tell you how many tourists I've seen standing
in the middle of, say, Piazza San Pietro, clutching their 800-page guidebooks
and looking completely dazed. The problem with a huge guidebook
is that it tries to tell you everything and doesn't help you make
decisions about what to see or why.
A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome
is different. If you use Michelangelo's work as a theme for
your trip to Rome, you will see all of Rome's major attractions -
even the Colosseum and the Forum, which profoundly influenced Michelangelo
- but you'll also have a context for what you are seeing.
Standing in front of Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's is awe-inspiring.
Knowing the story behind the sculpture, how it was created, why, and
why if it was displayed differently it would be even more powerful -
well, that transforms your experience from one of awe to one of understanding.
And that's my goal!
What inspired you to join Passports
With Purpose this year?
First of all: I think it is a fabulous
idea! But above that, as a former teacher I have seen the transformative
power of an education, and to be able to help build a school... well,
who can say "no" to that?
Tell us about your prize
Oh, I am so excited about it! KiwiCollection.com
has donated a 2-night stay at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver, B.C.
The Shangri-La is a five-star hotel with an incredible restaurant, a
fabulous spa, and its in the heart of the city - a city that's hosting
the Olympics this winter!
I've stayed at several of the Kiwi
Collection's other hotels, and I can tell you that they only choose
the poshest, most luxurious hotels on the planet, so this is a prize
worth bidding on! "Shangri-La" means "paradise," and that's
what you get at the Shangri-La Hotel.
For more details and to see images, check
out my blog post:
Last year, your blog brought in a
particularly large number of donations for the Passports With Purpose
fundraiser. Can you tell us about some of the strategies you used to
encourage your readers to donate?
Well, there are a few things that I did:
- I included a link to my PwP
blog post at the bottom of every blog post.
- I sponsored a giveaway with
prizes including an entry into the PwP drawing of the winner's choice.
- I tweeted about my PwP blog
post often and asked for retweets.
- I added a PwP link to the
bottom of my email signature so that every email I sent during December
included a note about PwP.
- I sent out an email blast
to everyone I knew letting them know about PwP.
- And I talked it up everywhere!
Other bloggers promoted it on their blogs for me, and we helped to get
the word out.
When you have something good to talk
about, it is easy to talk about it a lot! And Passports with Purpose
is great! Besides, I have fabulous readers with truly generous spirits,
and that helps, too!
Bio:
Angela K. Nickerson is a writer, photographer,
and traveler. She frequently leads small groups on tours of Italy,
a country with which she is more than a little obsessed. She is the
author of two books about Rome (A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome
and Rome's Angels & Demons), and her third book, Washington D.C.'s
Lost Symbol, will be published in Spring, 2010.
I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to visit Cambodia
for a week in July 2009. Three things in particular made a lasting
impression on me.