We're still experiencing wild waves and an unsettled ocean. I went for sunset last night and even the bay was crazy and the wind insane! I love it all!

I just love this image from M Nacsaz of an oops in the rain in Venice. Astoundingly, I can count on one hand the number of times I've experienced rain in Italy. I'd kind of like to wander around lovely Venezia in a light rain. 

At E.U. airports, passport stamps are out and fingerprint scans are in Nearly 30 countries in Europe are requiring biometric scans under the new Entry/Exit System, or EES. This month (scheduled for OCT 12), the European Union will roll out an automated biometric program for foreign travelers entering nearly 30 countries.

I have the great pleasure of designing another itinerary including the glorious Lago Maggiore in Northern Italy. Normally folks think only of Lake Como, the most visited of the beautiful Italian Lakes. I have a soft spot in my heart for this lake since it was the first I visited. It was only a day trip, but I was enchanted and definitely mean to return one day.

Autumn in Italy feels unlike any other time of the year. The heat softens, the light takes on a golden tone, and the country seems to exhale after the intensity of the summer. Vineyards are full of harvest activity, village squares come alive with local festivals like the one pictured below, and even the busiest cities welcome travelers at a calmer rhythm.

Naturally, today's water view is of the magnificent Grand Canal in Venice. I've said it many times before on these pages: when I am coming into the lagoon - either from the airport or Santa Lucia train station (pictured below in all her glory) the view coming around the corner into the Grand Canal totally takes my breath away!

I was having lunch last week at Victoria's on the Boardwalk in Reho and snapped this view of the late summer beachgoers. It was a delightful day to be on the water.

Debi Jo has been grabbing me up to go to see the sunset on the Lewes Pier. I am so grateful to her for her spontaneity.

While Hurrican Erin has not made landfall, those of us on the Delaware Shore are certainly feeling her effects. Whether serene or stormy, I find it all quite beautiful.

Ladies, let's talk about capsule wardrobes.