Steenie Harvey
International’s Living’s Roving Euro Editor, Steenie Harvey also frequently travels throughout Asia. She has researched and written a number of IL’s European Owner’s Manuals as well as the Import/Export Kit and the Work Overseas Kit. Other publishing credits include three books for Avalon Travel Publishing as well as numerous articles for U.S., British, Irish, Australian, and German publications. Along with travel and real estate, her writing interests also include European history and folklore. In addition, Steenie also teaches at travel writers workshops organized by the American Writers and Artists Institute. Born in Britain of English and Latvian parents, Steenie made the move to Ireland’s County Roscommon some 17 years ago. She has first-hand experience of life as an expat: how to rent and buy property, pass the Irish driving test, cope with a new tax system–and put a daughter through convent school.
Articles by Steenie Harvey
Compared to other major European capitals, Berlin property is remarkably inexpensive. For example, 89,900 euro ($117,000) buys a well-maintained, 45-square-meter apartment with stucco details in a Prenzlauer Berg Altbau dating from 1902. Prices like that don’t exist anywhere in London or Paris, let alone in their fashionable districts.
Together-forever partners. Passing fancies. Torrid affairs. Love comes in many guises— and Italy was made for amore. Yet although Florence is a love song to art and culture, it doesn’t fit my idea of a romantic summer getaway.
I don’t enjoy spending my own money. Not if I can spend someone else’s. After all, travel writers give publicity to a destination which then helps ‘sell’ it to a wider audience. And studies have shown that readers pay far more attention to a travel story than an advertisement.
Tucked between the southern regions of Andalucia and Valencia, Murcia delivers the best of Spanish essentials: mild winters, wine villages, tapas bars, fantastic beaches and (for Europe) relatively low living costs. You may ask “why Murcia”—a region that’s almost unknown to North Americans. Especially when Spanish property values have slumped.
I never imagined breakfasting outdoors in December. Not in Europe. Then again, I’ve never visited the Murcia region before.
Whether you’re shopping for traditional wooden toys, nutcrackers, tree decorations or unusual gifts, nowhere does Christmas markets quite like Germany. And Berlin, the capital, has over 50 Weihnachtsmärkte to investigate in the four week Advent run-up to Christmas.
I’m in northern Tuscany’s Lunigiana, the “Land of 100 Castles”. Originally built in the late 12th century, Fosdinovo is one of its best. Crowning a hilltop, it’s a square, fortress-like structure with inner garden courtyards and gorgeous tapestries. Incredibly gruesome stories, too.
Even travel writers need escapes. One of my favorite getaways is Alicante, a city on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Yes, I know I’ve disparaged “the Costas” in the past. Spain-without-the-Spanish…paunchy northern Europeans overdosing on sun, sex, and cheap booze…hideous plastic donkeys…concrete jungles…acres of lookalike vacation homes. So why Alicante? Well, there’s a big difference between seaside cities and purpose-built resorts. Alicante is lively, sunny, and inexpensive, for sure. But it’s also charming, fairly sophisticated, and its ambiance is as Spanish as that of Madrid.
Many people dream of getting paid for their passion for travel. But few ever take that first step of turning dreams into reality. I’m just back from teaching at AWAI’s travel writer’s workshop. Our “students” came from all backgrounds and walks of life—and there wasn’t one who didn’t have what it takes to be a travel writer.
If you have to ask: What’s so special about walnuts?, then you’ve never visited the Dordogne. Noix (walnuts) grow in abundance in this tranquil area of south-west France. It has a special walnut route, and the nuts are brand-protected by an AOC appellation just like French wines. Near the chateau-topped village of Castelnaud, there’s even a museum devoted to walnut culture.
I’m sitting in the sun outside Concetta’s bar, sampling the local nectar. It may sound suspiciously like relaxation, but don’t be fooled. This is work—I’m researching longevity. This could be the key to rewinding my biological clock (yours too). Intense purplish-red, Cannonau certainly tastes healthy. And it’s only $2.10 a glass.
Twenty years down the road, I wouldn’t swap my lifestyle for anything. But the start of the road might have been easier—and the spoils more lucrative—if I’d known these seven things beforehand.
Around an hour from Rome, Lago di Bolsena shimmers in the Lazio sunshine like a liquid forget-me-not. Unlike northern Italy’s lakes, Bolsena is almost unknown to foreign visitors. But so too is the Maremma, the old name for northern Lazio and the southernmost reaches of Tuscany.
Steenie shares her best tips on becoming a top travel writer
Dinner time on the Chinese island of Hainan Dao, but I don’t feel hungry. When presented with what resembles the diseased body parts of Things From Outer Space, your appetite tends to vanish.
Even travel writers need escapes. One of my favorite getaways is Alicante, a city on Spain’s Costa Blanca.
Wednesday is market day in Piégut-Pluviers, a town in the north of Aquitaine’s Dordogne département. A French country market is a gastronomic Garden of Eden, so leaving these stalls of foie gras, saucissons and cheeses feels like being cast into the wilderness.
The Latin phrase festina lente (make haste slowly) suits the Maremma in Italy. It’s as if the air compels you to slow down and really savor Italy’s sweet life. But why savor it only on vacation? A move-into village house could be yours for $63,000. And consider this: You’d only be a 90-minute drive from Rome.
Known as the “Etruscan Coast,” golden beaches fringe the Maremma—the historic name for part of southern Tuscany and northern Lazio. Overlooked by the ancient Etruscan stronghold of Populonia, this beach is on the Golfo di Baratti.
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