Corinna Cooke

Do you twirl spaghetti around your fork or cut it?

My name is Corinna and I am an inveterate spaghetti twirler. My favorite place to twirl spaghetti? Italy!

I have been traveling to Italy for decades, both as a vacation traveler and as a private tour guide. I have criss-crossed the country, have been lost and have been found, may have eaten my own weight in pasta (Well, maybe not my entire weight…) have tried wines from every region I've been to, have made lifelong friends there, and have found absolute joy exploring every town, village, city and Autogrill along the way.

I am an international makeup artist, I blog at Corinna B’s World, and I am the beauty director for a national magazine. I love all things beauty and glamour, high heels, oversized sunglasses and pasta!

My book Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy teaches you how to create your own very fabulous and very affordable Italian vacations. That trip that seemed unattainable is actually well within your reach! I not only want you to visit Italy but want to show you how to do it with a little flair and without breaking the bank. I take the stress out of planning your trip and then give you loads of help on the ground once you are in Italy. From how to order coffee to how to use the trains, how to choose a restaurant and not end up in an overpriced tourist trap, to important things to know about renting cars. I even teach you how to get your sales tax back. (At 22% that money adds up!) I also show you what to do if things go wrong or if you get sick while you are away. This book is full of incredibly helpful advice for any traveler.

Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Rome takes you away from the crowds and introduces you to completely amazing places hiding in plain sight, right under your nose in the heart of the Eternal City. These are places the tour buses DON'T go to, so although you are just down the street from the tourist masses there will be few other people if any, where we are going! Rome is a city rich in stories so every place I bring you to I tell you the story behind, not only giving you context but adding to the magic of an already magical city. This book is designed to make you fall in love with Rome, the way I have.

Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Florence tackles another spectacular but heavily touristed city. As with Rome, tourists in Florence tend to stick to the same handful of attractions. This means the most well known spots are crowded and you can have a long wait to see anything. Meanwhile 95% of the wonderful things to see in Florence get very few visitors.

This book does take you through the big sites, tells you the stories behind the places you are visiting, gives you specific items to look for and strategies to escape the crowds - Florence is too little not to see them and it would be crime to miss them. Then I take you through my secret Florence to discover places the crowds don't see. Everything is within a 20 minute walk from the Duomo, and most places are within a block or two of where you will be anyway. You will be amazed when you walk 500 meters from the most crowded place in Florence and find yourself in the most beautiful Renaissance piazza, full of history and art, ghost stories and miracles, and few other visitors!

All of my books guide you to which wines to order in that region, which local foods you must try, restaurants, aperitivo bars, places to take in the most beautiful sunsets, shopping, markets to visit and much, much more. These books are designed to give you a better, more fulfilling travel experience in Italy and enjoy places the tour bus crowds don't know about.

Find me on Instagram @CorinnaTravels and on Facebook Corinna Cooke Author. Join my newsletter at www.CorinnaCooke.com to learn about more secret places in Italy to add to your itinerary, and foods and festivals you won't want to miss out on!

See you in the piazza,

Corinna