
Why Sicily?
Travel has the power to open your mind and your heart.
If you've been to Italy then you have probably been to the much visited cities of Rome, Florence and Venice. At 736 miles long, Italy's mainland is varied from north to south in its topography as well as its cuisine and history, which means there's so much more to see in Italy!
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What I love most about Sicily, besides its beauty, is the mesh of cultures that is so evident in its architecture, food and its people. Its strategic position located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea means that various civilizations have occupied this island during its 3,000 year history. Everywhere you go you see evidence of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, French, Germans, Spanish, Italians, and even the British, who have all left their mark on Sicily, transforming it the stunning place that it is today.
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The villa Il Baglio (pronounced Balio) della Sorgente resides 15 minutes from a sandy beach and 35 minutes from the Baroque towns of Ragusa and Modica. Our villa host, The Thinking Traveller, has been voted the world's #1 villa rental company four years in a row by Condé Nast Traveller Readers Travel Award. Their service and luxury properties are top notch.
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To see all of Italy is to fall even more in love with Italy!



Discover the transformative power of travel as you immerse yourself in a different language and culture.
I was 21 when I first I fell in love with Italy and every time I go back I find something more to love about it.
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© The Thinking Traveller
Noto, A UNESCO World Heritage sight
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Hilltop town of Ragusa
"I now have a new milestone aroud which to define myself...who I was before my THRIVE Retreat versus who I've become since. I can’t wait until the next one!" - Sarah N.
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"The THRIVE Retreat was life changing and Paula was truly amazing. A piece of the retreat will live in my heart forever." - Marianna M.
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"To combine a trip to one of the most beautiful and ancient civilizations, with the camaraderie of women who became fast friends, and the exploration of your life's direction - THAT is a gift to yourself, and an investment that continually pays returns back in real life." - Greta C.
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"This retreat was life changing for me. I'm so glad for saying YES to this experience that nurtured me as a yoga teacher and as a person. Of course I'm planning to attend her next retreat! I'm looking forward to reuniting with the women I already met and meeting more fabulous people there!" Claudia F.
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Why Italy?
"You left one person and came back another."
Those are the words my mother said to me after I spent a semester in Florence, Italy.
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The fact was, I hadn't become a different person, I was just more of who I truly am.
Traveling around Italy I became more confident and resilient. My eyes were opened to a different culture and a different way of doing things. I had also fallen in love with the culture, the food, the history and the sights. Italy holds a special place in my heart and that's why I continue to go back thirty years later.

Summer of 2018 traveling to Sicily with my husband and three kids.

My work in Positive Psychology is what lead me to make these retreats a reality.
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I combined my strength of bringing a community of women together in a positive, life transforming way with my knack of creating amazing travel experiences, added my love of Italy and my THRIVE Retreats were born!
I'm a certified life coach and hold a certification in Positive Psychology. For 7 years I have been coaching and leading women to make positive, life transforming changes.
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Near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence Italy 1989.