Program 765: Sicilian Splendors; Off the Rails; Favorite Hot Springs

A popular Italian columnist claims that the original talk shows were the conversations you might strike up on a train ride. On the next Travel with Rick Steves, Beppe Severgnini [ sev-er-KNEE-nee ] tells us about some of his most memorable adventures by rail.

A retired journalist from Salt Lake City tells us why the island of Sicily feels like home to him now.

And a photojournalist from Maine shares what the atmosphere is like at some of her favorite hot springs around the world.

• John Keahey, author of "Sicilian Splendors" (St. Martin's Press)
• Journalist Beppe Severgnini, author of "Off the Rails" (Berkley)
• Photojournalist Greta Rybus, author of "Hot Springs" (Ten Speed Press)

• John Keahey is the author of "Sicilian Splendors," among other Italy-based titles, including "Following Caesar." He spoke with Rick about following the ancient route from Rome to today's Istanbul on Travel with Rick Steves program #737 in December 2023.
• Beppe Severgnini is an editor and columnist for Italy's largest-circulation daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera. Books he's written include "Off the Rails: A Train Trip Through Life," "Ciao, America!," and his latest, "Italian Lessons: Fifty Things We Know About Life Now."
• Beppe spoke with Rick on Travel with Rick Steves program #730 about what he noticed his fellow Italians were learning from the pandemic lockdowns, and offered us a few useful Italian phrases to know on program #750.
• Greta Rybus is a freelance photojournalist, specializing in editorial portraiture, travel, and documentary photography, and the author of "Hot Springs: Photos and Stories of How the World Soaks, Swims, and Slows Down." She also posts her photos on Instagram.

• Freedom Dub, featuring Edmundo, "Melancolía Urbana," Buenos Aires-Paris: The Electronic Tango Anthology, disc 2 (collection) / PMB Music (Argentina)
• SEL_SEL_6067_06501_Tarantella_Mandolino_APM
• Sarabanda, "Ballo Della Cordella," Sarabanda / Ethnoworld
• Diego Barbaro, "Addiu 'Ndrangheta," Il Canto di Malavita (collection) / Play It Again Sam
• I Giullari di Piazza, "Canto di Iside," Earth Sun & Moon / Lyrichord
• * Ekaterina-Seoan, "Under the Moon (Full Moon Mix)," Buenos Aires-Paris: The Electronic Tango Anthology, disc 1 (collection) / PMB Music (Argentina)
• MYMA_JUST_0152_03401_E_L_Italia_Instrumental_APM
• Campbell Brothers, "Morning Train," None But the Righteous: Masters of Sacred Steel (collection) / Rope A Dope Records
• OMI_OMN_0204_00101_Ride_the_Rails_APM
• MEZ_MEZ_0050_00601_Incontro_Dei_Boss_APM
• I Solisti Veneti, "'Andante molto' from 'Concerto for Two Mandolins' (Vivaldi)," Relax with the Classics vol. 1: Largo (collection) / LIND Institute
• * Pat Metheny Group, "Last Train Home," Still Life (Talking) / Geffen
• A Mighty Forest Black, "Tides," Berlin Lounge-Berlin By Day (collection) / Wagram (France)
• MEZ_MEZ_0050_01401_Il_Tempo_Che_Passa_APM
• Giulio Regondi Guild, "Leisure Moments No. 4 (Allegretto)," The Great Regondi, vol. 2: original compositions by the 19th Century's Unparalleled Guitarist and Concertinist / Bridge Records
• KPM_KPMWM_0060_03210_Misty_Lullaby_a_60_APM
• SON_SCDC_3844_01401_Sketches_Op_4-idylle_APM
• CEZ_CEZ_4495_00701_The_Business_Community_APM
• Ottmar Liebert y Luna Negra, "Nuevo Mexico," Opium, disc 1 / Epic

* Indicates filler music used during internal breaks on the broadcast

• At 35:25, Beppe tells Rick he was married 37 years ago.