FOOD WORTH TRAVELING FOR ! Do you eat to live, or do you live to eat? Denis and I are definitely in the latter category. In fact, we will travel long distances just to eat in the restaurant where a favorite recipe was created. Such a trip is even more exciting if the chef who…
Venice at Carnival time, Simply Magical !
VENICE at Carnival Time, Simply Magical ! Enchantment I first visited Venice when I was 19 while traveling throughout Italy. I was impressed by the many ancient monuments of Rome still standing and the glorious Renaissance art and architecture of Florence, but I was truly enchanted by Venice with its unique lifestyle of water travel,…
The Provincial Charms of Salento in Italy
VIKING OCEAN CRUISES ~ Perfect Ports of Call & Excursions
VIKING OCEAN CRUISES ~ Perfect Ports of Call & Excursions In 2015, Viking Ocean Cruises launched its first ocean-going ship, the Viking Star, with an innovative approach to cruising built upon its success on the rivers of this world. Viking has met with formidable applause from the critics and public alike ever since. If you…
Baroque splendor, postcard beauty, that’s Southeast Sicily!
From the metropolitan expanse of Catania in the shadow of magnificent Mount Etna to the layered climbs of hillside Modica, from the coastal charms of ancient Siracusa to the postcard beauty of hilltop Ragusa, from the picturesque fishing villages of Aci Costello and Aci Trezza to the baroque splendor of Noto, southeast Sicily is an…
Gradara : If you love Romeo and Juliet, go to Gradara !
Gradara : If you love Romeo and Juliet, go to Gradara ! When we left the town of Rimini, located on the Adriatic coast of Italy at the southern edge of the province of Emilia Romagna, and headed south to the neighboring region of Marche (in English “the Marches”), I did not expect to see…
My lifelong affair with Spaghetti alla Carbonara!
In 1968, Time Life Books released a new book about cooking, “Recipes from Italy”. Up until then, my idea of Italian food did not extend much further than veal piccata, spaghetti with meatballs, or pepperoni pizza. But my girlfriend was intent on becoming a good cook, and, following carefully the instructions from the book, she…
SAVVY TIPS: For a superb view of Firenze, go shopping!
It only takes a bit of sunshine to inundate Firenze with tourists. Florence is one of the most visited cities in the wold, and rightly so given the wealth of its historical offerings and the charm of the city itself. Few tourist destinations have so much to offer in a relatively small area, and the…
DELECTABLE TIDBIT : The hidden passageway atop the Ponte Vecchio in Florence
Ponte Vecchio. Millions of tourists flock to Florence (Firenze) every year, but only a handful get to take what may well be the best walking tour in the city. Actually, few tourists even know about the existence of the Percorso del Principe (Passageway of the Prince) tour, and even fewer visitors plan their trip sufficiently…