Italy has been drawing lovers of history, food, wine, and culture from around the world for thousands of years. And it’s easy to see why…From romantic crumbling ruins and friendly hosts to specialty pastas and some of the world’s most acclaimed art, Italy is a feast for the senses. The very best 10 day Italy […]
Italy
On Sunday There Is No Menu
“On Sunday, there is no menu,” the waitress informed us with her eyes downcast and her hands in the air. “We serve family style.” We smiled. And our bellies rumbled. We’d just arrived from a whirlwind drive—on an inspired route courtesy of the “local roads only” setting on our car’s nav—through a shimmering Aspen forest […]
Lake Maggiore: See Stresa and the Borromean Islands
When many think of the Italian Lakes district in northern Italy, typically Lago (Lake) Como comes to mind first—at least for Americans—as the famed locale of George Clooney’s mansion. But a bit less frequented and just as beautiful is Lago Maggiore with its Borromean Islands in Stresa, Italy, to the west. The Three Borromean Islands […]
Cooking in Tuscany: La Dolce Vita in a One Day Class
Cooking in Tuscany in a one day class at a traditional farmhouse was a long-held dream of mine. Sure, there are scads of cooking classes in Tuscany, in or near Florence, but I wanted to feel a part of a place. To live like a local for a day with my hands deep in flour […]
Riomaggiore or Bust!
A bit of backstory… Steve and I first met back in 1985 when he was my teaching assistant for a biology class I was taking at UC Santa Barbara. I was a lowly undergrad and he was working on his PhD in molecular biology. (What a catch, huh?) We connected over travel. I’d just returned […]