Getting to Altamura After the snow, rain, sleet, construction, high street and low, we found ourselves approaching the glorious little town of Altamura in the comune of Apulia in the province of Bari. The sun had popped out and I made an awesome sighting of a group of wild boar (cingale) that barreled over a […]
The Road to Florence
City of Florence We were looking forward to our extended stay in the wonderful city of Florence. We had visited a few times before and always wanted to sink into local living and get a feel for the place. The timing could not have been better since we had just endured a manic month and […]
The Karst, one of Italy’s best kept secrets
The Karst About an hour outside of Trieste is an incredible stretch of land that saddles both the Italian and Slovenian border. Accessible by city bus from the centre of town it’s a winding and fantastic ride along the steep shores leading out of Trieste as you climb onto a plateau above the city. The […]
Tales from the Table: Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina
Reading menus I love reading menus. Whenever we travel and are staying in town to eat I make it a habit of reading as many menus as I can when walking passed restaurants. Just about every town has at least one dish that shows up on every menu. In Verona, it’s bigoli pasta, one of […]
Laura and the food tour: a food-centric day in Turin
Food tour with Laura If you’ve never taken a food tour when visiting a new city or country, you are really missing out. Faced with the big city of Turin we had some ideas of the local dishes but wanted to get down to the root of the food scene and history and a tour […]
Gorgonzola, Protected Designation of Origin
Otherwise occupied Getting up early, I check the train schedule, grab some fruit and head to the station by myself. Tim being otherwise occupied with a virus that is draining his body of all fluids. The train to Novara is on time and as it makes its way towards the mountains, I notice the frost […]
Tales from the table: Merenda Reale
Merenda Reale We arrived at Caffè San Carlo for our 3:30 reservation, the place was empty except for a few people enjoying a drink while reading the paper. The first thing I thought was, “I hope you don’t plan on sleeping tonight”. Let me explain, our reservation was for the Merenda Reale (literally meaning royal […]
Tales from the table: Smile Tree Cocktail Bar
Aperitivo The tradition of aperitivo in Italy is definitely one of our favourite rituals. Late dining, no earlier than 8, is the custom in Italy so to bridge the gap of never ending hunger, aperitivo before dinner in the early evening is exactly what’s needed. Usually, your preferred café will also have a well-stocked bar […]