We’re in the final day of our too brief visit to London. It has been too short but most sweet. Continue reading Cheerio, London
We’re in the final day of our too brief visit to London. It has been too short but most sweet. So what have ...
Just a brief post from London. I know, brief usually means a 10 minute read. But we’re off to the Tower this morning and then off to tea with the Queen. Need to get fitted for topcoat and tails. Continue reading London Calling
Just a brief post from London. I know, brief usually means a 10 minute read. But we're off to the Tower this ...
Let me get this off my chest at the outset. I’m not big fan of RyanAir. I don’t hate it per se, but I’d be perfectly happy if it didn’t exist or if I never had to fly it. Continue reading Flyin’ There on RyanAir
The details of our flight experience in Europe Read more
Let me get this off my chest at the outset. I’m not big fan of RyanAir. I don’t hate it per se, ...
If it’s Sunday it’s Simone’s. With apologies to Tim Russert. I’ve never been a big fan of David Gregory. Continue reading If it’s Sunday . . . It’s Simone’s
If it’s Sunday it’s Simone’s. With apologies to Tim Russert. I’ve never been a big fan of David Gregory. * * * Saturday night ...
We’ve really outdone ourselves.
That we’ve outdone ourselves, a couple that has spent the better part of a decade eating and drinking their way across Italy, whose mission over the past four years has been to become intimate with every chef and restauranteur and winemaker in Umbria, is quite a feat. But for the past day, we have put the dolce in the vita and we drank ‘em bot’ up. Continue reading Let it Bea
We’ve really outdone ourselves. That we’ve outdone ourselves, a couple that has spent the better part of a decade eating and drinking their ...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then our group’s trip to Deruta to paint ceramics under the supervision of master ceramicist Gerardo Ribigini and his daughter Claudia was the equivalent of writing War and Peace. Continue reading Mug Shots
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then our group's trip to Deruta to paint ceramics under the supervision of master ...
Some Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Perhaps it was Einstein. We don’t really know. But regardless of who said it first, Umbria visits on us a certain form of insanity. We do the same things over and over again, but here, each time we get a different result. That’s probably why we’re crazy about Umbria. Continue reading Carbon Paper
Some Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a ...
We’ve written before about cooking class with Ernesto in Cannara’s best restaurant, Perbacco. But yesterday, when most people were putting in a 9 to 5 workday our little group of 7 was putting in a 9 to 5 cooking, learning and eating at Ernesto’s magical retreat. But unlike most 9 to 5ers, our day was anything but work. Continue reading Workin’ 9 to 5
We’ve written before about cooking class with Ernesto in Cannara’s best restaurant, Perbacco. But yesterday, when most people were putting in a ...
Sunday is a special day in Italy. And Sunday lunch is one of our favorite activities of the week. It is a day when families get together and spend hours at the table. Old people ambling in on canes and walkers, children in their Sunday best, with dolls and toys in tow. It’s sort of like Easter dinner and Thanksgiving all in one. But it happens every week.
Sunday is a special day in Italy. And Sunday lunch is one of our favorite activities of the week. It is a ...
About a half hour north of Florence in an area formerly used by Medici princes as their country getaway lies the village of Borgo San Lorenzo. And down a side street in this little town that feels like a mini Florence is the studio Alice le Maschere. For more than twenty years the artists there have been making artistic masks in papier mache. The work is, simply, stunning. Continue reading Masks
About a half hour north of Florence in an area formerly used by Medici princes as their country getaway lies the village ...
Pizza. Invented in Italy or China? Don’t know. Don’t care.
Imitated in America and throughout the world. Perfected in Italy. Continue reading Welcome to Allukanitistan
Pizza. Invented in Italy or China? Don’t know. Don’t care. Imitated in America and throughout the world. Perfected in Italy. There really is little ...
Last year we initiated an Italian book club at Bella Italia. Once a month a group of us gets together to discuss an Italian-related book of our choosing, enjoying a bite to eat, a glass of wine and the camaraderie of our like minded group. And over that period we have enjoyed some very interesting reads – The Leopard, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis and Cleopatra, Italian detective novels including Inspector Montalbano and the offerings of Donna Leone, books on wine and travel reflections. Our club even spawned a new monthly movie day at Bella Italia, growing out of our book club’s discussion of the documentary movie Valentino: The Last Emperor.
With such a high minded group, then, it was a slightly pinch yourself, surreal experience discussing last month’s book, An Irreverent Curiosity, a non-fiction account by American author David Farley about his year in Calcata, a town less than an hour from Rome, in search of a missing religious relic. The relic in question is nearly as weird as the town Farley describes, il santo prepuzio, or the holy foreskin. Continue reading Oh, Calcata
Last year we initiated an Italian book club at Bella Italia. Once a month a group of us gets together to discuss ...
