Capri's charm and bewitchery is legendary; the combination of its world-renowned beauty and its sensualism has brought people to its shores from the earliest of times. And no wonder! This little island offers the perfect concoction of all that is desirable for the perfect Mediterranean holiday: posh cafes frequented by the rich and famous, designer
Summer is over. The last of the blooms in the garden are languishing, and fading in colour; still, the sky, a dull grey, fails to quell the fiery reds, musty browns and ochres of the trees. This concert of colours lifts the spirit; a last minute reprieve before winter sets in. I’ve been hard-pressed to
photo by Bruno Spagnolo Somewhere you’ve never truly been is to the Calabria I know. It is the Calabria that persists without regard for the omnipresent fist of the ‘Ndragheta; it is the Calabria that picks itself up after each devastating earthquake, and the Calabria that despite its poverty and the pathetic and brutal attempts on
If I’m late with my blog post, I have good reason; as varied and off the wall as these excuses are, they are the “honest-to-god” truth! I wish, in fact, I had had such solid justification for my late assignments and sundry essays when I was in university. I couldn’t have made this up even
We are driving from Gallipoli, across to the east coast of Salento, and to the easternmost town of Italy, Otranto. The landscape, its farms and stone walls, is a kaleidoscope of intense colours; the red earth and blue sky, the endless verdant olive groves and trees; these rooted to a parched brown earth that perhaps
The post Christmas break in Florida was what I thought I needed: lots of sun, the hot, sticky kind; plenty of rest, the unending, monotonous kind; and blue skies to gaze up to as I tear my eyes away from the book I would finally be sinking my teeth into. But then, what we think we
It was not to be. The sun refused to come out, and the sky persisted with a constant vexatious drizzle; not enough to make one stay indoors, however. Certainly not enough to take away the euphoria at discovering a new vibrant and beautiful city: Bologna. We arrived, ----my son and I, on a 4 day whirlwind lark,----
A stay at this masseria hotel is in itself a delightful holiday, but venture out for day trips and this becomes a unique and memorable vacation through "undiscovered' Italy. This four star hotel, Torre Fiore, has just 13 suites, but what suites! Unique, comfortable and utterly modern, no two are alike. You will find here king
What a truly delectable find Al Buon Gustaio is: a little shop chock full of specialty food items from the region. From the typical oven roasted black olives to olive paté; from specialty pastas to fried sweet peppers (peperoni cruschi), they're all there. yum! Definitely worth a visit in Matera's Piazza V. Veneto. Spaghetti Lucani I
The silence is interminable. Its echo, heavy and primordial, resounds throughout the valley. There is an absence of time and space here, in this “anthill” city, in this forgotten tombstone of another society. I stand mesmerized, on the parapet above the canyon where the old city lies. The view, or perhaps the idea that I’ve