Perhaps my favorite annual ritual in Italy is that of going around buying wine in demijohns directly from the producer and bottling it myself. It is a process that feels intimately rural, exquisitely traditional. Before wine became the billion-dollar snooty affair that it is, wine was simply something that everyone […]
Italy
25 posts
The entire coastline of Liguria is dotted with its characteristic olive groves, vineyards, and citrus groves. Of these last, the lemon is king, and for micro-climactic reasons, the lemons in Monterosso are better than anywhere else, which is why the city celebrates them in its Lemon Festival, which takes place […]
This week, we’re highlighting the “Upper Route” of the Cinque Terre, a spectacular trail that runs 17 miles from Portovenere to Levanto high above the villages of the Cinque Terre and the coastline below. And we got some help in promoting it with Seattle Backpacker’s Magazine. Rather than repeat myself […]
The beauty of the sea oftentimes lies above the water-line. The salty air that sticks to your skin and clears your lungs. The colors that the sun takes on as it finishes its daily journey toward the horizon. And on the clear days when the wind has whisked away all […]
It is rather popular in Italy to describe any city as being a jewel unto itself … if it just weren’t for its pesky inhabitants. “Ahh Naples,” they will purr. “Simply paradise! And the food – to die for. Too bad about the Neapolitans.” Or, “Genoa! A pearl on the […]