Italy travel

Gallery: A Hike in Valchiavenna

July 12, 2008

Photos from a hike Enrico and I did in Valchiavenna.

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Gallery: A Walk in Valsassina

July 10, 2008

From a hike Enrico and I took in Valsassina.

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Tuscany Gallery

June 28, 2008

The full set of photos from our trip to the Chianti region, including shopping in Greve and at Falorni.

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Gallery: Introbio and Villa Migliavacca

June 27, 2008

Another day trip in the Lake Como region, to a small mountain town called Introbio. Of “particular interest,” as Italian tourism guides say, is Villa Migliavacca. According to the sign: “Built in the 1920s for the Milanese Antonio Migliavacca, pioneer in advancing tourism in Valsassina, it is the work of architect Bottoli, also Milanese. The [...]

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Photo Gallery: Erve, March 2008

June 26, 2008

One beautiful day in March, Enrico and I went up to Erve, a village quite close to where we live in Lecco – as the crow flies. But we had to drive, and then hike. I’m not much of a hiker, so we only walked for about an hour, but that was plenty of time [...]

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Gallery: Bergamo’s Historic Villas

June 24, 2008

From our visit to Bergamo and its historic villas.

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Lecco to Bellagio by Boat: A Beautiful Day on Lake Como

June 23, 2008

The ferry runs from Lecco (on Lake Como’s southeastern tip) only from spring to fall. The slow boat to Bellagio (one and a half hours) is the best way to see this branch of the lake. With its steep, craggy mountainsides plunging down into the water, it’s reminiscent of a Norwegian fjord. The boat hops [...]

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2007 in Review

February 3, 2008

another gorgeous winterline sunset, Mussoorie, December 2007 Feb 3, 2008 The past year was so busy that, in spite of the many articles, photos, and videos I published here, there are still travels and events that I haven’t even mentioned, video and photos you haven’t yet seen. 2008 is shaping up to be even busier [...]

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Guests of Conti Sertoli Salis: Part 3, Wine!

February 3, 2008

When we finished seeing the palazzo, we had a little stroll in the garden, in which an intricate, manicured geometric hedge is winningly juxtaposed with overgrown and out-of-control everything else. My favorite photo of the day is above – autumn red vines draping down a stone plaque. The boast of the garden is a glorious, [...]

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Gallery: Torino, January 2008

January 15, 2008

Another trip I never had time to write about: Enrico and I spent a weekend in Torino in January (in unusually warm weather, lucky us!).

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Guests of Conti Sertoli Salis: Part 2, The Palazzo

November 7, 2007

After an excellent (if somewhat hasty) lunch, the four of us had a private tour of Palazzo Sertoli Salis, which is still the home of the Sertoli Salis family, as well as the headquarters of the winery. My photos don’t do justice to it: the palazzo is charming, rich with newly-restored tromp l’oeil frescoes cleverly [...]

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Guests of Conti Sertoli Salis: Fine Food and Wine in Valtellina

October 8, 2007

Part 1: Lunch! Many moons ago, spurred by a question on Fodors.com, I wandered the Internets, looking up wineries in the nearby region of Valtellina. Several had sites, some gorgeously produced. Sertoli Salis particularly caught my eye because the site was so very beautiful, and I knew the wines to be good, but the English [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 7

September 29, 2007

Hummingbirds & Other Venetians Sep 29, 2007 ^ detail on Saint Mark’s cathedral ^ So much for the singing gondoliers. They seemed to spend most of their time on their cellphones (like everyone else in Italy). ^ Alitalia Italian Airlines? Not for much longer… The scene above took place on the balcony of the apartment, [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 6

September 29, 2007

Venice’s Bad Karma > On Saturday morning, I learned what a macchiatone (“big spotted one”) is: it’s basically a caffé macchiato (coffee “spotted” with steamed milk), with a bit more milk – so, somewhere between a macchiato and a cappuccino, served in a cappuccino cup. I had it with a delicious little torta di riso [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 5

September 28, 2007

When in Venice, Eat… Curry In St. Mark’s Square, Jeet bought some necessary props: We returned to the apartment to greet Andrew and Victoria, arrived from Paris. Jeet and Andrew set to work making a fantastic Indian meal. Which they served in appropriate national costumes: (Hey, I just live my life, in all its glorious [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 4

September 28, 2007

In the evening, we went for a walk around Venice (above). Other Venetian scenes: ^ Even in Venice, kids go to school, and furnaces must be refueled. ^ How real Venetians ride in gondolas – none of your touristy lolling about on plush sofas! ^ The modern world is out of proportion to Venice (look [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 3

September 28, 2007

A Tight Squeeze On the way home from Ca’ Rezzonico, we saw this interesting scene: The water was still high. How was this heavily-laden boat going to get past this bridge? Answer: very, very carefully. Knowing exactly how far your load sits above the water is a necessary skill for any Venetian boat operator. They [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 2

September 28, 2007

Abuses Past and Present Enrico, Geraldine, and I decided to visit a museum. The only exit from our apartment was now under water. I had gone back for two more pairs of boots, but there’d been a run on them that morning, and none were left in Enrico’s size. So he improvised with the heavy [...]

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High Water (Not Hell) in Venice, part 1

September 28, 2007

the best greengrocer in Venezia, near Campo San Barnaba – at low tide! This weekend Enrico and I were invited to Venice by my Woodstock classmate, Jeet, who’s renting a large apartment from Views on Venice, and keeping it filled with friends and family. In all my years in Italy, I’ve only been to Venice [...]

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Cartoceto: A Geometric Town in Le Marche

July 24, 2007

After the phenomenal dinner at Symposium, Susan and I shared a room at the Villa Cartoceto B&B. Though it’s a lovely place and I probably would have enjoyed it in other circumstances, I conclude that the old village houses in this part of Italy are built to withstand cold (or maybe invaders) rather than heat: [...]

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