Every time I leave Venice I experience an odd sort of melancholy with a feeling of dread that I may never come back. I once sat for an afternoon in the living room of an elderly aunt whom I had never met before that day; when it came to leave it was with a lump in my throat that I told her goodbye for I knew I had been with a kindred spirit, albeit for a very short while. Almost anyone who has walked across the bridges of Venice has a similar emotional connection, for Venice is magical. Continue reading Venice Enchanted
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Cinque Terre
I have to confess to a love-hate relationship with Cinque Terre, a spectacular portion of the Italian Riviera, in Luguria, that has become very, very popular with tourists over the last ten or fifteen years, possibly owing to the 1997 designation of Cinque Terre as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I had never heard of it until a friend brought me there in 2000 and I must admit that I was completely enchanted by the colorful houses precariously hugging the cliffs, the charming harbors for the fishing boats, and the natural beauty of the coastline. For the uninitiated, the Cinque Terre, or Five Lands, is a series of five fishing villages teetering on the terraced rocks on the coast of the Ligurian Sea just south of Genoa. Since there is no automobile access in the villages you must explore them by foot and get from one to the other either by train or boat. Herein lies the problem. Continue reading Cinque Terre
Private Tuscan Tour
A private tour of Tuscany is the best bang for your buck when your time is limited and you want to experience as much as you can of everything under the Tuscan sun. I had driven through the Tuscan countryside on several occasions with some friends and a Michelin Guide; although the experience was unforgettable we didn’t see nearly as much as I got to see on my private guided tour.
Italy: When to Go, What to Pack
When to Go?
The question I get asked more than any other is, “When is the best time to go to Italy?” My usual reply is 1986, but I know that’s not very funny (true, but not funny.) The literal inundation of tourists from Eastern Europe and Asia since Ronald Reagan himself toppled the Berlin Wall has increased the number of visitors to Western Europe exponentially making Paris, London, and Rome burst at the seams during the summer months. Imagine, if you will, the worst traffic jam you’ve ever been in: maybe it’s Friday, 5 pm on the 405 during Carmeggedon; maybe it’s the Long Island Expressway leaving New York for Fourth of July weekend; you’re moving at a snail’s pace and your a/c is broken. Well, pretend that instead of cars, the traffic is comprised of people shuffling slowly in groups of six across rather than single file, and you’ll have a small idea of the concept. To clarify, you’re going to want to avoid summer if at all possible. If you must go in the summer avoid August when many Italians close their shops and restaurants, head for the beaches, and leave the cities to the tourists. This is less like a traffic jam but more like a post-apocalyptic situation. Continue reading Italy: When to Go, What to Pack
Museums: Which Ones Can You Skip?
I look forward to nothing more than revisiting my favorite museums in Italy and finding new ones to explore but I am the first one to engage in inappropriate behavior if I have to share my space with too many people; I mutter under my breath, I give dirty looks to anyone lingering too long by the signs I’m trying to read, and I passively-aggressively stand in front of anyone who has broken my unwritten rules of behavior. So I feel your pain if you’re dragged to the museum or just go because it’s there when you’d rather be hunting down some gelato. Maybe I can help.
If you call in sick while your travel companions are at the following museums, you will not have missed much, and the following recommendations are based on my very humble, very unprofessional opinion, with no offense intended toward these fine institutions:
Eat Like an Italian
In Italy, food is life. Dinner in famiglia is the rule rather than the exception and Italians will wait until everyone is home before sitting at the table rather than cover a plate with aluminum foil and save anyone’s meal in the oven. Italians also tend to return to the same restaurant over and over in the “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” vein. A meal is savored rather than wolfed down, and most of the conversation around the table is focused on the food and wine; Italians truly live to eat.
- Portion size: As you may have noticed, we are accustomed to being super-sized at our restaurants here in the U.S. Not so in Italy where it is possible and acceptable to eat a 4-course meal at a leisurely pace, and don’t worry that you’ll need a forklift to get you out of the restaurant either; the portions are smaller and not covered in heavy sauces. Likewise, it is common to keep your meal to two courses if you’re not terrifically hungry.
Museums in Italy You MUST Visit
Lucky you: you have the opportunity to see some of the most famous works of art in the entire history of the world while in Italy, so don’t blow it! There’s a fine line between doing it right and overdoing it and ending up trudging aimlessly through the exhibit rooms while rotating your gaze from left to right, seeing it all yet seeing nothing. Everyone, even the most ardent of art appreciators, is capable of hitting the proverbial wall (if not the actual wall if you’re walking on auto-pilot.)
Once, on a visit to the Uffizi, I had mapped out my must-see masterpiece list that turned out to be overly ambitious. Continue reading Museums in Italy You MUST Visit
Pizza and Gelato – There are Rules!
The best way to eat well in Italy is to ask an Italian. Ask the hotel clerk, stop someone on the street, ask a bus or taxi driver. (You may not want to ask a tour guide as they are possibly getting paid a “commission” for referrals.) Unlike many of our undiscriminating diners who are content to grab the fastest and cheapest food for lunch most Italians are much fussier about their cuisine, and those workers who are not privileged enough to be able to eat at home for lunch tend to know where to get cooking almost as good as Mamma’s. Once on a road trip from Florence to Rome we were looking for somewhere to eat and my husband, while stopped for gas, asked a truck driver for his recommendation. The rest of us in the car, all Americans, were politely silent but had little faith when we pulled up to Le Capannine, in Barberino di Mugello (near Florence). It turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had in Italy (okay, there’ve been more than a few), so much so that I included it in my blog of favorite restaurants, and if you are ever on the A1 autostrada between Florence and Rome, I highly recommend you plan your trip around it.
Moving on…
- Pizza: I have to act like an Italian and be a regionalist about this; even Northerners will admit that the best pizza is in Naples. My humble opinion is that as you move farther north, the pizza depreciates in value. Rome has a great thin-crusted pizza, and in Tuscany I prefer their focaccia to the pizza, which is still decent, but I got a hold of some pretty bad pizza in Milan. Sorry, Milan, but pizza is not your thing.
Eating in Italy Off the Beaten Path
When we need a meal while off the beaten path in Italy we ask the locals where to eat and have never been disappointed. While I enjoy a good meal just like the next person I do not consider myself a foodie, but these restaurants managed to engrave themselves onto the side of my brain saved for happy memories. The places I’m listing here are not easy to get to, and probably not exactly where you’re going, but, if you’re anywhere near the neighborhood, are worth the travel time. ( Please check the hours and closing days before traveling a great distance.) Continue reading Eating in Italy Off the Beaten Path
Italian Church Quirks
Most of us have the dress-code rules when visiting a church in Italy: no shorts, bare shoulders, or mini-skirts. Bare shoulders would include sleeveless tops for women and men (yes, if he’s wearing a tank top, you can be sure he’s American.) I’ve heard of men being admitted in long, cargo-style shorts (not that anyone should be admitted anywhere in cargo shorts,) but you’re better off not taking any chances.
I’ve found the dress code to be pretty consistent throughout the country, however, many cities in Italy have very different customs and rules for church visitations particularly in heavily touristed cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice.
