An unfamiliar smell woke me up. My eyes opened and looked up at the white ceiling. Rich, yet delicate, the smell was sweet and savory at once. Peering around at my surroundings, I remembered that I was a stranger in an unfamiliar house. Only hours before, I was crouched on a sunny corner in suburban [...]
Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category
Jamón
Posted in Food, Travels on November 19, 2006 | 1 Comment »
To Market, to Market
Posted in Agriculture, Food, Travels on October 24, 2006 | 1 Comment »
Now that I have a new Saturday gig selling Italian wines at a lovely shop near Union Square, it’s become my custom to loop through the farmers’ market on my way to work. As I described in an earlier post, these waning days of early autumn are surely the market’s best. When I take my [...]
Lucca, we only just met
Posted in Travels on September 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
When I bought the Sunday Times today and was practicing my customary flip-through spot check to make sure that all sections were intact, the cover of the travel section suddenly looked very familiar — hey! I’ve been there! Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s onto the charms of Lucca, Italy. In today’s paper, food [...]
Forget the cake, where’s the bread?
Posted in Travels on August 11, 2006 | 1 Comment »
About two days into France, I realized why Marie Antoinette lost her head to the guillotine. The French simply cannot live without bread. The baguette appears like magic on the table during every meal – yesterday’s leftovers lightly toasted and spread with fresh butter and jam for breakfast, filled with meat and cheese for lunch, [...]
Sustainability goes global!
Posted in Travels on August 9, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Spotted on a wall near the University in Parma… I’m not sure what it says, but I get the ‘boycott McDonald’s’ bit, and I’m assuming that the rest is the usual hoo-ha about animal rights, worker rights, and nutritional rights. From what I understand (and partly from what I observed) Europeans are in the midst [...]
Long time, no post…
Posted in Travels on August 8, 2006 | 3 Comments »
Blame it on the French. Not only are their internet cafes very expensive to use, but the keyboards are funky. Certain letters are rearranged, as well as other symbols like commas and apostrophes. While that may not sound so bad, it´s a big problem if you´re a fast typer that can type without looking at [...]
Good morning, Italy
Posted in Travels on July 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Breakfast in Italy is a simple affair — a jolt of caffiene in the form of a cappucino and maybe a sweet pastry. Once cafes throw open their doors early in the morning, Italians flock to their favorite neighborhood spot. Orders are placed and sometimes consumed while standing at the counter. For maybe 50 cents [...]
Tourists, tourists and more tourists
Posted in Travels on July 29, 2006 | 3 Comments »
My first semester in college, I enrolled in a seminar entitled ‘Renaissance Florence’. For three months, we deconstructed the history of this marvellous place. I left with the impression that the city was filled with artisitic jewels — the Duomo! the Ponte Vecchio! the Medici Palace! Unfortunately, my professor neglected to mention the t-shirt vendors [...]
The old country
Posted in Travels on July 25, 2006 | 6 Comments »
When I lived in Philadelphia, I used to think that it was pretty nifty that I lived in an aunthentic colonial townhouse on Quince Street, original fireplace and wooden floors intact. Located on a cobblestone alleyway, I would walk home and think ‘oh, what history lines these streets!’ About five minutes into Lucca, though, I passed [...]
Cheers England! Buongiorno Italia!
Posted in Travels on July 21, 2006 | 3 Comments »
So after landing in Manchester, I hopped onto a train for Newcastle. Now, I can’t say that I’ve ever had plans to visit Newcastle… it just so happens that after several hours of scouring the discount flight prices (side note: why do we have nothing like this in the U.S.? Europe has maybe 15 discount [...]
