travel

Presnitz and pinza: breakfast in Trieste

Located right on the border with Slovenia, Trieste, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, has all the characteristics of a frontier town. The city has always been at the centre of an historical crossroads with the Venetians, Slavs, Austrians, and Italians all laying claim to it during its two-thousand-year history. Unsurprisingly all of these people […]

Presnitz and pinza: breakfast in Trieste Read More »

venice app

Top 5 smartphone apps for Venice visitors

  We all know Venice’s reputation: exquisite, unique, and inspiring on the one hand, but packed, fragile, and confusing on the other. Many visitors to Venice find themselves both awestruck and frustrated as they get lost in its seemingly interminable maze of back alleys, all of which seem to lead back to the Piazza San

Top 5 smartphone apps for Venice visitors Read More »

In Verona (missing Amy)

I first visited Verona thirty years ago. I was in Venice having lunch with an aunt and two cousins who I had never met before. During the memorable lunch, which you can read about here, it emerged that my eldest cousin, Silvia, sang in the chorus at the Arena di Verona—a well-preserved Roman amphitheater where a

In Verona (missing Amy) Read More »

Spring in Venice and a hoppy risotto: a quick guide to bruscàndoli.

This article is about the Veneto.   It’s been four months since I wrote my article about my return to my poor neglected Venice, and I’m happy to report that since then I’ve been a regular visitor. And it’s been really interesting to see the way in which the mood of the city changes with the

Spring in Venice and a hoppy risotto: a quick guide to bruscàndoli. Read More »