January 2016 Green hills, blue water, bright sunshine and the occasional palm tree welcomed us to Calabria in late January. Reggio Calabria, where we landed, sits at the very toe of the Italian boot separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina and surrounded by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. Apart from the millions of … Continue reading
Christmas Day, 2015 My year of Elsewhere began with a dinner party last December, where friends Helen and Ron invited me to spend a week at their rented condo in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende. I arrived the first week of March, catching a ride at Mexico City’s airport for the four-hour … Continue reading
I love Montreal’s public markets. Especially if I’ve arrived by train, so I don’t have to worry about stuffing potentially smelly purchases into a carry-on bag. On this trip I visited three of the city’s most famous markets, Atwater, Maisonneuve and Jean-Talon. Even before you step inside the building, especially at Jean-Talon and Atwater, you … Continue reading
Follow Rue Notre-Dame west to the end of your tourist map and you’ll come to one of Montreal’s hottest neighbourhoods, Saint-Henri, where new shops and restaurants are opening weekly. We began our tour at Lionel-Groulx metro station, a short walk from Atwater Market. In the early 1900s, St.-Henri was home to French Canadians and working class … Continue reading
Greetings from Zanzibar, an island (actually several) off the coast of Tanzania. I’m sitting on a table under a sea almond tree, its trunk wrapped in colored lights. If I reach to the left I can almost touch the sand. The Indian Ocean is maybe 30 feet away, the water black and quiet, though I … Continue reading
In the fertile volcanic soil around Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, grows a plum tomato considered a treasure in this part of Campania. Bright red with a pointed end and dimples on the sides, the oval pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio is harvested in July and August and stays fresh until the following spring, giving pasta … Continue reading
Night falls in the village of Porto Palo, steps from the ocean on Sicily’s southwest coast. We got here just in time. Not sure we’d have found the Da Vittorio B&B and restaurant in the dark, and we would have missed the orange and olive groves along the narrow road. Our rooms are large but spare , a letdown after our lovely hotel rooms of … Continue reading
With its smattering of palm trees and Mount Vesuvius volcano in the distance, the region of Campania in southern Italy doesn’t look at all like the Wild West, yet 100,000 water buffalo roam its grassy plains. When they tire of roaming, the shaggy horned beasts hang out in a barn, ankle-deep in mud, (it makes … Continue reading
I was so excited about eating “real” pizza in Naples, first stop on a whirlwind southern Italian food trip, I didn’t give a thought to what the city itself might look like. Map in hand on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I walked a few minutes from the hotel and ran smack into a wall of … Continue reading
Greetings from Lisbon, capital of Portugal, famed for its long history, lively neighbourhoods, dazzling light and good food. Though local women in stiletto heels seem to have no problem managing the cobblestoned streets and steep hills, I only lasted half an hour in my sensible sandals before switching to running shoes. Walking is the best … Continue reading
