Sightseeing can be roughly divided into “seeing new stuff” and “seeing old stuff”, with the large proportion of things seeming to fall into the historical or “old stuff” category. If there was a third category of “very old stuff”, Pompeii would definitely fall into that. I thought I knew a fair amount about Pompeii before […]
Shouts in Italian, flashes of color and people moving in all direction. It could have been a car crash, but it was a Saturday morning amidst the market district in Bologna. Near Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, several fishmongers anchor the corner of the two main streets. Fruit and vegetable stalls crowd between shops selling meat, […]
“What are the ingredients of a sorbetto?” asked the energetic Japanese woman, Makota, who was to be our instructor for the afternoon at the Carpigiani Gelato Lab. She spoke wonderful sounding Italian, but not English. Our guide, Stella, acted as interpreter, and I got a chance to work on my Italian as well. We had […]
Venice is a wondrous place. The winding alleys and the always half heard sound of waves gives a sense of mystery. Though this also gives a sense of chaos and confusion. Thankfully there are plenty of signs in Venice. It is a tourist destination after all, so not just directional but also advertising. But even […]
Bologna is one of the great overlooked cities in Italy in my opinion. The northern Italian city is home to the country’s oldest university. Also known as Bologna di Grassi (Bologna the fat), it is the birthplace of a lot of the food we associate with Italy. The center of Bologna, like the center of […]