ITALY
Alta Badia Ski Resort Italy – A Guide
A guide to Alta Badia ski resort in the beautiful Italian Dolomites. Where to stay, where to ski and what activities to enjoy off the pistes during your ski trip.
Gourmet Skiing in Alta Badia
Why skiing in Alta Badia ski resort in the Italian Dolomites makes the perfect ski destination for gourmet food lovers and skiers alike.
Travel with Taste and Travelsphere Holidays
A day at the BBC Good Food Show with Travelsphere and Penny Smith learning about travel with taste and Travelsphere holidays to the Amalfi Coast and India.
Tips for visiting Rome the Eternal City
Rome, the Eternal City, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Read on for some practical advice and tips for visiting Rome to help you get the most from your trip.
Eating like a local on a Rome Food Tour
A culinary and cultural encounter with The Roman Food Tour or how I ate my way around the Eternal City on the best Rome food tour ever.
Italian food and wine holidays with Bookings for You
Italian food and wine holidays with Bookings for You and Palazzo Tronconi. The perfect combination of food, wine and culture on your Italian holiday.
Italian Coffee Culture
Coffee culture is an essential part of Italian life, akin to an art-form and nigh on a religion. There’s a myriad of coffees on the menu from Espresso to Caffé Shakerato – then there’s the two, three or four different ways they’re served. Coffee is a serious past-time in Italy and comes with its own etiquettes and customs. Let’s get to grips with the ground rules…
Aperol Spritz – Sunshine in a Glass!
Aperitivo time in Italy and a recipe for Aperol Spritz, the perfect summer’s drink that I like to call ‘sunshine in a glass’.
Pisa – Much More than a Leaning Tower
How to get from PIsa Centrale Station to the Leaning Tower of Pisa (map included), what to see en-route and where to get the best gelato…
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or free-standing bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, famous worldwide for its tipsy tilt to one side.
Catania Cafe Culture
Catania’s cafes and bars are the perfect place to indulge in a cup of coffee and a cannolo when the sightseeing begins to take its toll. There are some gems when it comes to Catania’s cafes; chock full of character, charm and full of dazzling displays of the best Sicilian patisserie.
Catania – the City in one Day
The Port city of Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, is situated on the east coast of the island, just south of where Italy puts the boot in. Mount Etna looms on the horizon, swathed in haze, huffing a near constant stream of smoke and an occasional dribble of red-hot lava.
Sicilian Cuisine – Savouring the Flavours
The cool, calm, quiet of the Consoli kitchen is a complete contrast to the clamour of Catania’s colourful market. The next part of the tour was to immerse ourselves into the flavours, cooking customs and rich history of Sicilian cuisine.
A Food Tour – Catania Market & Pescheria, Sicily
We could hear the Pescheria, Catania’s open-air fish market, before we could see it. The sound of fishmongers shouting their best price to undercut the neighbouring stalls filled the air along with laughter, banter and the smell of fresh fish and salt water. Catania’s Pescheria is an explosion of sights, sounds and smells – bustling and chaotic it’s alive with atmosphere which instantly awakens all the senses – and the appetite!
Food from the Tuscan Table
Tuscan cuisine is food for the soul; intense fresh flavours from a few choice ingredients which have been freshly picked or pulled from the earth. Unpretentious, seasonal and prepared with passion.
The Hidden Treasures of Tuscany
The Chianti region of Tuscany is renowned for its beautiful rolling landscapes, Tuscan cuisine and Chianti Classico wines but the area has some lesser known gems too. So, what else to see in Chianti? In and around Tavarnelle Val di Pesa you'll find a treasure trove...
Wine Tasting in Tuscany’s Chianti Country
It would be wrong to visit Tuscany’s wine region of Chianti in Italy without stopping off at a vineyard or two to see Chianti Classico, the area’s most famous wine being made and, of course, to engage in a taste-test or two. While in Tavarnelle Chianti we visited a...
Tavarnelle Chianti – The Good Life
Tavarnelle is a municipality in the Chianti region of Tuscany situated in the beautiful countryside between Florence and Siena. Think fields ribboned with grape vines, ruby red wines and medieval hilltop hamlets - so much to love! I recently spent a fabulous few days...
Florence – A Fleeting Visit
A few hours in Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is such a tease but it was all I had. Just enough time to catch a fleeting glimpse of the city that pays homage to the Renaissance; a living showcase of art, history and architecture but no time to dig deeper or step inside a museum or gallery. Join me on a mini-tour of photogenic Florence.
Burano – Italy’s Technicolour Town
Burano is a tiny island just a boat ride away from Venice. Filled with prettily-painted fishermens’ houses lining quaint canals it’s a riot of colour. Italy’s technicolour town.
Matera – Secrets of the Sassi
Matera in the Basilicata region of southern Italy was once a warren of natural caves where people lived – let me tell you about the secrets of the sassi…
Things to do on a day trip to San Marino
San Marino might be the smallest Republic in the world but it punches well above its weight when it comes to cool views, castles and quirk. Read on for things to do on a day trip to San Marino.
Modena’s Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari
While in Modena this September we thought we'd make a pit-stop at Modena's Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari - and boy am I glad we did. As well as beautiful cars; Maseratis Ferraris and F1s displayed inside, the building itself is incredible too. The flowing lines of the...
Bologna’s Knobs and Knockers…
As I walked the porticoes of Bologna it wasn’t long before the quirky knobs and knockers that peered out from the heavy wooden doors caught my eye…
Bologna – Carpigiani Gelato University
It was back to school for me this September and not just any old school – I went to the coolest school ever – the Carpigiani Gelato University, Bologna to learn the art of making artisan gelato.
Emilia Romagna’s Amazing!
I’ve just spent a fabulous week in Bologna, with Blogville, sampling some of Emilia Romagna’s incredible cuisine, sights and culture – and wow does it have some winners. Bologna's known as the food capital of Italy with good reason and as Parma and Modena are nearby...
Picture Perfect Positano
Positano is a little fishing village teetering on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast between Sorrento and Praiano. The houses are built on terraces, precariously stacked upon one another, cascading down the steep cliffs towards the small beach below. A backdrop of verdant covered hills against a cobalt blue sky completes this picture postcard of a town.
Ponte di Tiberio – Bridging the Centuries
After eating our way through Bologna, the food capital of Italy, Kathryn from Travel with Kat and I took the one hour train journey down to Rimini. There we met up with our fellow BlogVille housemates Erin and Norbert at the BlogVille apartments and arranged to head...
‘La Tagliata’ Perfect Positano Restaurant
Tucked up in the hills above Positano is a wonderful, family run, restaurant with one of the best views in the whole of Italy. The food’s pretty fabulous too…
How to make the most of the Amalfi Coast
A drive along the beautiful Costiera Amalfitana IAmalfi Coast) in Italy and how to see it if you don’t have a hire car.
A Taste of Italy – Sorrento
Sorrento is a pretty Italian town with enough to see to keep visitors happy for a day or two. Its also perfectly located for visiting some of Italy’s top sights.
Bologna Food – La Grassa La Gusto
Of the three epithets bestowed upon Bologna; La Dotta – The Learned, La Rossa – The Red and La Grassa – The Fat, it was the latter, fatter moniker that caused me concern. Let me share the foodie delights that Bologna brought to the table.
Bologna and a Penchant for Porticoes
One of the things that captivated me about Bologna in Italy was its beautiful porticoes. Over 53 kilometres of pillars and collonades protect the Bolognesi from the elements. Here I take a look at the history and architecture of the city’s porticoes.
Pictures of Pompeii
A highlight of our trip to the Campania region of Italy was a visit to the excavated city of Pompeii. The town was buried under 6 metres of ash when Mount Vesuvius furiously erupted on 24th August 79AD. Re-discovered in the 16th century the excavations began in 1748...