Hands up if you are a fan of Antipasto trays? You know, those beautifully-colourful trays of marinated and pickled vegetables – artichokes, roasted red peppers, pickles, olives, onions – usually served with meat and cheeses. I love them and I have to admit that they’ve […]

Quick: What do you know about Torino (or Turin as the English call it)? There is a famous Shroud there? Juventus (and Torino FC) both play the beautiful game there? There was a Winter Olympics held there in 2006 where shockingly the Canadian men’s team did NOT medal in […]

Today is Ferragosto in Italy! If you’ve ever been to Italy on August 15, you have probably noticed how quiet everything is. Why? It’s Ferragosto!  Ferragosto is a public holiday, which means everyone gets a vacation day from work! While most things will be closed (“chiuso […]

After the winter we had in Toronto, I swore I would not complain about the heat this summer. Italian summers can get pretty hot, especially if you’re walking around Rome or Florence. If you’ve ever been to Italy on a hot summer day, chances are […]

We recently hiked Cinque Terre. I had heard a lot about the five small towns which dot the Ligurian coastline and form the Cinque Terre, but until recently hadn’t managed to make it there. There are tons of photos on the internet of the Cinque Terre. Travelling from […]

The Renaissance was a time of enlightenment and advances in art and culture. No city in the world is identified with this period more than Florence. Art, history, culture….Florence is a city that needs no introduction.  Florence, or Firenze as it is known in Italy, […]

Last summer, Pete and I were in Marsala, Sicily to attend the beautiful wedding of our friends, Matteo and Giovanna. We were very excited to share our friends’ special day. As an added bonus, we had an “excuse” to go to Marsala, a town that […]