The Rolling “Ciao”
Sun in my eyes yesterday and the day before! Temperatures in the 40s demanded that I mount two wheels and head off along the canal for a ride. Divine. I haven't been a cyclist for about 30 years so...
Bluone: Open Hearts in Bologna
Years ago, a girlfriend of mine from Seattle traveled and stayed with Marcello and Raffaella Tori of BluOne Cooking Tours in Bologna. When my girlfriend, Carri, returned home to Seattle, she kept...
Signage & Storefronts
As a designer and artist, being here in Italy is a pilgrimage to the home of all the motifs, patterns and visual elements I've studied and heard of all my life. At times I'm overwhelmed, excited by...
Castles & Palaces
Saturday evening, after walking around Bologna for over 6 hours, I went back to my hotel room to chill out. Unfortunately, a wedding party was gathering in the main lobby just down the hall from my...
Bologna Arte Fiera
Scatter sculpture, paintings and installations in amongst mediaeval buildings and you've got the makings of a visually exciting weekend! The Bologna Arte Fiera got me into town, but I went about...
Tartuffo Bianco in Bologna
OK. So add Bologna to my list of amazing places to visit in Italy. It's right up there with Venice, (which makes me swoon). I have a feeling the list will get VERY long. A girlfriend from my Italian...
Polenta and Porcini
From my journal entry, 23 January. Bergamo. Bergamo is beautiful and reminds me of San Gimignano in Tuscany. I'm on in the "Alta Cittá", the high city up on the hill within the old fortress walls....
Cathedral, Basilica, Chapel, Baptistry
After rising up from the valley floor in the funiculare tram, a short walk brings you to the old plaza, la Piazza Vecchia. Encircled by palaces, a bell tower and a colonnaded portico, the...
Bergamo: “Home on the Mountain”
For 4 Euro and 20 cents - about $6.00 - each way, I was able to hop on the train and take a 45 minute ride to Bergamo, east-north-east of Milan. Amazing amazingness. I'm still picking my chin up off...
Apologies to Vegetarians
I guess this blog site might be a turn-off to vegetarians. Sorry about that. I'm living in Italy. Not just meat, but RAW meat on the menu… and I eat it all. Shavings of raw lard. Ground up...
Wild Boar at 10:00 P.M.
Mmm. It's 10:00 p.m. and I just cut into a big chunk of Cinghiale Bresaola - uncooked, aged, wild boar meat. (Cinghiale: ching-GHYA-lay) Yum. So good. Peppered on the outside. Dense/firm....
Push/Pull Limbo
It's an odd position to be in this limbo of not knowing how long I'll stay in Italy. My original plan was to be here for a year, but as my Seattle departure date approached last June, I thought, and...