Blog archives for September, 2010

“Lighter fluid”. That’s the way I used to describe grappa. Between getting better stuff and my taste developing, I’ve  come to really  love it. If anyone is at a loss of what to buy me for a birthday or Christmas present there is always that answer. I really don’t know why it should be expensive […]

For whatever reason the Italians seem to have a long history of Carabiniere jokes. In some respects they are a lot like the ethnic jokes that we used to tell before we realized that it was really insensitive to tell them about ethnic groups – notably Poles. Does anyone remember Polack jokes? Almost everyone now […]

I ate baccala at a place in Rome that a friend turned me on to. I really couldn’t remember the name of the place but I knew that it was close to Campo di Fiori. I used Google Maps to get oriented and then went looking around using the Street View feature and, mamma mia!, there it […]

La Serenissima – the most serene of cities. Certainly this is one of the most photographed and visited cities in Italy. Movies are made here, romance is in the air, as is the stench of garbage in the water during the summer. The beauty is undeniable and there is no reason to have a car. […]