Europe

December 27, 2022

Underrated Italian Towns 2023: Great places to visit or use as base just outside Italy’s overcrowded famous sites

If you’re planning an Italian vacation next year, consider some lesser-known places I discovered this year. They’re wonderful bases to explore more notable sites but also worthwhile places to spend a couple days off the beaten path. I recommend all of them. They’re good for the soul and good for the budget. They are my top 10 list of Underrated Towns in Italy 2023.

December 13, 2022

What I miss about U.S? Christmas and not much else

Christmas is coming and it always brings back great memories of my Christmases in my hometown of Eugene, Ore. This month it has me thinking. What do I miss about the U.S? I struggled to come up with a list. It’s a short one. Christmas definitely tops it. Here’s a brief look at what I miss about the U.S. as an American expat in Rome.

November 22, 2022

Picinisco: Italy’s pipeline to Scotland is a gastro, rural wonderland only D.H. Lawrence could describe

On a freelance assignment, we came to the village of Picinisco and discovered things we never read in guidebooks. It is the source of most of Scotland’s people of Italian heritage, it has some of the best cheese in Italy and has spectacular views with few tourists. We stayed in a charming B&B built in 1926 where we ate a five-course meal prepared by a gourmet chef. I also met a Scotsman who bought a nearby village. One of the best overnight trips of my nearly nine years in Italy.

November 8, 2022

Abortion: Americans vote today with rights in the balance, Italians wonder what will happen to theirs

With Republicans poised to take over Congress in today’s U.S. midterms and five months after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, American women brace for what will happen to their abortion rights. Italy has had free, legal abortion since 1978. However, the September election of the far-right Brothers of Italy party threatens those rights. They may not change the law but the new leaders want to offer cash incentives for women to change their minds and also allow pro-life advocates inside abortion clinics. And they’re following the United States’ lead.

November 1, 2022

Lucca: This great wall encloses an indy Tuscan treasure

For more than 10 years living in Rome I’ve heard about the wonders of Lucca. The huge wall. The historical center. The great Tuscan cuisine. We stopped there for nights going and coming from Le Langhe last month and came away feeling we cheated ourselves on time. Lucca’s wall meets the hype and while it isn’t off Tuscany’s beaten path, the old town does have an ancient-modern charm to it.

October 25, 2022

Global warming and Italian wine: €2 billion loss and lower production of up to 30 percent has winemakers nervous

Global warming has cut wine production in my beloved Le Langhe zone by 30 percent as wine makers are harvesting their grapes earlier every year. I went to Le Langhe two weeks ago and the wine makers I interviewed are nervous. Global warming hasn’t affected the taste yet but they worry about the future. They’re taking drastic measures to preserve water and their wine industry.

October 20, 2022

What wine would you drink before you die? I ask the wine experts in Le Langhe and it’s not always expensive Barolo

At every wine tasting, I ask the local wine experts; Pretend you’ll be executed tomorrow morning. What wine in the world do you drink tonight? I asked this at all the wineries and wine shops I visited in Le Langhe last week. You’ll be surprised by the answers.

October 18, 2022

Barolo: My love letter from the vino paradiso of Le Langhe

Ever since I fell in love with Barolo after my first taste in Rome in 1999 I’ve wanted to visit the town of Barolo. I finally did it last week and reality surpassed my dream. The zone of Le Langhe has nearly 700 wineries, nearly all carrying the Nebbiolo grape that makes Barolo and its cousin to the north, Barbaresco. I did tastings at four wineries and drank Barolo inbetween.

October 11, 2022

South Moravia: Czech Republic’s wine cellar a rural gem

South Moravia is the Tuscany of Czech Republic. Ninety-six percent of Czech’s underrated wines comes from this tiny sliver of land barely larger than Palestine. It specializes in white wines but I had one of the best Pinot Noirs of my life in this area around Brno, Czech’s second-largest city. I took a boat ride up the scenic Brno Reservoir and found the wines even better than the beer.

October 4, 2022

Czech beer falls flat next to Belgium’s but there’s a lot of it

Czechs drink more beer per capita than any nation in the world. Their beer culture dates back to the 10th century. But I was fairly underwhelmed by Czech beer. It’s about 80 percent lager (Dark beer is considered a girlie drink.) and the lack of variety got old. However, beer is everywhere and so are Czechs enjoying one of the liveliest night lives in Europe.

September 26, 2022

Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party wins election and my adopted country descends into the far right

Giorgia Meloni, a 45-year-old Roman, has led her neophyte Brothers of Italy party from the ground floor of Italian politics to the country’s most powerful position. She won Sunday’s prime minister election, and her right-wing coalition is set to take over the Parliament. What does Italy’s first right-wing government since Mussolini mean for immigrants like me? I’m not worried, but I am cautious.

September 21, 2022

Brno: Prague’s quirky “little brother” is true Czech

Everyone knows Prague is where you go in the Czech Republic. Nine million tourists a year can’t be stupid. But Czech Republic’s second city, Brno, has plenty to offer. Not only does it have a lively nightlife, a terrific food scene and interesting architecture, it is definitely more authentic than Prague. And it has some quirky little sites that have you thinking and smiling. I spent all last week there at a conference. Here’s my report.

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