Champion
Euro champion Italy hadn’t won the European Championship since 1968 and England had never won it. Something had to give at London’s Wembley Stadium and England certainly did with a pitiful performance in the shootout. Italians in Rome hadn’t celebrated like this since winning the World Cup in 2006.
Drinking in Bulgaria is a huge part of the Bulgarian culture and I got a first-hand look at it during a week crossing the country. It included a Friday night pub crawl in the capital of Sofia. Bring a thirst, folks.
Jose Mourinho has won national titles in four countries and Champions League trophies with two clubs. Thursday he was introduced as the manager to lead A.S. Roma, which hasn’t won a title in 20 years and is coming off its worst season since 2004-05. I was there.
Plovdiv’s appeal is lasting long after its 2019 reign as one of Europe’s two Culture Capitals ended. It is one of the top art cities in Eastern Europe with numerous pedestrian streets, history that covers 8,000 years and a relaxed vibe that makes it a must for any visit to Bulgaria.
Rome tour guides have suffered some of the biggest pitfalls during this pandemic. The number of tourists visiting Italy went from 65 million in 2019 to 25.5 last year. Through two lockdowns and constantly changing restrictions, tour guides have to adjust on the fly, all with financial ramifications.
Italy’s national soccer team humiliated its nation by not even qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. It changed managers, changed philosophies and after Friday’s 3-0 win over Turkey in the European Championships, it’s on a 28-game unbeaten streak, two off its national record. The country, beaten down by a year and a half of Covid, finally has a reason to cheer.
Is pizza the most important dish in Italy? People in Italy’s rice country say it’s risotto. You can get good pizza lots of places in the world. The only place to get good risotto is in Italy. And the best in Italy is Vercelli where I went on assignment for a shooter and came away with the best risotto of my life.
I’ve never shot a gun in my life. But there I was with one of the most decorated shooters in Olympic trapshooting history, trying to hit a target flying 75 mph across an open field. This was my day with the Shooter of God.
I never liked Milan much but the Navigli neighborhood, the city’s one bastion of calm, has won me over. It dates to 1200 and is resurfacing after a rough lockdown.
I’ve always avoided gondola rides in Venice just as I avoid all tourist traps. But with Venice coming out of pandemic lockdown, I gave it a try. It was worth every minute of our 45-minute ride.
Venice has had been more economically devastated than any city in Italy but as it crawls out of lockdown it reveals itself as the peaceful, romantic paradise it once was.
I’ve traveled to 107 countries but none in the last 14 months. I miss it more than anyone can know. Here is why.
