Stay away, Americans! EU says you and your coronavirus are not wanted here in Europe
EU won’t allow the U.S. among its 14 countries permitted to visit.
Search Results for: Puglia
Trump vs. Conte: Here in Italy our pasta isn’t the only thing that’s better than in U.S.
Both came from nowhere to lead their countries. Both lead the countries with the most Covid-19 deaths in the world. Both address their nations on TV. Both have a pulse — although I’m not sure both have hearts. The similarities between Italy prime minister Giuseppe Conte and U.S. president Fuckface von Clownstick pretty much end […]
Italy’s coronavirus lockdown for expats: Tears, loneliness and loved ones far away
The sidewalk cafes tempt you like the Sirens from a nearby shore. You can feel the sun’s warmth on your balcony but you can’t feel the sea. The last time you did the Italian double-cheek kiss was with your cat. Welcome to Porto Quarantina. Life in Italian lockdown is harder than most places. We live […]
An Italian wedding: Like American weddings but with more romance and … do you have a red suit?
![monia_wedding-22[1]](https://johnhendersontravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/monia_wedding-221-260x150.jpg "monia_wedding-22[1]")
I sipped Prosecco Saturday in the same piazza where Benito Mussolini worked his fascist throng into a froth. I stood in Piazza Venezia, in the shadow of the gargantuan white confectionery monument called Il Vittoriano, in suit and tie, and celebrated the most Italian of Italian traditions. The Italian wedding. No, not mine. It was […]
My five favorite wine bars in Rome: The perfect Roman-tic evening
I’ve always told people wanting to party in Rome that this city isn’t a bar town. It’s a restaurant town. However, it is the world’s greatest bar town in one specific genre: wine bars. Called enotecas in Italian, they enjoyed a renaissance in the 1990s and now are my preferred destination on any night out […]
The heart of Umbrian wine country reveals a rising star: Sagrantino
MONTEFALCO, Italy — One of my pleasant surprises after retiring to Rome with a taste for wine and no car is I never have to leave the city to taste the best wines in the world. I never even have to visit a restaurant or wine bar. All I have to do is wait for […]
Owning a winery in Italy not as easy as toast but this couple is toasting now in the land of St. Francis
TODI, Italy — So you want to have a winery in Italy, huh? Sit on your porch looking out at your vineyard on the hill, sipping the fruits of your labor under a warm sun, a plate of pasta in front of you as the church bells peal from a nearby village? Getting thirsty? Getting […]
Monteverde: My new Rome neighborhood on a hill is shedding its fascist past
When I first saw it, I had to take a step back, as if a ghost had gut punched me. Did I see what I thought I saw? It was April 30 and I had just moved into my new apartment. It’s a dream home for a retiree. Bigger. Brighter. Big balcony. It’s the same […]
Where to go in Italy in 2018? Here’s my annual off-the-beaten path list
I have a better idea. In fact, I have 10 of them. If you daydream about Italy, go where few others go. Here is a list of 10 highly recommended off-the-beaten-path places I’ve been, mostly last year, during my combined 5 ½ years living in Italy.
Print this list (including links to expanded blogs of destinations), written in alphabetical order, and post it on your laptop instead of that gondola photo.
(To read more, click here.)
Matera: World’s third oldest city rocks Basilicata in more ways than one
Matera is the world’s third oldest city, according to Traveller magazine. Only Aleppo, Syria, and Jericho, Palestine, are older. So unless you like your pizza in a war zone, Matera is the place to explore. Matera was first inhabited in the Paleolithic Era which ended about 10,000 B.C. Back then, Matera’s inhabitants were discovering stone tools and how to hunt and gather. It has been continuously inhabited for the last 9,000 years. However, the neighborhood where I’m standing and where my Marina and I are staying, wasn’t around less than 40 years ago. It was abandoned, an empty shell of a novelty.
(To read more, click here.)
Wine tastings in Rome a delicious way to travel around Italy without ever leaving the room
If you’re pressed for time and don’t want to hassle with a car, a necessity for wineries, you can stay in Rome and get an even bigger variety. In Italy, the wineries come to Rome. In my 3 ½ years here, I’ve been to countless wine tastings. I’ve tried superb wines from Sicily to Alto Adige.
(To read more, click here.)
Traveling to Italy in 2017? Here’s my top 10 list
Here I present you with 10 places that you probably have never heard of, let alone never made your bucket list. So here’s my collection, in alphabetical order, of lovely, interesting, off-the-beaten-path places to visit in Italy in 2017. Print it, put it under a refrigerator magnet and know you’ll never eat a better pizza than outside on a warm Italian night.
(To read more, click here.)